Creating Characters

In todays lesson, we were set the task of coming up with the name, and background, of three different characters from some pictures that we were given. I came up will Bill Barret, Chelsea Flegg, and Jeremy Anderson.

  

Bill Barret

Age - 20

Marital Status - Single (has a girlfriend)

Occupation - Car mechanic at dad's business, because his parents expect him to carry on with the family run business.

Previous job - None (was a student and went straigh to dads business)

Residency - with mum and dad

Family life - both parents, rich, doesnt get on with them

Close friends - girlfriend, best friend from high school, and his cousin that is the same age

Where is this person right now? - in a mechanics shop buying supplies, watching an advert about broadway

Who are they with? - nobody other than the cashier

where were they at 10pm last night? - at a party very drunk

Who were they with? - girlfriend, cousin, best friend from high school

Where do they see themselves in 5 years? - deep down wants to become a major star on broadway

Chelsea Flegg

Age - 25

Marrital Status - Single (with boyfriend)

Occupation - Record store clerk and charity shop/animal centre volunteer

Previous Jobs - Trained to be a doctor, lost interest when she met her boyfriend

Residency - With abusive boyfriend in a small 1 bedroom flat in Soho

Family Life - Very close with (rich) parents. "Daddy's little girl". Pretends everything is ok in her relationship

Close Friends - Doesnt have any. Lost them when she took all her time up with her boyfriend

Where is this person right now? - In the city centre after arguing with her boyfriend

Who are they with? - Nobody. She doesn't have any friends

Where were they at 10pm last night? - Trying to rekindle friendship with ex-best friend, reason she was arguing with her boyfriend

Who were they with? - Oldest friend 

Where do they see themselves in 5 years? - Would like to be out of the abusive relationship with all her friends back. But in reality doesnt think she will be able to do it.

Jeremy Anderson

Age -54

Marrital Status - Married

Occupation - Lawyer

Previous Jobs - None

Residency - With wife and grandchildren stay over at the weekends

Family Life - Wife, 2 kids, 4 grandchildren. Close family, have family gatherings/meals together

Close Friends - Co-workers, family friends for 40 years, wifes best friends husband

Where is this person right now? - With the family at an amusement park

Who are they with? - Entire family

Where were they 10pm last night? - Having an affair

Who were they with? - His secret partner

Where do they see themselves in 5 years? - Married to secret partner

After we had come up with 3 characters from these pictures, we had to select 1, and then write a synopsis for the characters plot line of our choice. I chose to pursue Bill Barret.

The Expectation

Bill Barret is the average 20 year old male. Was well known in high school with an underlying love for drama and music. But once he left school, he was only left with 3 true friends. One being his girlfriend, another being  his cousin. Now he's stuck working at his dad's mechanics business, with the expectation, of his not so loving, parents to one day take over the family business. Butm is this was he really wants? Will he follow his dream, and fight his fears to become the forever aspired vision of being a Broadway star?

Protagonist - Bill Barret - On a journey to be on Broadway

Antagonist - Parents - Don't want him to do what Bill wants, want him to run the family business

Father - Bill's dad - Decides so support his son on what he wants to do, and gets him an application

Helper - Bill's girlfriend - Always encouraging Bill to do what he wants

Donor - Head teacher of NYADA - Gives him a place at the college

Looking at Screenings

Screening 1: A Day In The Life Of... (Level 1, 23 marks)
Held shot steady where appropriate
Titles used appropriately
Music was appropriate
Minimal shot differences (point of view shot used a lot)
It was quite "samey"

Screening 2: The Promise (Level 3, 45 marks)

Variety of camera shots
Fitting music
Sets the story line
Lighting was thought about
Appropriate titles
Dialogue scenes not filmed on the same day, different weather, was windy - hard of hearing

Screening 3: Amazing Grace (Level 3, 39 marks)

Appropriate music, and lighting, added to the spooky/horror genre
Joining of the music was out in places
Cuts between shots were quite quick
Was more like a music video opposed to an opening
Didn't make that much sense

Screening 4: Four Walls (Level 4, 51 marks)

Large variety of shots
Appropriate setting - mise-en-scene
Is clearly an opening for a film - doesn't look like a trailer/music video
Editing meant was apparant
Dialogue and mouth movements were out of sync in some areas

Screening 5: One Way Out (Level 4, 51 marks)

Colour scheme and lighting supported the genre

Large variety of shot types

Dialogue was out of sync in some areas

Screening 6: Moving On (Level 4, 49 marks)

Well thought out

Lots of effort put in

Stop motion used - keeps it interesting

different camera angles

When I make my coursework piece, I think that I would like to give the stop motion effect, a go. This is because I believe it instantly makes the film look more interesting. However, when using this techinique, I need to ensure that it fits with the genre which I choose, because this could have a very big impact on its effectiveness. 

I haven't had any ideas on what genre I want my coursework to be, or of what it will entail, however I am aware that it needs to be something original, that is going to be as new to the examiner as possible, so I have the chance of getting the top grades.

Mise-en-scene

   

In this still from the film Twilight, the mise-en-scene has many elements.I'm going to begin my analysis with the most obvious element within the frame, the characters/actors. The actors which they chose were not well known when this film was released back in 2008, so with the story line being that Edward, the main character played by Robert Pattinson, is a vampire, they needed a low lying, aspiring actor which looked quite scary and dark, that could have "theoretically" have the possibility of being a vampire (even though we know in the real world they do not exist, the creators had to make it as believable as possible). The actress which plays Bella, Kristen Stewart, was also not well known at the time. With Bella being written as a moody, self-suffiecient, lonely teenager, Kristen was able to reflect this character, as not many people knew who she was, and she has quite a dark, sullen side side to her acting, and her own personality.
      Another element of this still is the facial expressions on both of the characters. Starting with Bella, she has an eager look on her face, signifying the lust that she has for Edward as he is "the man of her dreams" and also "irresistable". Another way her facial expression could be interpreted is as worried. This could be because that she is standing before a vampire, and as we know, vampires live off blood. This point could also support the lust she has for the character, because it is a dangerous situation to be in, which could feel exhilarating. The facial expression on Edward on the other hand can signify different emotions and feelings. His facial expressions are quite intense. This could signify that as he is struggling to not drink Bella's blood. Another thing this could signify is the traditional look of vampires being quite dark and deceitful, this is open for interpretation to the audience because it could make the entire scene have a different meaning.
     Moving on to the objects and the layout of the room which the characters are in, the room is very open plan and bright with all of the windows. This could signify the freedom which Edward has within his lifestyle. The objects in the room are very simplistic, just books, and a lamp. This could signify the fact that Edward's life isn't going to change, he cannot get out of being a vampire, so he will be living exactly the same way forever.
     Finally, the lighting in the room is high key, but it feels quite dingey. They have tried to give off a natural lighting effect due to every outer wall on the house being a window. However. The dark tint, which is very noticeable, supports the theme of the film. Also, the characters stand out much more due to them being dark and the background being light. This signifies and supports the dark theme, and the unawareness of how Edward is going to react.