For Katniss’ (the main protagonist in the film) representation, I have chosen ‘clever’ and a ‘parental figure’.
In the film, Katniss is clever and cunning as she knows the way to survive throughout the games using water, shelter (hiding places) and warmth.
She is portrayed as quiet, independent and fierce. This adds to the sense of cunningness and slyness that is needed to be able to claim victory in the games.
Katniss also acts as a sister figure towards Rue (the youngest, timid character) as she says ‘reminds her of her sister’.
She looks after Rue throughout the games, partnering up to make a team. This shows that she still has feelings and does not like the whole idea of the games and being forced to kill others.
Peeta Mellark – Wimp, peaceful and clever
For Peeta’s representation in the film, I have chosen ‘wimp’ and ‘peaceful’ as the sub-categories.
In the film, Peeta is a charismatic character, which helps him during the games. He is also seen as caring, which means that he doesn’t want to kill, and would just run away and hide, and also have feelings for the main protagonist, Katniss, thus, being a ‘wimp’ and a ‘coward’ and ‘peaceful’ for not contributing to the games and the cameras filming him for entertainment.
Although, Peeta is a smart character who uses his limited skills in art to help camouflage him to hide and survive throughout the games.
Rue – Wimp, peaceful and clever
Rue’s representation in the film is similar to Peeta’s. Although, she is much younger than Peeta, she is very timid, shy and wary of others and her surroundings.
She uses her limited skills of tree-jumping carefully and easily throughout the games and to hide from her opponents.
I have used the word ‘wimp’ to describe her as she hides away in the trees and just waits whilst her competitors fight to the death, which in a way, is clever itself.
She is also peaceful in the fact that she is not worried or scared, but just shuts herself away from her surroundings and what’s happening around her.
Clove - Sadistic
For Cloves representation in the film, I have chosen ‘sadistic’. This is because, in the film, she has her eyes set on killing, and loves the idea of the Hunger Games. She loves to be centre of attention and even says ‘Let’s put on a good show for the cameras’, whilst torturing and trying to kill one of the other opponents in the games.
Clove is described as arrogant and strong. She is skilled with weaponry, mainly knives. This gives her a sense of dangerous and non-trustworthy personality. She is known not to miss her target.
We have a character in our film who we would classify as the clever woman in the narrative. I have chosen to analyse the character of Evelyne Salt (played by Angelina Jolie) in the 2010 thriller 'Salt' as I think this character is what we would most need to base our character on as it is a very good representation of an intelligent woman.
Below is the trailer for the movie released summer 2010:
Traits of Evelyne Salt we could use or replicate for our strong female character-
Authority - Salt is intelligent and uses this to show her control of the situation at the beginning especially and then again when she decides to use what she has learned to take control of the people who claim she is a spy. We could replicate this authorial role by simply making sure our character is confident and doesn't second guess themselves.
Athletic - our characters in the story have all been chosen to take part in the 'show' because they would put up a good fight. This means we need to replicate the ability to be active that Salt has in this film for our character to make sense.
Appearance - Throughout the film, Salt always looks good and groomed. Obviously, part of this is due to it being Angelina Jolie playing the role and the directors didn't want the leading role to look bad, but it also reflects the need for control of the character. Controlling qualities are often linked to intelligence because of the self control and dedication required to achieve academic results and the mise en scene of 'Salt' is reflecting this trait in Salt's character.
Sound -
'I'm Evelyne Salt' - her unwavering and slightly patronising tone shows her confidence and intelligence - she sounds as if she is laughing at his claim and isn't unnerved by his assured tone.
'Im innocent, someone is setting me up' - again the characters conviction and confident tone shows us that she is used to being listened to because she has something important, and worth listening to, to say.
The typical representation of a "wimp" is usually a cowardly geek who shies away from trouble or fights. Our character is going to play on these key traits; however as it is a thriller/action genre it will be different as most wimps are shown in the comedy genre. To start with I began by looking at the conventional comedic geek, which we could draw inspiration from.
The comedic 'wimp' character: Taken from the film Drilbit Taylor of Wende
Mise en scene:
The close up shot shows a stereotypical 'geeky' young boy, this is immediately identifiable as he is wearing un- fashionable clothing and glasses:
The costume choice adds to the overall impression of a character and the thin wire glasses used here are conventional of the 'geek' stereotype, as well as being traditionally associated with cleverness, they are also associated with being un cool, and 'nerdy' so it seems unlikely this character will be useful in a fight.
The close up shot also shows how thin the protagonist is, there is a lack of muscle connoting a lack of physical strength, a trait we should look for in the actor who plays our wimp character Malory.
Also, the facial expression of the character is a look of bemusement; he appears almost startled at the idea of a fight, showing his discomfort with the idea of violence.
Un-trendy hair style, classic of the conventional 'un-cool' wimpy kid and again exploits the same stereotype .
The appearance of the character, suggest that he would be useless and uncomfortable in a fight, a trait we are looking for in our character Malory.
