Research into costumes

Whilst the costume and make-up choices for our thriller opening sequence may seem relatively simple, a lot of thought has gone into them to ensure that the characters look right and fit their character descriptions. We want to present our male protagonist as a smart, intelligent and responsible man who just so happens to have this evil side to him. So, we want to show his good education and upper class status through expensive clothes which also look smart.

Our biggest inspiration in terms of costume for our male protagonist is Hannibal Lecter, an upper-class and very intelligent psychiatrist, who is also a sadistic serial-killer and cannibal - although his occupation is not the same as that of our main character, his personality traits are very similar. He's wearing expensive suits, which present him as an upper-class, well educated person with an high status. We want to present our killer not in exactly the same, but in a similar way.

For our main character, there are a few specific costume choices:
1. Watch - Very briefly, our main character can be seen wearing a smart watch. This shows him off as being smart and contentious.
2. Shirt - One thing you can't be annoyed with our main character about is his clothing choices. To show him off as being smart and professional we ensured that he was wearing an ironed shirt, tucked into his jeans. This gives off that upper-class persona we were trying to present him as whilst also being clean, showing that he is taking care of everything around him (even his scrapbook!)
3. Jeans - It was important for us to ensure that viewers instantly recogised that our main character was at home, not at work. Therefore, we dressed him in jeans rather than smart trousers to give a more smart-casual look.
4. Socks - The fact that the man is wearing socks in his own home again reinstates that slightly upper class side to him and the fact that he is taking care of everything around him. It would seem like he cares more about making sure his carpet is not dirty than the lives of innocent women!
For the young girl, our main inspiration were the young girls visible on TV channels such as Disney Channel. They're always casual, wearing their pyjamas and are usually make-up less. This gives off an innocent look, which was the aim with the young girl.

For the young girl, there are a few specific costume choices:

1. Hair - One casting issue we had was that our 'young girl' is actually played by 20 year old. In order to make her look young, we put her hair in pony-tails as this is a trend most commonly adopted by young children.
2. Pyjamas - As the girl is in bed, we thought it would be most appropriate if she is wearing pyjamas. The viewers never properly see her choice of pyjamas in the opening sequence which made it easier for us to dress her.
3. Make-Up - Our young girl is not wearing any make-up, another approach adopted to make her look younger as many young children also do not wear make-up.