Character Development & Influence

As the group was practically all set to shoot, we began to deliberate over one of the most vital aspects of our five minute Thriller- the protagonist. We are essentially aware that within the confines of a short film, it is unlikely the audience will form bonds and thereby connect with this persona, so as a direct result, we plan on illustrating a figure with no back-catalogue, which in itself should formulate enigmas, as well as an air of mystery.

After some careful thought, we settled on the name Christian. Portrayed by our groups very own David Huxford, we have selected this name for a handful of reasons- Fundamentally due to the fact it is a conventional English name, which should raise deceiving pre-conceived notions of normality in our audience’s minds. Secondly, our audience should subconsciously link the name to religion, so when they closely analyse his contradictory mode of action, this should formulate some sense of irony- a trait we wanted to encapsulate within our short thriller.

The short as a whole revolves around the themes of trust, grief and the human mind. The name therefore could metaphorically anchor who the lead protagonist yearns to be, despite the fact that his life has moulded into something somewhat demented/ deluded etc.

In terms of his disposition, he is regarded as fairly erratic, and at times volatile. Despite this however, he is an intellectually stimulated human being, someone, who perhaps feels suffocated and crushed by this intense knowledge. This may sound somewhat vague; however, he yearns for that oblivious naivety that the vast majority of people do not seem to appreciate on a day-to-day basis.

The fact that the vast majority of shots selected within the 5 minute sequence will consist of long-shots of the protagonist, we could also argue that his tall/somewhat spindly Non-Verbal-Communication to convey signs of malnutrition. This could be one of the first pre-conceived notions the audience will formulate to suggest that he will inevitably commit suicide, despite the fact that he is the culprit. This should be fairly effective in the sense that Thriller’s are renowned for their enigmas; therefore questions will be raised as to how such a person could commit such a crime.

To anchor Christian’s mediocre, yet seemingly important life, it is vital to consider his place of residence, as it has to reflect his persona in a fitting way. For example, as his psyche is somewhat frenetic, nonetheless demanding, I could imagine his house would be littered with mess, but all the same day-to- day items that would be demanded on the proverbial week. Like his name, I can imagine the street would be extremely reflective, somewhere based in the suburbs, where nothing out of the ordinary would occur. Thereby, the climactic scene of death would be exemplified and magnified simply due to the normality of the house, the normality of the room, yet juxtaposed with a warped mind.

In terms of the Psychiatrist, we required a figure that could perhaps fit within the perceived stereotype of a psychiatrist. Therefore we pursued fellow student Dr. George Austin- your typical male psychiatrist, with the conventional, visual allure to suggest he leads a financially steady life alongside the nuclear family, with little or no troubles. This conformist nature is the exact stereotype that protagonist Christian would internally despise, which is the controlling idea behind our short. This typical stereotype should reflect his dialogue/psyche as well, to the extent where it sounds as if he is treating Christian more like a number opposed to a person, which should eventually lead to his peril.

The influence for this comes from 1960s TV show The Prisoner, in which the main character is only referred to as "Number 6". This spawned the famous quote "I am not a number, I am a free man!" and could be seen as a protest of individualism against a world where to be seen as different is bad. An underlying theme of our character will show elements of this, as part of the reason he is seeing a psychiatrist could be because he feels outcast.

Another film which has influenced us is 2001: A Space Oddyssey. Although not a 'character' in the traditional sense, HAL 9000 is a rather scary vision of how computers may one day be the downfall of mankind. The reason it is influential to our film is that, much like HAL, our psychiatrist seems to be there to help his patient and would never harm him. However, it turns out that he has a sinister dark side. In the case of HAL, this means sacrificing the crew for the good of the mission. In the case of the psychiatrist, it is not clear what his motive is, however the idea is much the same; and made even creepier by the juxtoposition of his psychotic motive against his calm, boring voice.