For a similar character to the ‘normal’ girl in Alter-Ego I have picked Jill Roberts from Scream 4. She is the main antagonist in Scream 4, similarly to our character in Alter-Ego who is also the main antagonist in the thriller. The character of Jill Roberts appears to be a strong character in the film, whereas a difference is our antagonist in ‘Alter-Ego’ is not a strong character as she is heavily effected by the media and what they portray. Jill Roberts is also portrayed as a character who is quite aware of danger. This is another similarity because as soon as our ‘normal’ girl in the opening hears a noise, she automatically senses danger and that something is wrong. This then leads to her investigating the noise and putting herself in danger, similarly to Jill Roberts in Scream 4.
We wanted to create a antagonist character who is also a victim, and a character who is the protagonist and a villain . The character of the antagonist features the most throughout our thriller but I think that the protagonist - the “Alter-Ego’ is the most important. She is the key character to understanding the storyline in the thriller. We used a teenager ages 16 to play the role of both characters as that is who ‘Alter-Ego’ is aimed at. We felt that if we have a character which is the same age as the target audience they would be able to relate to the thriller as they maybe have also been affected in a similar way as they could have felt pressurised by the media’s portrayal of ‘perfection.’ It also may help them to understand the storyline more and like the film.
For the "Alter Ego" character they wore all black clothing, which was a hoodie, leggings, strappy top and black shoes. These clothes will be worn towards the end of our opening however there will be quick shots of the character wearing them at the beginning. Through this all black costume we are wanting to connote and create a girl who is an "Alter Ego" and is not in control of herself. Our only actor in our opening wore this, whom of which is a girl and who portrayed the darker and more evil side of herself, hence why we only see this character in her bedroom as no one else get's to see her "alter ego" outside of an area which is her personal room and surroundings, showing that everyone including her has a darker side which they show to no one else. The darker clothing is representing the darker side of the character which has not been seen before to anyone else, and that the character herself is still unsure about her "alter ego" and what it will make her do. The black made the character stand out in the surroundings where we filmed as the walls were covered with paper and writing on and contrast the clothing. Wearing darker clothing is typical for a "bad" character in thrillers as the black colour connotes darkness and negativity which is what normally is wanted to be portrayed by antagonist in the thriller genre. For our regular girl character, she wore a white dress, white shoes and a flower crown around her head. She appeared throughout the sequence in this different settings wearing the same outfit. With this all white costume we wished to connote an "innocent" girl who is "pure" and happy, which is a contrast to the clothing and the character of the "alter ego." The flower crown can relate back to something you could have worn when you were younger, which is when you are typically at your happiest. When the actor is wearing this she is portraying the normal side to her which everyone gets to see, which is why she is not locked away in her bedroom like the "alter ego" character is. Once the girl stepped into the bedroom wearing these clothes she will instantly stand out from the other character although they are the same girl, showing the contrast in personalities and how they are perceived by other people. Wearing white is typical to the thriller genre as it is common that it connotes innocence and tends to be worn by the "damsel in distress.”
We have used different camera shots and movements to convey different meanings in the thriller. We use a tilt regularly which conveys the idea of insanity and how the ‘Alter-Ego’ character has been heavily effected and influenced by the media and how it is controlling her. Close-ups are also used regularly throughout to show details which are important and help to create an atmosphere in the thriller, such as the blood, the match on action where the hand opens the door and the smudging of the make up.
In our opening thriller we had two different make-up looks, one where the girl is normal and the other where the girl is in the "Alter-Ego." We wanted there to be a clear contrast between the two characters with no only their clothing but their facial appearance e.g. their make-up. The normal girl.s make-up is very minimal and light connoting innocence and purity whereas the alter-ego's make-up is darker and messy which suggests evilness and how she is not in control, hence the messiness of the make-up.
In our opening thriller we used magazines which are typical aimed at teenager girls, such as company magazine. This is because it is a usual item which you would see in a teenage girl's bedroom and it did not look out of place. On the day we then ripped these magazines to make them look like the Alter-Ego character had done it as it shows a sense if instability and craziness. We added blood onto some of these magazines for when we filmed a shot of them altogether to add suspense and mystery. We also filmed dripping blood onto the magazines which we used as a cutaway shot. I think that it is an effective shot and it makes the audience appear uncomfortable. Another proper we used as well as the magazines and blood is posters which we printed of ourselves. These posters are typical of teenage girls and were perfect for the setting. We also used the fake blood on these to show that the alter-ego has attacked them as they were also ripped and hand a handprint on in blood. These were used to cover up the title of the film, and at the end the Alter-Ego character rips them down to reveal the typography and the title. 
The house which we filmed at is a Victorian style. As it is such an old house the lighting is not perfect and helps to add some eeriness to the setting. As the house is a family home which a member of our group lives in it means the set for a normal family home is already present. The location was chosen because it is relates to the storyline and fits in perfectly.
On the day of filming we checked the lighting because if the weather was cloudy and dark we needed to make arrangements for it, such as making sure all of the lights in the house are turned on to make sure it is not dark and the shots come across good and effective on the camera. However if the weather did turn out sunny and bright, which it didn’t, the lights were not needed. The weather on the day was dark and how it came across on camera. We did not turn the lights on as we want the opening to feature natural light to make it look more realistic to the audience and make it look more mysterious.
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