Character Planning- Main Character

In our thriller the main character is portrayed as a femme fatale due to her persona and the way that she dresses. She is known as Jessica and is only in her early-mid twenties which presents our first aspect of her personality which is that she is vulnerable due to the loss of her father which is made known to the audience towards the end of the opening. Everything about her appearance shows that she is vulnerable but it also connotes that she is quite broken and misunderstood. This is shown by everything about her appearance and also everything she owns being broken and messed up like her make-up but the only thing that isn't broken is the pocket watch which may symbolise hope for her but also the disbelief that her father is really gone. Her personality is quite defensive which is due to her vulnerability and never wanting to let anyone know how she feels especially about her fathers ''death'' which leads her to being defensive and quite standoffish towards other people who don't know her and perhaps even people that she does know.But to contrast her defensive, vulnerable state she can also be strong willed and stubborn toward people who try and help her. The last aspect of her personality is that she is damaged which is represented by her appearance and how she is trying to have some dignity when in reality she is lost and  everything about her is slightly ruined like her make up and her shoes which are slightly scuffed. It is also represented by the fact she is wearing a hoodie and not a coat while wearing a dress which stereotypically connotes class and dignity. This would be suitable for the audience as it would allow them to establish what type of character she is before the rest of the opening of the thriller.

Her attire is fairly simple yet at the same time made to be glamorous due to the dress and minimalistic jewellery that she is wearing which is a pair of old earrings to reflect the brokenness but at the same time the glamorous side of her. She is wearing a dark hoodie which connotes her loss of dignity but at the same time she is wearing a casual red dress which reflects how she is trying to remain glamorous but is struggling due to her bereavement and how she is lost in her life. She is also wearing worn out red/black heels which represents how broken she is and how damaged she is. With all these factors incorporated it establishes the character to the audience and makes them view her as troubled and broken. Her make-up is smudged and her hair is rough which presents her loss of dignity and that she is completely the opposite of what someone with glamour would look like. The character is established through the props which we took influence from Se7en when they use the items at the beginning to reflect what type of person the main character is. But we also took influence from Sin City when it comes to the main female character and how she is trying to be glamorous with the red dress and pearl earrings which are slightly tarnished. This would help to establish the character and connote that she is broken and vulnerable as well as strong willed and damaged.



The props that we are including are a pocket watch which is the main props that is used throughout the whole film. At the beginning is viewed as simple and something that has no meaning but towards the end the audience realises its worth and is suddenly viewed as a weapon. The pocket watch is the Chekhovs gun where as the envelope is the mcguffin as this makes the main character strive to move on in the opening. In the thriller opening we chose not to have many props to establish the character as her attire tells the audience what type of person she is. All of the props are broken or damaged which helps to establish what her life has been like to the audience but it also connotes the main character as being simplistic and minimalistic yet it represents her life as a whole. We decided to use an old phone as a prop because it shows the reality of her life and how un-glamorous she really is and that no matter how much she tries to stay classy and glamorous, in real life she isn't.

The first shot we see of this character is when she is looking into the mirror in the public toilets and is doing her make-up. We plan to use a variety of shots to showcase her putting on the various make-up but we also plan to use them to show the audience the significant parts of the story. The first shot starts to establish the lead character before the character is seen which lets the audience know part of the story before the opening has really started. This piece uses various influences like Se7en, Essex boys and Alice creed and Sin City in which we have taken various aspects from.