Atychiphobia
(fear of failure)
Target Audience: Teenagers
Conventions:
Character: Main character will be a nervous girl, constantly displaying a miserable attitude, dancer/or singer, dressed in dark clothing - but not black navy? self doubt and conflict within her to know if she is good enough or not
Villain that lurks in the shadows, face will never be seen completely covered with a hoodie or not seen until the end of the film. Represents the typical villain that lurks in the darkness and works from behind the scenes
Close up shots: Can create anxiety and confrontation. Show detail. Example: Sweat on the girls face, body movement
Eerie and suspenseful atmosphere brought by both non diegetic and diegetic sound. Diegetic sound will be most important because it will let the audience hear what the actors hear - examples: heavy breathing of villain behind the scenes and dancer, music that goes with dance - Non-diegetic sound - crash - at the end of sequence before title flashes across the screen to show that something significant to the film has begun
Mirror - Girl stares into the mirror and it reflects how she feels inside, who she really is
Non diegetic music - drums and guitars with long pauses that create suspense
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Plot Synopsis
The opening will begin with a sequence of different scenes that will later be important in the film - The sanctuary (stage and audience) backstage, bathroom, pathway - high angles, low angles, panning
Main Character - Sasha 1 - walking toward the sanctuary where her sanctuary will be - long shot, no camera movement
Main Character - Sasha 1 - walking toward the sanctuary where her sanctuary will be - long shot, no camera movement
She’ll be on the phone, close up when she says “But what if I fail?”
Cuts to black screen where the title will be presented
When the title fades, we cut to a mid shot of Sasha 1 behind a curtain
Close ups on certain features of her - sweaty hands, face again
- Voice heard in background “Sasha Peters? Sasha?”
Camera tracks her feet as she walks on stage
Camera Pans from in front of stage watching as she walks to the centre
Spotlights are placed directly on her and the judges are submersed in darkness
Camera shows Sasha 1’s point of view as she stands on stage looking out to the empty stadium - heavy breathing heard (diegetic)
P.O.V of Sasha 2 backstage as S1 introduces herself
camera pans around curtain and we see S2 backstage
Low angle shot of S1 dancing - Lights and music cuts off and everything goes black
Lights in bathroom flicker on/off - effects edited over the top
Shot 1 - Side on
Shot 2 - Over the shoulder into the mirror as she looks up and sees her own face then fades to black
Bathroom scene mirror girl with jumper looks up and sees herself
cuts off --- credits
CHARACTERS AND NAMES
Ballerina: Sasha 1 on stage (S1) (Zoe Harris? Lizzy?)
Costume:
- Ballerina dress (light)
- Tutu
- Point shoes
- Hair in bun
Relationships with other characters:
S2: S1 is the “light” version of Sasha Pieterse. S1 is ignoring S2 and effectively pushing her to back, shoving her out of the spotlight, out of her mind, and into the dark- literally.
Purpose: Sasha 1 is the good dancer and the girl who is “stealing the show”. She is in the spotlight and she has been selected to audition for a top dance academy, yet nervous about her performance not being good enough. She is doubting herself and her abilities as we see in the film as she turns out to be her own worst enemy.
Girl in hoodie: Sasha 2 (S2) (same girl)
- Hoodie
- Dark clothes
Relationships with characters:
S1: S2 is crouching behind the curtain, trying to sabotage S1’s performance. S2 represents her self doubt and her own fears and failures and therefore is escence criticizing herself and fighting a battle in her mind.
Purpose: S2 is the “dark” version of Sasha. She represents her doubts and her fears. S2 is the insecure side of Sasha and is actually the side of her we see come out during the phone call when she asks “but what if i fail?”
Judges:
- 3 of them
- Clipboard
- Formal attire
Relationship with Sasha:
They are assessing and judging Sasha's performance to see whether or not she is good enough for the dance school. They are now another element of criticism in Sasha’s world, making her feel closed in and nervous about being in the spotlight.
Purpose: They are assessing and judging Sasha's performance to see whether or not she is good enough for the dance school.
COSTUMES AND PROPS LIST
Sasha 1: Ballet skirt and tutu to represent her “fitting the role” and “playing the part” of the ballerina. It represents the pristine nature and character of Sasha 1 and by having her be a ballerina, who have every single strand of hair and move perfect and nothing is out of place, it shows us how she puts forward a mask of being perfect and having it all together: whereas actually, revealed at the end, we see that this is not the case.
By the end, Sasha 1 and 2 form into 1 Sasha, and as explained above, we see that this whole time she was the one sabotaging herself. Sasha’s hair is let loose and becomes ruffled and crazy, representing her mind- chaotic and a mess, and her make up is smudged from tears to show her distress and brokenness.
