2.2

First Response:

The character Cheryl West in the television series Outrageous Fortune is a significant character, and through the use of Camera angles and Costuming it was made clear she played an important part in the narrative and helped me develop a first impression of her character. 


Camera angles are very important in the process of creating a film or television show. One angle is a low angle shot, which is where the camera looks up at the subject, giving a sense of power, dominance and intimidation to the subject, who in this case is the character Cheryl West. The use of the low angle shot in the scene where Cheryl is talking to her daughter Pascalle about her modelling portfolio in their family bathroom, gives us as the audience the impression that Cheryl has a lot more power over Pascalle, and that Pascalle is a lot weaker and more vulnerable in comparison. We're influenced by this low angled shot to have this impression of Cheryl being a fierce and strong character, as looking up at her makes her seem larger and more intimidating. From what we have seen of Cheryl in this first episode, as an audience we can come to the conclusion that her character will be the strength behind her family, and will enforce changes for the better, and not be called on it because of the power and dominance we've seen that she possesses. The use of the low angle shot also gives us the idea that Cheryl feels very strongly about herself, and has a lot of confidence in herself and the way she handles situations, as this is how we see her because of the camera angle.

Costume is very important in the process of creating a film or television show, as it helps give us the idea of the characteristics and personality that the character possesses. In this narrative, costume is used to give us an impression of the character Cheryl and give us an understanding of the kind of person she is. An example of the use of costume is in the scene where Jethro is having his capping. The rest of the West family haven't bothered to change out of the clothes they had been wearing for the duration of the episode, whereas Cheryl makes the effort of putting on a dress and doing her hair and makeup special for the occasion. This tells us that Cheryl cares a lot more about her appearance than the others in the family, and also that she cares about dressing up for something that she considers special. This also tells us that Cheryl is also very proud of Jethro, as she wants to celebrate his capping and look nice, rather than just wearing the casual everyday clothes the other West's are wearing, because she cares greatly about the success Jethro has achieved. From what we have seen from the use of costuming in this first episode, as an audience we can make the assumption that Cheryl will continue to be well dressed and caring about the way in which she dresses and presents herself, which shows that she has self respect and cares about the way other people see her.


In conclusion, these two narrative features - Camera angles and Costume - helped in creating an impression of Cheryl and giving the audience an expectation as to the development of her character. With the use of these narrative features we can come to the conclusion that Cheryl West will be an important role throughout the series, and will remain a strong willed and self respecting character who cares strongly for and is dominant over her family.