Amy Sharp - Pre-Production Research "Exposed" 2013

Exposed - paviourcole 2013

virgin media shorts

'A woman's heavy night out is exposed...'

http://virginmediashorts.com/film/5364/exposure#.Vfgy90ZSW3Y

On screen diegetic footsteps start the short film followed by a medium close up of the owner, a woman middle aged walking down a street at night. The camera follows her from behind in a POV, the camera is handheld and watches her as she stumbles from side to side across the pavement. We can assume we are in the role of the antagonist which is further supported long shot of a dark figure, masculine due to the tall opposing outline and broad shoulders, walking behind the woman. This shot lasts long enough for the audience to see the surrounding area, it is obviously night as we can see the sky but the low key lighting along with the abandoned streets show she has no protection around her making her an easy target. In the thriller genre this is a common situation this is why we can assume he is an antagonist and it is likely she is going to be attacked or threatened in some way. We can see she is wearing a short dress and a close up of the woman's legs shows her taking off one shoe implying she is tired and in pain from wearing high heels, she throws it on the ground rather than carrying it showing she is not sober enough to care. This is a stereotypical representation of a young female going out clubbing - wearing short dresses and high heels they can’t walk in by the end of the night. Her face is revealed in a close up but the camera is angled to show the male character walking behind keeping his distance so she does not realise, the camera still slightly shaky due to being hand held this may be purposeful to position us in the situation. The camera stops outside her house with her trying to open the door in the background and the antagonist in the foreground smoking a cigarette, this further implies he is following her and sets on a thriller genre due to the combination of semantic codes, low key lighting and the camera work. The protagonist could be a specific type for the antagonist due to the focus on her clothing, showing a negative representation for young females being a target for predators. A close up of a post box reveals the females name: Amy Harris and her address implying this is somehow important for the viewer to know. The thriller genre is confirmed by the antagonist approaching the door way and in a series of medium close ups we see him taking her into her flat, there is no confrontation because she is passed out and unable to fend for herself. This again showing a negative representation of women but also of some males due to our antagonist taking advantage of her situation. The camera cuts to a close up of a polaroid camera flashing with the silhouettes of the protagonist and antagonist in the foreground. Moving back to a medium close up it is obvious the protagonist is holding up Amy in order to fulfil a fantasy or possibly a routine that he does with vulnerable young women. He then continues to take photos of her.

The setting changes to the male character in a kitchen, we can assume he is still in her flat. The camera pans down still handheld keeping us as a witness, he is making a cup of tea showing he is comfortable and confident in the situation. A medium long shot pans out to a long shot highlighting the disturbing situation because it pans out to reveal Amy passed out on the floor in bottom corner as the antagonist sits having a cup of tea, however at this point is contrasts with thriller genre as his intentions may be innocent. He then proceeds to take her other shoe off and puts her into bed, further implying the innocent possibility.

We see the antagonist leave causing harm to the young girl. An extreme close up shows a Polaroid and the address of Amy being written on the bottom, the camera stays on the image to allow the audience to make the link. A close up reveals the male from before with a concentrated expression, it is light outside as we can see light shining through on the right of his face simulating light from a window. He is in the same white shirt suggesting it is early hours in the morning; either hasn’t changed or stayed up all night. He pins the photo onto the wall and we see other Polaroid’s surrounding it with different addresses returning the thriller genre. The camera is placed behind him and when he moves it reveals a wardrobe door covered in photos showing he has done the same to various other females. Each row is presented in a close up to confirm this.

We return to Amy just waking up confused, in a medium close up we see her look over at her bed side table. She picks up a polaroid of herself from the night before that the antagonist took, the camera cuts to the title and credits.