Planning Characters - Miss Miller

Chloe Eustace

Planning Characters

Introduction:

Characters are important within an opening sequence because without characters then there would be no story, because there would be no dialogue or plot that the story would follow. Without characters there would just be sets and settings and not much else to look at. Some films can benefit from a lack of characters however without their being characters then there wouldn't really be any dialogue, and the dialogue in films is what the audience follow because within dialogue there is a story line that is unravelled.

 

Victim 1: Gemma (The Driver)

We decided that the Gemma is our main victim and is in her teens, aged probably 17 or 18 and she is going to a party with her friend who is our 2nd victim. Gemma is a female victim which is conventional to the thriller genre because it is typical for the victim to be a female as they are perceived and seen as vulnerable by the audience so they are normally the target victim. She is blonde which again is conventional and typical to the thriller genre as a blonde female is again seen as vulnerable and stupid which is why she would be and is the main target of our antagonist. She is a student and students may be seen as stupid, still experimenting with life which is why she might be a target of the antagonist, presuming that she doesn't have anything really to loose. She is wearing throughout the opening sequence casual party clothes as she is going to a party which shows the audience that she is just a normal person who is going out, so when the she is targeted by the antagonist the audience will wonder why, she has been chosen and what is so special about her. Being dressed in party clothes tricks the audience into thinking that everything is okay for these two girls so when they are captured it creates more of a shock. Also the costume of the party clothes shows that she is a target for the antagonist as she looks normal and vulnerable, this is conventional to the thriller genre because the victims always are produced as the vulnerable target especially female victims which is again typical to the thriller genre.

Our Actress for the Role of Gemma was Amy Durrance 

Victim 2: Holly (Passenger)

Another character that we decided on as a group was Holly and she is Gemmas best friend and the passenger in the car that breaks down. She also is a young female who is in her teens, she is about 17 or 18 and she is going to the party in the car with Gemma. She is a conventional character of the thriller genre because she also is a vulnerable female victim that tends to be the target within thriller films. Although she is not going to be killed in the opening sequence she is still one of the main victims because she also is being followed by the antagonist like Gemma. Again she is wearing casual party clothes as she is going to the party with Gemma and again this portrays her as vulnerable. The fact that she is a female victim is typical of the thriller genre however she is a different type of character to throw the audience off as she can hold her own and she doesn't go off into the forest. Shes a smarter charcatetr than Gemma who is blonde and a bit dim whereas Holly is Brunette and doesn't fall for stupid ideas, which is why she waits by the car.

Our Actress for the Role of Holly was Molly Johnson

Antagonist: Unknown Identity

We decided that the antagonist in our opening thriller sequence is going to be hidden and have a hidden identity until the end. The audience don't know who the antagonist is throughout the opening sequence and don't know what his intentions are but they build a relationship with him because they see some things with in the sequence through his eyes as he is hidden behind the camera and some of it is shown from his PoV. He is a male antagonist which is typical of the thriller genre however the audience doesnt know that he is a male which throws them off as to what might happen in the rest of the sequence. The audience do however at the end of the scene see the back of the antagonist who is wearing a black hoodie and dark clothing. This is conventional to a thriller sequence because he is wearing a black hoodie and dark clothes which represent and signify to the audience death. The fact that he is hidden from the audience and from the characters is typical of a thriller film as this creates suspense for the audience and for the characters as they don't know that they are being followed.

Our Actor for the Role of The unknown antagoniost was

Conclusion

The characters that we have decided on for our opening thriller sequecne are conventional to the thriller genre because we have an antagonist that has a hidden identity and we have two female victims who are vulnerable and typical of the thriller genre, which I think makes the genre of our opening sequence obvious to the audience. Getting the opportunity to plan the characters has helped us as a group to know what the characters are going to be like and how we are going to present them on screen.