Character Discussion - Miss Miller

Character Discussion

Introduction

 Carrying out a group discussion regarding the characters we will include in our thriller opening sequence was an important process that was essential my group and I took part in. During our group discussion we were able to decide on various personal traits of each character such as age, gender and a general background overview. For each or the characters we will include we  each put forward our own ideas on traits we wish each character to posses. 

Victim One

The first character to be killed in our thriller opening sequence is Gemma. She is the character seen driving the car before it breaks down. Gemma is a young blonde female in her late teens. She is portrayed to the audience as bubbly, outgoing and not so intelligent. The character traits that we gave to this character make her a convention of the thriller genre as it would be considered typical to use a young blonde female as they are stereotypically seen as stupid and vulnerable, a combination which ultimately leads to the character becoming a victim. Gemma is portrayed as bubbly and outgoing as it gives her a reason for getting herself into a dangerous situation as she doesn't appear afraid of possible threats either due to her lack of intelligence or outgoing personality. Therefore she ends up alone in a forest being followed and then killed by the antagonist whereas her friend who is portrayed as slightly more timid remains in the car, in an area which is more so less dangerous due to the dull but still apparent street lighting.

Victim Two

Holly is Gemma's friend who has accompanied her to go to a party. Holly is also a female in her late teens. She is brunette and dressed in smart/casual party clothing to highlight the girls are on their way to a party. Holly  is Gemma’s best friend and the passenger in the car that breaks down. She also is a young female who is in her teens. She is a conventional character of the thriller genre because she also will be portrayed as  a vulnerable female victim that tends to be typically found within thriller films.  Even though Holly is not murdered in the opening sequence, she is remains one of the main victims because she, in addition to Gemma, is being stalked by the antagonist. Furthermore, the character will be seen wearing smart/casual party clothing to make it clear to the audience what the girls are up to driving around late at night which again depicts her as vulnerable. Her gender would be conventional of the thriller genre, taking into consideration she's a victim, however unlike Gemma, Holly doesn't go off into the forest foolishly on her own. She's presented to the audience as an intelligent to contrast Gemma's character. Gemma is stereotypically presented as blonde, fun, and slightly unintelligent whereas Holly is portrayed as the smart brunette, which is why she waits in car for Gemma to return.

Antagonist: Unknown Identity

As a group, myself, Chloe and Miranda thought it would be a good idea to incorporate the theme of hidden identity within our thriller opening sequence. Therefore the identity of the antagonist is not revealed during the entire sequence.  The audience will be unaware of who the antagonist is throughout the opening sequence and will not know what his  intentions or motives are but they will be able to establish a relationship with the antagonist as they will view parts of the sequence through his perspective using P.O.V. shots.  The gender of the antagonist is male which is usually very typical of the thriller genre. The audience will not be aware that the antagonist  is a male which will generate enigma as the audience find themselves asking yet another question which is the gender. However, towards the end of the opening sequence the audience will see the back of the antagonist as he walks away from the scene of the crime. He will be wearing a black hoodie and dark clothing. We chose black clothing as it would be considered conventional to the thriller genre because black connotes death and darkness. Furthermore, hiding the antagonists identity from the audience and from the characters would be  typical of the thriller genre as this creates the conventional thriller audience response of suspense for the audience.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the characters that the group and myself  have decided to include in our opening thriller sequence are conventional to the thriller genre because the antagonist has a conventional hidden identity and there are two young female victims who are blatantly portrayed as vulnerable prior to the first attack which therefore causes the genre of our opening sequence to become obvious to the audience. Using time to plan the characters we will include in our thriller opening sequence has helped us, as a group to generate imagery regarding what the characters are going to be like and how we are going to present them on screen when we come to filming.