Changes to our original idea

CHANGES TO OUR ORIGINAL IDEA

Originally we were going to have a father whose daughter gets kidnapped but we could not find a convincing actor to play a father. Rather than compromise the professionalism of our film we decided to change the father to a boyfriend of the girl who gets kidnapped. This suited us better as we were able to find a young actor who could really sell the role of a drug dealer.

We initially wanted the kidnappers to drive a van but we could not find someone with a van. Instead we asked a friend with a black car if he would drive for the film and we use his car for the kidnappers’ vehicle. We wanted the vehicle to be black as it shows the kidnappers are professionals and symbolises they are bad characters. We also liked the idea of putting the girl tied up in the boot of the car because it makes the kidnappers like more violent as they have no concern for the girl’s safety.

In our original idea we were going to show a drug deal so the viewer knew the boyfriend, Jason, was a drug dealer and to establish he does not earn a lot of money so he deals drugs. We then decided to change this idea because of the common stereotypes of drug dealers – they are trouble and bad. We did not want the viewer to dislike Jason because he is the protagonist and we wanted them to empathise with the situation. So instead of filming the drug deal scene, we decided to show Jason at his home with eviction notices to show he is in a difficult financial situation. We also show him taking drugs showing he is a victi m of drugs and didn’t choose this lifestyle.

The last thing we changed was the location of the torture scene. Originally we were going to set in a Joe’s garage but it was too much effort to completely clear out his garage, so instead we picked a room in the school that looks like an abandoned building. This worked better because it meant there was a more realistic point for Jason to handover the ransom to the kidnappers and the kidnappers’ hideout was more professional than just an ordinary garage. This enforced the idea that the kidnappers had lots of power because they work for a rich drug lord.