Other representations of 'wimp figures within film's:
The above characters known as Pimpel and Ragetti, are portrayed as two comedic wimps in the thriller/comedy/action/fantasy film "Pirates of the Caribbean". They conform to the stereotypes commonly associated with cowardly characters, as they are often filmed running from danger:
As demonstrated in the above montage; the pair are often caught in ridiculous situations or are likely to draw the short straw. We can use similar, but less comical shots of our 'wimpy' character to give the audience a clue that he is unlikely to survive. The third image in the montage above, is a long shot of Pintel and Ragetti both wearing expressions of bemusement, adding to an idea that they aren't particularly clever or brave, we could use a similar facial expression in our film trailer.
For our character of the fatherly figure I will be analysing the character of Bryan Mills from the film 'Taken'. This is because Mill's characters holds many of the attributes that we wish to exploit and display in our father figure.
(Below is the trailer to the film Taken)
Traits of Bryan Mills' character that we could replicate:
Strength- The father in Taken constantly is depicted demonstrating his strength throughout the trailer, he exploits the stereotypes of a modern hero, (rescuing his daughter from distress). Similarly I think our character should have elements of this valiant nature too, as it appeals to an audience to have a strong lead character and this is also in keeping with our surveys results.
Protective - one of the key elements to the fatherly role, as is shown in the trailer above, particularly in the mid shot where the daughter is dragged from beneath the bed, is the idea of his determination to find and protect his daughter. I think this trait identifies with an older target audience, as it relies on the audience having an understanding of responsibility and care, which is ideal because our film trailer is aimed at mid teens and above.
Authoritative- Bryan Mills is an ex CIA agent and as such has a natural air of authority, although our character wont have the same background, he can still have a subtle authority among the other characters. Which we could show through use of levels or in the angles we use to film our characters for example if we film our father figure from a low angle, this will create the effect of making him seem physically higher than other characters and this is conventionally a sign of power and authority.
In command- Conventionally the common media image of a father figure is a leader figure, the character looked up to by others, and this trait we definitely want to exploit in the film trailer as we need someone to play a leader role.
Although our father figure may not actually be playing the role of an actual father he can still demonstrate these traits.
Sound/Dialogue -
"I will find you, and i will kill you" - demonstrates the idea of power and authority.
"I found him, he's dead." - emphasises his protective trait- he would go to the extreme of killing, to protect those he cares for.
"I would tear down the Eiffel Tower if I had to" - shows the trait strength and conviction. Two key traits our character will have.
The father figure in Akeldama is similarly to the character of Bryan, having to kill ,and use violence in order to for fill his role as a father, making most of the traits explored in taken transferable to our character. The traits above will help us when choosing an actor to play the role, and with script writing.
For our character of the sadistic woman I will be analysing the
character of The Bride from the film Kill Bill as I feel that she
holds the sadistic qualities we are looking for in Eris.
The main traits we can receive from the Bride are:
Her lack of care for the woman she inures
Her cold heartless nature
Her anger
Her lack of compassion
Her focus she holds on her victim
Her skill in fighting
Her cold stare
Even though she doesn't say anything, her character is very distinctive through her facial expression and movement in the scene which i think is a successful technique in showing a sadistic character.
The other sadistic character I am going to analyse is The Joker from Batman: The Dark Knight. His performance shows that he is psychotic and enjoys making people suffer which is why I think he is relevant to our character of Eris.
The main traits we can receive from the Joker are:
His enjoyment in making people suffer
His twitchy psychotic movements
The way he dresses up in a nurses outfit and wig - he is putting on a show
He hums a song which shows he is crazy and enjoying what he is doing
His lack of nerves
The scars on his face show past suffering
He often flicks his tongue out like a lizard - metal tendencies
He skips from the building as it explodes behind him - surreal and disturbed
His dialogue emphasises his traits, and there are some good ideas that could be used in our trailer
He says "Do I look like a man with a plan?" Shows he is impulsive and unpredictable
Throughout the film he keeps repeating "Wanna know how I got these scars" which shows he is affected my his past but proud that it has made him like he is.
His tone of voice remains always calm even when he is being attacked by batman.
He often laughs out loud to innapropriate things like talking about killing someone - shows how deranged he is.
I think that the Joker's tendency to want to put on a show and his enjoyment of other people suffering along with references to his past are all very good influences for our character of Eris.
For our character of the marksman I will be analysing the character of Private Jackson from the film Saving Private Ryan as I feel that he holds many of the qualities that we desire to show in our character of drake.
The main traits we can receive from private Jackson are:
His fearlessness
His trust in his weapon
His trust in God
His obedience
His speed and agility with his weapon
His calm attitude
His dialogue emphasises his traits, and there are some good ideas that could be used in our trailer
He speaks to his rifle when he is shooting several people at once. He says "Come on baby" which shows how much he values his sniper and personifies it to show he is putting his trust in it.
His quotes from the bible are also very emotive and effective, the scriptures chosen are extremely relevant and that shows how he is calm because he trusts that his God is looking after him. He says "My God I trust in thee, Let me not be ashamed, Let not my enemies triumph over me," and then he takes the shot.
These scenes with Private Jackson's dialogue are very iconic and give him very strong characterisation, which would be useful to apply to our character of Drake in our trailer.
