Planning: Character Representation - Mrs. Quinlan

Introduction: Discuss the importance of character representations in thrillers:

Character 1:

Name: Jaime Anderson

Character role: Antagonist

Age: 19

Gender stereotype of role: The stereotype for this role is a white male, his facial expressions are usually very stern and plain. This could represent depression or anger. The antagonist is usually wearing a suit or is dressed very sharply, this is to present a sense of order in his life, usually the antagonist has a certain goal to achieve, by evil means.. Further stereotypes are that these characters are very sadistic, and focussed, they do not care who gets in their way as long as they do whatever they feel they need to, they do not portray normal emotions and have monotonous feelings, this could present and unstable mindset or psychotic character.

Costume: We will stick to the stereotype and our antagonist will be dressed sharply with a suit and tie, but depending on our actor and the availability of these props, we may go with just a simple shirt and tie, this will be used to show that our character was just at a funeral, and to show he is a smartly dressed man. We will hopefully be able to portray our character with a white shirt and a black tie, with a black blazer, as this is typical wear for a funeral. This will then change as the antagonist is in his house he will remove his tie and put on a different jacket. the character does this quickly and without showing any sort of sadness as if he has just been to a funeral, it will look very casual to him as if he has done this several times before without showing grief directly after a funeral.

Hair and makeup: The antagonist's hair will be cleanly combed and neat, to show he has a sense of order and therefore a goal to achieve. He will be pale white and we may use makeup or editing to show this, to show that he has no emotion in his face, which will be in combination with his bland facial expression.

Body language and facial expression: The antagonist's body language will be very sharp and he will stand up straight, although he will look distracted as if something is always on his mind, which will present his unstable state of mind. Despite this, he will not look confused as he knows what he is doing, or at least he thinks he does. The antagonist's body language presents confidence and the fact he currently does not have any problems, but only goals, he strives for what he wants and he will get it done. He will walk in a very orderly fashion and show no slowing down or confusion. In the scene where he believes he has seen a figure in the dark, he will still hold a straight face as he is more likely to be angry that someone is in his home rather than scared, as a home is somewhere where people can be safe and comfortable.

Role within the narrative: The antagonist has the most important role within the narrative, if the film were to continue, it would be centered around him and it would show his victims and how he has come to this point and how his mind has become fearfully unstable. This character will show no reaction to dead bodies around his house, or show any emotion throughout the opening, his character is extremely peculiar and is vital to the narrative.

Audience response: The audience will feel fearful throughout the opening from the first shot of the character, they would be very confused due to the start of the opening with the graveyard. This will continue as he enters his house and there will be a more frightened reaction from the audience as he casually handles furniture with blood and simply walks past dead bodies as if they aren't there. He is very casual around frightening things and this will instill fear into the audience as this is psychotic behaviour and is far from the norm.

Character 2: Anti-hero/ Victim

Name: Trang Lam

Character Role: Character role will be played by me, I am playing the anti-hero in the short thriller opening in which was the victim before hand. After been brutally murdered by this mystery man who plays our antagonist and main character, I stalk him for what it looks like, vengeance. The audience are not able to straight away infer that I'm stalking him for that reason but it's not really necessary for a detailed narrative as it's just the opening. Slim build and white skin show vulnerability however my dark, jet black hair show that I also have dark intentions.

Age: 18. My age will be 18 because it is a typical age where teens are victimised. Old enough to be out independently but still very young to take advantage of.

Gender Stereotype of role: My gender stereotype would be a young teenage girl. Some what a pretty girl who carefully takes care of herself. The reason why she is a girl is because conventionally, females are not able to protect themselves as well as men are because of physical strength they have, therefore females are always chosen to be victims over males. As an anti-hero as well as being a victim before, I have dark black hair to portray that I also have dark intentions. Furthermore, my decisions I make during the opening might not be the best decision but that's what anti-heroes usually do for the greater good.

