Emily&Olivia
Character Research
We decided to research famour characters that are known not only in a specific genre but in all films.Many charcters that are well known all have certain 'quirks' about them that either relate or frighten the audience.Making them iconic.Due to our film genre:Action/Thriller we decided to tailor our search to villans and heroes.
Norman Bates
Norman Bates is a universally known character who is the lead character in the film 'Psycho'-1959.Growing up he suffered from emotional abuse from his mother,both who shared an unusual relationship with one another.In the story he kills his mother and her lover out of jealous rage .He went into shock and was diagnosed with dissociative identitty disorder,taking on her personality to repress any thoughts tghat plagued him with guilt.Worldwide he is renown as a 'serial killer',initally this would frighten the audience due to his consistent murders however the audience also look towards him with sympathy due to his childhood and regret for killing his mother.
We will use this as inspiration by having the character Helena, not different personalities but show two different sides to them which will be a sudden contrast and initally shock the audience.He is also inspiration for the 'Boss' character as he is quite ruthless as he is a murderer like Norman Bates and shows not mercy or sadness for their victim but earn satusfaction from killing.
Patrick Bateman
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Patrick Bateman is the protagonist in the film 'American Psycho.' He is a wealthy Wall Street investment banker but lives a double life as a serial killer. He comes from a wealthy family, graduated from college and moved to New York. He seems to have a 'perfect life,' however, in his secret life, he murders a variety of people, including colleagues and homeless prostitutes. His crimes include rape, torture and cannibalism.
Patrick is engaged to an equally rich woman, wears designer clothes and has an elaborate home, making him seem like your typical businessman with his life all together. However, despite his high status, he is wracked with feelings of insecurity and self-hatred, killing his victims because they usually make him feel inadequate. Plus, he is often mocked by his friends for being "the boy next door" and a "goody goody." Additionally, he suffers from feelings of depersonalisation and admits that he "just wants to be loved" but, of course is a totally different person when his dark side is unleashed.
Patrick Bateman is comparable to the protagonist in our own short film, Helena due to the fact that there are also two sides to her personality. At first, she seems to be the victim as she is subject to bullying at work as her colleagues are bitter and don’t think she deserves a job there. This can be compared to Patrick Bateman’s situation as he too is bullied by his friends. They see him as a goody two shoes, just like Helena’s colleagues don’t see her being capable of defending herself. Both Patrick and Helena are seen as victims who the audience feel sorry for. However, Helena also has a violent side to her personality. She seems like a typical intern who just gets on with her job, the way Bateman seems an ordinary businessman with a lot of money. But, when a time comes in which she is forced to defend herself or suffer the consequences, she turns fierce. When faced with the possibility of never working again if she doesn’t keep quiet about witnessing her boss murdering someone, she fights back in an aggressive fight scene. She may not be a serial killer like Patrick Bateman but she does have a dark streak which other people don’t expect to come out of her.
The Bride
The Bride,real name Beatrix Kiddo is also well known in the film industry as it is one of the first films that focuses on a woman explicitly killing people.Beatrix wakes up from a coma and goes on a killing rampage to murder anyone who ever wronged her in the four years she was in a coma.We will use this character as inspiration as she is :Determined,fiesty and strong woman which goes against the sterotypes of most women being a damsel in distress in most hollywood films,having ot be saved by the 'heroic' male.
Our short film is centered around a woman so we will be adding to her charactersitics and making her equally as strong and defiant.
In the majority of the film her enemies are all male which is parallel to our film as the main character Helena is fighting the character 'Boss' who is a male.We will use fight scenes from the film 'killbill' in order to see how 'the bride' interacts with the men at first and how she conducts her attacks.Taking inspiration from the scene and developing it into ours as it is the final scene and due tothe use of chorography and fake blood we have to make the scene sound and look believable.
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Lara Croft
Lara croft is the heroine of her film and is the woman in charge to save the world.She goes against the female stereotype of women being props in action films or always being 'the help' constantly behind a man in charge as she is the women that people go to for help and she works alongside the other men in the film,showing that she is equally as strong,intelligent and skilled.In the film she is sexualised as she wears revealing clothing(the male gaze) but is also stong and intelligent.Again we thought that lara was a good use of inspiration for our lead charcter.
We will use her as inspiration for Helena as at first they both are undersetimated due to them both being women and are always depicted as weak even in their line of work but unknown to the people around them they are both strong and determined,doing what is best for themselves.However we have developed Helena even further as she had a hidden dark side and cares more for how she profits and not others whereas lara is doing what is in best interest for the world.
Katniss Everdeen
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Katniss Everdeen is the protagonist in ‘The Hunger Games’ movies. Katniss grew up in the poorest town in her District with her mother and sister after her father was killed in an explosion when she was 11. Her mother sunk deep into depression, leaving Katniss and her sister to take care of themselves. She has a strong personality, is good at thinking outside of the box and the hardships she faced as a child shaped her into a survivalist who will go to extremes to defend her own life and that of her family, for example, she volunteered to enter the Hunger Games as a tribute for her younger sister. During the games, she is very competitive and is prepare to kill in order to avoid being killed. However, she is relieved to not have to kill her allies, showing that she does have a heart despite coming across as coldblooded. Also, she eventually comes to realise that there are more important things than survival.
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Katniss can be compared to Helena in our own short film because she challenges the stereotype that females in action films are supposed to portray the ‘damsel in distress’ and wait helplessly for the man to come and save them. However, both Katniss and Helena fight their own battles. Katniss is prepared to kill in order to win The Hunger Games, whereas Helena actually fights against a man in the final showdown of our film, where things turn pretty violent. Additionally, during the film, Katniss seems to develop more emotions and the ability to consider others’ feelings, for example, she didn’t want to kill those close to her. It could be argued that Helena also, despite coming off strong and fearless, also feels things deeply, like when her colleagues are bullying her, this only spurs her on and makes her want to prove them wrong by actually getting the job.