Photoshoot

 I dressed my actor playing the computer hacker, and experimented shooting him in an urban area, in a variety of different positions and situations. Click the images for a larger picture.

Costume Representation

To start I jotted down several ideas on how exactly the protagonist and antagonist would look. I sketched a few rough, tough, beefy blokes and underneath a few lanky, untidy youths following the nerdy, computer hacker stereotype. It soon became clear however, that I would have to make several adjustments. In reality the computer hacker would be the real villain, and the one chasing the hacker would be the hero. I wanted to make it clear that the viewer is clearly on the side of the hacker, and to do this I needed to stress the hackers cool vulnerability, and the shear aggression in the one chasing him. Clearly this will be emphasised in their acting, but for now I needed to make this obvious in their style of dress.

This was harder than it seemed. Searching 'nerd' and 'geek' in Google provided me with some inaccurate results.

For a start my hacker is intended to be young. Whilst being vulnerable, he also needs the to be equipped with a sufficient amount of strength to be able to outsmart and escape his enemy. 

I felt images like these were just too stereotypical for my computer hacker. On the other hand, I like the glasses.

The closest I got was Alan Cummings character in Goldeneye, left. His hair is unkempt and his glasses are retro but this doesn't ruin his cool eccentric image.

Secondly I needed my antagonist to have an element of aggression. To do this I followed the stereotypes to the extreme. Clothes websites such as River Island drew me towards leather jackets and worn jeans. Being ginger-haired myself didn't put me off using the ginger-aggression stereotype, and similarly I felt it was widely agreed that the Scottish accent is often used to exaggerate anger - again these are mere stereotypes, I do not wish to exploit them as the truth. I also wanted to avoid the 'charver' look, tracksuit bottoms and berghaus jackets for example, as I felt my villain, being nonetheless a villain, ought to be set at a more educated, prosperous position.

I produced two final costume and character designs:

I then refined these sketches and coloured them:

Reflection

As will become clear in the film below, I now have a vague idea about the story line involving the chase scene. My basic and current plan is that the film will picture a computer hacker (the protagonist) escaping from the antagonist with a CD of stolen data. The antagonist will chase him out of the computer room, down a flight of wood stairs, though a corridor, into a public toilet and out into the street. At the point when the hacker appears to be cornered he makes a quick get away - either by car or over a wall when the antagonist is momentarily diverted. The plans here are still sketchy, and, as you will see, I recieved feedback about the plan from my collegues.

After this feedback it therefore seems right for me to now focus on my actors representation though costume and stereotyping. I will thus produce several drafts of how I imagine my characters to appear; How they are to dress and the stereotypes they will follow.

Audience Research

With a 'chase scene' in mind I felt it was necessary to interview several friends of different age and gender groups about their opinions on 'chase scenes'.

Below is a select two interviews with Ryan, 16, and Thomas and Mitchell, 11. As you will see, both groups of interviewees share similar opinions on 'chase scenes' as well as the scene from West Side Story discussed in the video.

From interviews such as these it seems to be quite clear that for most 10 - 20 year olds a chase theme is a thrilling component for many films. It is also apparant that such chase scenes do not necessarily fit into one particular genre, but can be incorporated into many genres. The West Side story may not have appealed to many of those under 20, yet for many others this combination of chasing and dancing is equally as compelling as a perhaps more 'serious' chase. Thus after interviewing Pam (46) and Norman (86) and discovering that for them 'a chase' is still an exciting point in a film, it is only fair to conclude that whilst a particular genre of film may not meet everyones expectations, a 'chase scene' nonetheless plays a vital role in many types of film.


Unfortunately, as far as http://www.uktribes.com/ is concerned most of my interviewees were 'tribeless'. The best way to describe them would be to call them 'mainstreamers' or 'reformers'. Yet even those who did conform to a tribe similarly agreed that in many films chase scenes were necessary, and at the very least, thrilling.


On the other hand, I must be specific when tackling my audiance. We have already concluded that many genres of film have 'chase scenes' in them, and these many genres appeal to many tribes, yet as far as I'm concerned, I must tackle just one genre, and such a genre may only appeal to a select few tribes. So the questions are raised;
What genre? Will it be comedy, horror, crime, action, epic, musical, romance, war, sci-fi?
What people group or tribe? The lower class, the middle class, the academic, the townies, the trendies, the emos, the skaters?


Out of the genres I mentioned, my budget and time can rule out sci-fi, war, musical and epic. Whilst romance is achievable, incorporating a chase scene into it would be complicated due to the 2 minute time limit. Out of horror, crime and action I am most attracted to action. This is not because I feel it would be simpler to produce, but rather because I intend my audiance to be thrilled, rather than frightened. I want the viewing to be enjoyable rather than off-putting. To pursue the audiance most fitted for the genre of action, I researched the target audiance of James Bond films.


After research I discovered that James Bond's primary audience is 16 - 30 year old males. Due to the age of the James Bond series, Bond is also very popular with both males and females from ages 30 - 50.
From this I will draw my target audience.


Target Audiance: 16 - 30, male, socio-economic grade D - C2