Costume: For my costume, I have white pale skin and white clothing to suggest that I am victim. This demonstrates to the audience that I am victim as it conventionally portrays my character as a vulnerable, innocent and pure girl. Moreover, connotations show my vulnerability as the denotations of my white dress and pale skin denote that I am dead. Usually corpses have pale skin due to the lack of sun expose to their skin. Despite my pale skin and white clothing, I also have jet black hair that further portrays that I am not as innocent as before, demonstrating I have dark intentions towards to antagonist. Being an anti-hero now, my identity is typically hidden from the audience which creates further mystery and tension as they are not able to workout who this mystery figure is, my face will be covered by make-up and hair that will curtain over my eyes. I will also have circle contact lens to make my eyes appear bigger and creepy to not just frighten the audience but to show that I've risen from the dead.

Hair and Make-up: My hair will be jet black, straighten to its full length to cover my face which is also covered with white make-up and black under eyes showing that I am in fact un-dead. It'd be a connation of wiped make-up and further portraying that I've been crying from my other life. I will also have red blood-shot eyes to show my anger, connoting death and danger.

Body Language and Facial Expression: Body language of my character will be quite neutral, an upright body language and neutral facial expression to further demonstrate that I am dead, an individual that has no emotions or feelings whatsoever because I've been murdered.

Role within narrative: I play a pass victim that has been murdered by the antagonist but who has risen from the dead as an anti-hero to take revenge on my killer. I stalk him throughout the opening making small and subtle appearances in the scenes.

Audience Response: The audience response to me should initially be quite chilling and scared at first because they don't know who I am just yet due to my hidden identity. As my character particularly does look terrifying with her pale face and big, black eyes, the audience might feel quite terrified towards because they haven't yet learned why I'm here. Feeling pity for the antagonist as his being stalked by this ghostly figure, this might all change when the witness the dead bodies scattered around his house to which then the audience learn that he is in fact the antagonist and not the protagonist. When they have learnt this, they will feel a sense of relief as the ghostly figure is stalking a bad man, having her reasons why she's doing this.

Character 3: Victims

Name: Christine, Cee-Jay, Hasan

Character Role: Their character roles portray them as victims of the antagonist. After also brutally murdered by the cruel antagonist, the victims lay dead in the house lifeless. The victims that are scattered around the house inform the audience that the antagonist is a psychotic killer which will make the audience feel uneasy and uncomfortable as the antagonist walks around his house without one single expression on his face.

Age: Age of these victims vary from 17-19 which also tell the audience that they are young people who are not able to defend themselves as well as a grown man and woman can.

Gender Stereotype of Role: Gender stereotypes of victims can vary from females to males however most victims are generally white because the audience would feel more sad towards their death to any other ethnic group.

Costume:The victims wear bright coloured clothing especially the colour white that really contrasts when you see themselves drenched in their own blood. When the colour of deep, blood red is placed onto a white coloured clothing, the audience are able to almost immediately see this telling them that these are the victims. The brightly coloured clothing also connotes their vulnerability and innocence making them the easy target for the antagonist.

Hair and Make-Up: For female victims, they often have light make-up put on perfectly. Usually very pretty which further makes the audience feel sorry for this victim. They often have neatly brushed hair that falls effortlessly on their shoulders making them also an easy target as they look innocent and vulnerable. For male victims, they usually look very vulnerable looking with also neatly brushed hair and a bright face where you are able to see every single feature. Moreover with their bright faces the audience are able see clearly demonstrates that they've got nothing to hide.

Body Language: Body language for victims are usually smaller than a usual person. Their body language often shows vulnerability by curling up into a ball making them look small and innocent. This is why the audience are able to infer that they are victims as they are not able to defend themselves. However in our thriller opening 'One Of Us', the body language on our victims are relaxed as they are conscious and dead.

Audience Response: The audience may feel very upset when they see these young victims scattered on the floor which makes them hate the antagonist even more for doing this.

Conclusion: In conclusion, it is important for the way characters are represented in films. Although Hollywood and most movies are currently dominated by white males, who play lead characters and significant roles. 'Whitewashing' is also a controversial problem in film currently as this leads to characters being wrongly represented by the wrong ethnic group, this could offend minorities especially if there is not a lot of diversity in film. An example of whitewashing is in Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) where Christian Bale, a white, english actor portrayed a character of Egyptian origins. Therefore we have learnt that we will not have an all white cast but try to include ethnic minorities in both our significant roles and lesser significant roles.