Character profiles - Laura & Mark

Sam's character profile...

Dialogue:

• During the scene of the second flashback, we thought carefully about Sam's dialogue. He has used repetition of the sentence :"I do like it". This shows he does not know what else to say, and that he is perhaps intimidated by her. The body language furthers this as we see he flinches throughout this scene, once when he is being hit by the pillow, another when she does not actually go to hurt him, but she pulls her arm back. This also shows his scared feelings, and the fact that it is repeated allows the audience to infer that it has now become a natural reaction for him to flinch from her, suggesting her abusive nature. We will have him flinching throughout the later flashbacks to reiterate this. 

Body Language: 

• He shows confident body language when he is with his friends, as well as in the dialogue, as they often call each other "mate" showing comradery. But also with the way they say they will "go out on the pull", this suggests that they are stereotypical 'lads' who go out with each other, 'picking up girls'. He even appears confident at home, when he is by himself, as he shows independence with the way he is staying at home by himself, cooking dinner. This is even shown with the way he says "cheers mum", he is showing a close family relationship. This confident body language reflects his confident characteristic and also shapes the way the audience feel about him. We  

Amy's character profile...

Dialogue:

• When filming we thought carefully about her dialogue, an example is the first flashback, when Amy walks in after texting her mum. Originally we had her say "I've asked my mum if I can stay late", we then wanted to shorten this sentence as it wasn't important, so we then had her say "mum said I can stay late". However after analysing the lexis in this sentence, we realised there is no powerful language to show Amy's dominance. In the end we changed this part of the script and reshot the scene, with Amy saying "I've told mum I'll be home late". This an assertive declarative showing her dominance, even in her family life, not just in their relationship. The contractions used throughout the script also reiterate the social group we are representing: teenagers. This is because contractions are perceived as an element of informalisation which is predominant amongst teen slang. This will contrast with the language that the news presenters use because as part of their occupation they need to use formal language.