Planning Characters - Miss Miller

The purpose of characters within a film is so that the narrative can be produced and be interesting. If there were no characters, there wouldn't be a narrative because the story couldn't progress and the audience would find it boring to watch. The characters are very important because the way they are presented to the viewers is the way that they will judged. For example, their clothing, the way they talk (attitude) and their background. Characters are introduced to the narrative so that the audience can form a bond to them and their emotions are heightened when something happens to them. If the characters are upset, the audience get upset because they feel sympathy for them. If the character is happy, the viewers automatically feel happy for them. It is as if the audience know the character themselves, but in reality, they don't.

Within our thriller opening sequence, there are 3 characters. The characters will be introduced below:

The first character i will be discussing is a male hostage/hitman named Mark. Within this opening sequence Mark will be around the age of 21, he will be White British. I have made Mark a male because this fits in well with conventions and how this is stereotypical when he kills the woman as men are made to look superior compared to women. As my age certificate is 15, i believe that Mark will appeal to my audience as he is still quite young himself, he is dressed as some teenagers dress, so they will be able to relate to him. Within the scene, Mark will be wearing a plain white shirt, which will have some stains and will be untucked, this will show that he is unprepared and scruffy looking. As he looks scruffy, i believe that this will show that he is confused and will then show the audience that he is not the real antagonist. He will also be wearing black trousers. The use of the black and white can show that he is bad and good at the same time, again, highlighting that he is not the real antagonist. There is no known relationship between Mark and the 'C'. The audience will first see him at the beginning of the narrative as he wakes up in an unknown location. The antagonist of the plot would like Mark to kill his wife. Mark agrees to do so after he is given photos and is promised money. However, if he fails to do the task, there will be 'serious consequences'. This will be shown on the screen with a series of flashes taking place, this will build up the excitement and tension. This character is included within the narrative to keep the audience gripped to their seats as they wonder whether he will actually do the deed or not. The viewers will see that the hitman has already developed amnesia and they will never find out how he developed it in the first place. He will be portrayed as a very quiet, violent and lonely man. He doesn't have many lines within the sequence and this helps to present him as mysterious to the audience. Mark will appeal to the audience even though he does murder the wife, he is very mysterious to them, they want to dig deeper into his life to see why he was so quick to agree to murdering the innocent woman. Once the deed has been done, the audience will not like Mark as they believe that the murder wasn't necessary.

The next character i will be talking about is C. Cole is the husband/antagonist of the opening sequence. He will be 25 within this piece. Cole is also White British. I have made C a mystery character so that the viewers can picture him the way they want to. I believe that this character fits in well with my age certificate of 15 because it allows the audience to really think deep, and let their imagination run wild, at 15 and above, teenagers are able to think creatively, therefore, they will really be able to think when watching my opening thriller sequence. This will then allow them to use their imaginations instead of just being given the character on screen. The clothing that 'C' is wearing will not be shown as this person is only shown on a text. The audience will never find out this information however, because 'C' texts Mark. He wants someone else to do his dirty work for him because he is scared he will be blamed for her murder. This character is included within the sequence to thrill the audience, as well as scare them, they will react negatively to him when he is first shown as a text because he is clearly the villain of the story. He will make the audience feel very uncomfortable and he will be the reason for all of the negative emotions that the viewers will release when he is seen as a text. He is portrayed as soulless and dangerous. The audience will not build a relationship with 'c' because he is not shown on the screen, however, they will fear him because they do not know what he is capable of doing, they know that he wants his wife killed, so the viewers feel as though he could do anything. C will not appeal to the audience as they are left wondering why he would want his wife dead, also, they presume that he is a man due to the way that he is talking and acting. This is conventional because the audience are used to seeing a male antagonist, therefore believing that C is male.

The wife of the antagonist is also the female victim within this opening sequence. Her name and age is unknown to the audience. She is also White British. I have made the wife young looking so that the younger viewers can like her, they will quickly feel sympathy for her even though they do not see much of her, also, they will feel empathy because they are the same age as her. I know that my viewers will be teenagers due to the fact that my age certificate is 15. So, this will attract that sort of age to watch my film. The wife will be wearing a plain white/cream top to highlight innocence, as well as jeans. This clothing will help to represent her as innocent and angelic because she is wearing what most people wear, highlighting that she is just a normal person. This character is included within the sequence because she is the female victim that no one thinks should die although what she did was wrong. As there is a female victim involved, it is conventional to the thriller genre, because female victims are almost always scene in a thriller film. She is only shown when the hitman kills her, aswell as the photos that the hitman is given. This character will appeal to the audience because she is the female victim. Automatically, the audience feel sorry for her, they feel sorry for her because she has just died in her own home, and they also feel sympathy due to the fact that she didn't deserve to die. As she is young looking, the younger viewers will take a liking to her, even though she doesn't have much screen time. Due to her dying, the audience automatically obtain an emotional attachment to her in her part within the clip, so the relationship that they have is weak because the audience do not see enough of her to gain a strong attachment. However, as she is normal looking, they begin to imagine themselves in the same position which makes them feel sympathy towards her. Within the thriller genre, it is almost always the female that is the victim, and therefore makes it easier to know who will be the victim when the hitman enters the house.

In conclusion, i believe that my characters will be very conventional because they are typically seen within the thriller genre. This will help me to create a successful sequence because i have included what people like to see within thriller films. Therefore, they will take a liking to it quickly. I also believe that my opening sequence will appeal to the audience as my audience will most likely be the same age as the characters. It is important to plan your characters so that you are able to picture exactly how they look and you are able to know what they should do to the audience when they see them on the screen.