Analysis of characters
- 2. We used three A level drama students to feature in our thriller opening. After explaining the script to them, we gave them five minutes to understand the story and get in character. Due to the elimination of the usual preparation time for a performance, the acting resulted in a performance very true to reality, which is the product we aimed for. For the ‘girl running down the corridor’ we approached a student from our year and asked if she would feature; to which she agreed. We asked this girl as she is a student in real life and would suit the setting of a school.
- 3. Jess’ character is positive and upbeat. She engages in a long conversation with Charlotte when she is undecided of what to wear to the party at the weekend. These features of her charcter portray her as a typical teenager. Jess is also the character who shares the unexplained vision of the girl running down the corridor. This similarity to Ellie’s dreams comforts Ellie. Her body language is very realistic. This is due to the limited preparation time which we purposefully gave to produce acting as true to life as possible. Jess is shown as the character who links all three girls; this is enforced by her positioning in the middle.
- 4. Ellie’s character is seen as quiet and pre- occupied. She is constantly fiddling with her fingers showing she is nervous. She is also hunched over portraying her as an unsure character. This behaviour is explained when she describes her unexplained dreams. Ellie then seems to become more assured when Jess explains how she has been having similar visions. This is emphasised as she starts talking louder and faster to Jess when disussing ‘the girl running down the corridor’.
- 5. Charlotte’s character is very sociable. She is shown talking to Jess a lot when discussing a party at the weekend. Her body language is also very relaxed, showing she is confident in her surroundings. These features represent Charlotte as maybe the group leader due to her loud personality. This feature enhances the true-to-life portrayal for the characters we aimed to create. When Jess and Ellie are discussing their unexplained visions, Charlotte dismisses their worries and calls them ‘crazy’. Her irrespective behaviour mirrors many teenagers behaviour when regarding serious matters.
- 6. The girl always seen running down the corridor is played by Magaly, another fellow student. She is the feature of Jess and Ellie’s visions and evokes fear and tension in our thriller opening. The short clips of her running are shown to hint what could happen to the characters, but also create tension and mystery; a common convention of a thriller which was included in a lot of thriller openings we analysed. The way her face is never seen and the reason for her running also creates mystery and causes the audience to want to watch the whole film so they will find out, increasing success.