Character Costumes.

Costumes are important it represent characters and to help give them personality.

In our opening of a film we have 5 characters, the abductee, a school girl aged around twelve, the abductor, an older man around his forties, the girls parents who are both about thirty, and the detective, who is in his forties. Costumes for our opening are important, because there is hardly any dialogue for personality to be built up from, and there is no initial display of the roles the characters. 

The school girl will be in uniform, which is a navy blue jumper and blue trousers, because the opening scene is split between the cave, where the abductee is being held, and the place where she was abducted from, outside the school gates, which is why its important for her to be in uniform, so that the audience can identify her age, and that she is a member of the school, automatically putting her in a vulnerable situation. It is also important for mise-en-scene because it helps the audience to identify where she is. 

The abductor will be wearing a long black coat with a black hood and dark trousers. This is important because it doesn't reveal anything about who he is and what his intentions are, keeping him mysterious, which adds to the suspense of the opening because the audience should feel slightly confused as to who he is. Also, by only having him in black nothing about his personality is revealed, which again adds to the suspense and confusion of not knowing who he is.

The girls mum will be wearing a cardigan, comfortable bottoms and nothing on her feet, showing that she feels secure in her house, which is a contrast between her situation, and her daughters. The set clearly shows her surroundings to be her living room, with her husband, again adding to the feeling that she is safe and secure.What the mum could be considered as stereotypical, and the audience would be able to see that the character is meant to be representing a mum, because its 'easy' and is typically what you would think of a mum wearing. The costume doesn't really add to showing her personality, which kind of keeps her in the dark, and leaves the audience wanting to know more about her.

The father will be wearing darker, more stereotypical, clothes, such as a dark jumper, jeans, and maybe slippers to show that he is in a comfy setting and that he has no idea about what has happened to his daughter. It doesn't really add to showing his personality, other than he is a dad and this adds to the suspense, a long with what the mum is wearing, because it shows that they are quite happy and have no idea of what has happened. The mise-en-scene adds to this feeling and helps the audience understand why he is wearing what he is. The shot is set in their house, which shows them quite clearly in their living room, sat in comfortable chairs, but also with a clock, showing that time has passed. The only dialogue is used here with them querying as to where their daughter is, again showing that time has passed.

The detective will be wearing a suit, color dependant on which one we can manage to get a hold of. By putting him in a suit it automatically puts him in a higher position that everybody else, because he looks smart and presentable. This adds slightly to allowing the audience see his personality, because it shows that he likes to look well presented, setting him apart from the other characters, not only because of how he likes to be seen, but because he is the only character who allows elements of his personality to be revealed, you see him at his workplace and learn that he likes to look well presented. The mise-en-scene allows you to identify that he is in his workplace and that he is a detective, because of the whiteboard with case studies, files scattered around and his assistant, putting him in a place of importance. We allowed elements of his personality to be seen in the opening scene because he is the main character, and for the ending to shock, the audience need to develop an attachment to him, or at least be able to see elements of themselves in him.