The purpose of characters within a film is so that the narrative can be driven forward through the function of each character's roles, the use of characters help to tell the story behind the film. They can also be used to create definite relationships with the audience in order for them to gain a profound interest in the narrative therefore encouraging them to watch on further to see what will happen next. Representation of characters within a film is crucial as this can show the audience what gender and age they are as well as their backgrounds such as profession. Representation of characters can also suggest which era a film is set in through the use of the character's clothing and makeup. Characters are significant within a media piece as they way that they are represented is the way in which the audience will view them within the film.
Within our thriller sequence, there will be three characters, two of these being the main characters (hit man and antagonist) and two being minor characters (female victim). These characters will be introduced below:
The first character I will be discussing is the main character within the narrative which is the hit man and he will be called Mark although his name will never be mentioned therefore his background will remain unknown to the audience as well as the events prior to the beginning of the sequence in which he is kidnapped and left in an unknown location sparking an enigma straight away. Both Kate and I have decided to portray this character as being around the age of 21 and his race being White British. The sequence unveils hidden events and it is revealed that the unknown antagonist wants Mark to kill his wife after finding out that she had been having an affair. An envelope is left in front of him which becomes clear to him when Mark receives an anonymous text message explaining everything. The audience find out that the envelope contains photos of the antagonist's wife as well as the knife which will be required to kill the female and house keys so he is able to gain entry without raising too much suspicion. This character's function within the narrative is to help confuse the audience and take their focus away from the antagonist in order to create a ,maximum amount of tension within the inclusion of a major plot twist to excite viewers and encourage them to watch the entire sequence. We will see the hit man developing amnesia prior to waking up from his unconscious state which will be indicated through the hit man's body language as he will come across as very confused as to where he is. Viewers will also notice that there was some signs of a struggle before the sequence starts as this character wakes up with blood dripping down his face. This would cause the audience to feel some sympathy from him as he had been kidnapped and left in an abandoned location and it is unclear what will happen to him but also hatred and anger as he appears to be willing to kill for someone who he potentially doesn't know that well. He is also used to create an enigma within the narrative as it is left unclear why the wife is needed to be killed as well as driving the audience to believe that he is the true antagonist.
The next character which will be featured within my thriller opening sequence is Cole, who is our main antagonist, known only on a text message as 'C' to create suspense and cause the audience to wonder who he could be. Cole's age and race are left unknown as well as his identity due to the audience never seeing him in person but are only made aware of his presence because of messages sent before and after the killing to Mark, which is shown on screen. The audience will never see any insight into Cole's past or the reason behind him wanting someone to kill his wife for him. However, from this, we can gather that the antagonist's state of mentality is not completely stable due to hiring someone he has never met before to kill his own wife out of cold blood which could derive from a negative experience in his past however individual perceptions are the only factors contributing to knowing a little more about this particular character's background. The audience are expected to react to this character in a clearly negative way. This is because of his bloody past and they will witness his insanity getting the better of him and embarking on a murderous rampage later on in the film however this will not be able to be derived from the opening 2 minutes. He will make viewers feel uncomfortable and will be solely responsible for all the negative emotions evoked from the audience throughout the duration of the sequence. This creates a great amount of shock when they witness a text from him to Mark stating clearly "Well done, your reward awaits." which can also be used to create suspense as they are unsure whether the antagonist may decide to show himself at an unexpected time within the sequence. When his identity is revealed, this will create confusion within the audience as we will portray the hit man being the antagonist up until the exact moment in which the true antagonist finds his wife dead.
The third and final character within my thriller will be the antagonist's wife. This character will be included to portray her as a female victim which is a main convention of thriller films. Everything about this character including name, age, race and background will remain unknown as she is only featured briefly when she is murdered by the hit man. She could be used to evoke empathy from the audience as although she has done something completely unforgivable, she didn't deserve to die out of cold blood. She is first seen when a picture of her is found in an envelope which has been left by the antagonist for the hit man to find so that he is aware of who he needs to kill and is seen again in the murder scene where the hit man turns up at the home she shares with her husband. This character will appeal to the audience as she is the female victim. Immediately, the audience know to feel sympathy towards her as she is seen to be murdered brutally in the 'safety' of her own home as well as knowing that she didn't deserve to die in this way regardless of what she may have done. Due to her untimely death, this helps to create a relationship between this character and the audience as they immediately obtain an emotional connection with her. Within the thriller genre, a female character is usually always portrayed as the victim and are always the first to die which will therefore make the hit man's job a lot easier when entering the home to know exactly who his victim is.
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