Appropriate casting is vital in the authentic value of the film sequence, there are three predominant roles in this sequence, as well as extras. The three predominant roles are:
The Protagonist
This is to be played by a vulnerable looking actor; this cannot be played by someone who is physically built as this will not make a convincing victim of bullying. Also, this person must be someone who is not entirely materialistic or ‘flashy’ as this is also not a quality of the typical ‘quiet’ victim.
And so, with costume, the protagonist should be ‘modestly dressed’, with no flashy brands or colourful clothing; also, by using neutral colours for costume, this connotes that the character does not want so much attention and that they are used to be ‘in the background’.
And so, Madeline will wear glasses. During the scenes in the flashbacks, Madeline will wear school uniform, this is to give the audience anchorage with the idea that it is set in school.
With performance, Madeline is to act very concealed and quiet in comparison to everyone else, although she may have some fight in her, it is apparent that no-one is on her side, and so she backs down and accepts defeat; this is apparent through the scene when the teacher sides with the bullies rather than Madeline. The body language of Madeline will be very ‘shy’, and the tone of the voice will not be strong and confident.
The Bully
This is to be played by a strong teanaged actor; the actor is to be bigger than the protagonist, and the body language should be bold and confident. Unlike Madeline, the bully’s posture should be strong, as she feels confident amongst her peers; she knows she is the predominant person in a classroom as she is followed by others. Also, her costume should be more shabby than Madeline, with rolled up sleeves. Her voice should be loud and predominant, all actors are to have English accents as the movie is set in England.
The Teacher
This is to be played by an older actor. As a teacher, this character should be a lead voice in a classroom, with a short temper as there is a part where they shout at Madeline when she did nothing wrong. The teacher is to wear smart attire as it is necessary in a school environment.
Also, there are a number of extras in a classroom to give anchorage to the audience that the scene is in a classroom environment. These are to be dressed in school uniform, and to be of a similar age of the bully and Madeline.
A CASE OF REVENGE: ORIGINAL SCRIPT
Madeline, the protagonist returns to the school, holding a briefcase, with the intentions of planting the bomb into the Head Teacher’s office.
As she is walking down the corridor, a series of flashbacks are revealed of why she is pursuing a chain of revenge plots against the teachers and students who she feels that have oppressed her into her current depressed state.
The first flashback is of a bully pushing Madeline against the wall.
Bully: (slow motion mouthing) You don’t belong here
The protagonist drops to the floor as she is verbally abused.
The sequence then continues back to the present; the protagonist is still walking down the corridor towards the Head Teacher’s office, still holding the brief case.
The second flashback is of the Head teacher taking the bully’s side over the protagonist.
(In the classroom) The class is silent and doing work, while the teacher is sitting at his desk marking papers. The bully and her friends are constantly poking and throwing things at the protagonist.
Bully: Oi! Loser.
Protagonist turns around and the bully and her friends suddenly pretend to be doing work.
Teacher: MADELINE! TURN AROUND AND DO YOUR WORK!
Madeline: But sir-
Teacher: I don’t want to hear it, get on with your work
Madeline continues to do his work. Then the bullies start throwing things at her again.
Madeline: (Turns around) Stop it!
Teacher: That’s it!
Madeline: I’m not doing anything! They’re throwing these pieces-
Teacher: NO. Enough with your excuses, get out. Those students behind have done nothing but do work all lesson. I’m sick and tired of you wasting my time and disrupting this lesson.
Back to the present; the protagonist continues through the corridor and walks into the Head teacher’s office, she puts the briefcase on the desk, exists the room, closing the door behind her and walks out; down the corridor once again.
With this script, we amended it in order to fit the appropriate thriller subgenre that we are aiming for. Also, we found that by using less speech and more film techniques we can reflect the mood and intentions of the protagonist without making it so obvious and underlined with dialect; we found that by using less speech we were able to create more of an effect of mystery, and with more cross-cutting we intend to make a connection with the briefcase and the office - creating the technique of enigmas, which is a key technique in the thriller genre.
Thus, here is the modified script:
A CASE OF REVENGE: MODIFIED SCRIPT
Madeline, the protagonist returns to the school, holding a briefcase, with the intentions of planting the bomb into the Head Teacher’s office.
As she is walking down the corridor, a series of flashbacks are revealed of why she is pursuing a chain of revenge plots against the teachers and students who she feels that have oppressed him into her current depressed state.
The first flashback is of a bully pushing the protagonist against the wall.
Madeline: (slow motion mouthing) You don’t belong here
The protagonist drops to the floor as she is verbally abused.
The sequence then continues back to the present; the protagonist is still walking down the corridor towards the Head Teacher’s office, still holding the brief case.
The second flashback is of the Head teacher taking the bully’s side over the protagonist.
(In the classroom) The class is silent and doing work, while the teacher is sitting at his desk marking papers. The bully and her friends are constantly poking and throwing things at the protagonist.
Protagonist turns around and the bully and her friends suddenly pretend to be doing work.
Teacher: MADELINE! TURN AROUND AND DO YOUR WORK!
Madeline: But sir-
Teacher: I don’t want to hear it, get on with your work
Back to the present; walking down the corridor, Madeline starts to hear mutters of laughter in her head, which then develops to an image of students surrounding her laughing and pointing. There is then a voice over of her own thoughts;
voice over: hahahahha yeh, laugh away.. lets see who gets the last laugh.
The protagonist continues through the corridor and walks into the Head teacher’s office, she puts the briefcase on the desk, exists the room, closing the door behind her and walks out; down the corridor once again.
