Characters, Costumes and

PropsEleanor MonkGroup 057

Main Protagonist: ‘Tom’The main character featured in our opening sequence is a 17 year old Caucasian boy, with short dirty blonde hair and of an average build. We chose this profile to allow the target audience to relate, as we found the demographic most likely to watch a Disaster Thriller like ours to be in their late teens to mid twenties, and a male protagonist is a common convention. The character of ‘Tom’ will be played by Thomas McGrath, a member of our group. We chose him not only because of the convenience, but because he fits the image of an average late teenage boy.Costume

We envisioned ‘Tom’ to be dressed in scruffy clothes and a hoodie to give him a grimy urban feel and reflect the time period in which the film is set. The actor will be bring his own clothes from home: a pair of scruffy jeans, plain black pull-over hoodie, and rough looking working boots. The lack of colour in his outfit will ensure that all attention is on his actions and expressions, and the hoodie over his head will preserve his identity until his first close up shot, keeping the audience questioning.

Main Antagonist: Doctor Argon‘Doctor Argon’ is the inventor of the drug that causes the initial disaster and spurs the story line, in the potential film after the title sequence the audience will meet him again as a flesh eating drug addict and recognise him from the opening sequence, clarifying his character. By doing this we will be creating a complex character with a back story as to why he is the way he is, a common convention of Thriller antagonists. He is from an educated background and his demise into evil and insanity adds a certain dark philosophical twist to the film, showing that there is the potential for such in everybody, and this adds depth to the film. The character of ‘Doctor Argon’ is in his 30’s and of a tall build, initially intended to have short brown hair. However, we found that under our circumstances we could not find a 30 year old actor with brown hair, and so used a fellow college student who suited our alternative vision. Played by Daniel Caswell, he is tall with neat dark blonde hair and a cleanly shaved recognizable face. The actor is 17, but with the costume he can pass for late 20’s to early 30’s, and so we feel confident with the character of ‘Doctor Argon’.Costume

‘Doctor Argon’ will be wearing the actors own glasses to portray him as a stereotypical professor, along with a lab coat provided by the science department. His bottom half will not be in shot so it does not need to be taken into consideration.

News Reporter/Interviewer 1During the opening sequence we will show a series of news reports and one interview with Doctor Argon, using two reporters. The first reporter will be played by myself, as I could fit the image of a news reporter. I am of average height with blonde hair and a fringe, and a thin frame.

CostumeI will have my hair tied up and be wearing my own glasses, to present me as educated. I will be wearing a smart satin top of my own to abide by the expected appearance of a news reporter, and show that the drama has not yet taken place.

News Reporter 2The second news reporter will be played by Kenny Musa, the third member of our group, both for convenience and for her acting skills. She is tall with black and red hair tied back in a neat pony tail.

CostumeThe actress will be neat and well presented, wearing a black

top and a blazer of her own to portray the character of a news reporter. She intends to wear minimal make-up and dress plainly so as to not distract the audience from the dialogue.

Minor Protagonist: Paul‘Paul’ is a tall, strongly built male in his early twenties, and serves as an almost ‘side-kick’ character to ‘Tom’. They do not meet in the title sequence, instead showing brief clips of each of them separately with the main focus on ‘Tom’, so that later on in the potential film when they finally do meet the audience have already been introduced to him. The character of ‘Paul’ will be played by Kevin Darkwah, the final member of our group. This is because he possesses the characteristics we envisioned ‘Paul’ to have, and we know he will take the role seriously.Costume‘Paul’ will be dressed in similar, scruffy monotone clothes like ‘Tom’, and so the actor will be wearing his own plain jeans and a black hooded parka to preserve his identity as mysterious until when relevant.

Extra Antagonists: The Cannibals‘The Cannibals’ are the general antagonists of the film: addicts to ‘Doctor Argon’s’ drug and savage flesh eaters, they drive many of the conflict scenes in the potential film. During our title sequence, several shots of ‘The Cannibals’ will be shown to give the audience a sense of what the film will be about and create the action filled tense atmosphere Thrillers normally possess. Collectively we will only need five actors, played by personal friends Niamh O’Mahoney, Daniel Caswell, Daniel Mackay, Callum Canes and Ryan Benson. We chose these actors as they are diverse in appearance and height, making them suitable ‘extras’. CostumeThe characters of ‘The Cannibals’ will be wearing scruffy clothes provided by themselves. Niamh will be wearing plain jeans and a white t-shirt with blood stains on it, Ryan baggy jeans with a grey hoodie, Callum a navy hoodie and beige chinos, Daniel Mackay a grey blood stained hoodie and scruffy chinos, and Daniel Caswell black jeans and a navy and white hoodie. The neutral colours create a lonely, uncomfortable atmosphere surrounding them, whilst the jeans and hoodies show them as intimidating and scruffy (appropriate for the ravaged disaster struck setting), at the same time as reminding the audience that the film is set in the present with an urban twist. We chose not to dress them too raggedly to clarify that they are not ‘zombies’, but in fact live cannibalistic people, with no special make-up. We will however, put fake blood on their faces around their mouths to illustrate that they are cannibals.

Props• Needles: We have included several shots of needles in our opening

sequence to illustrate the drug use that drives the storyline, and so they are important props. My Mother is a nurse, and so we were able to acquire two syringes with detachable needles and safety caps. We intend to remove the needle from the syringe to film a shot of ‘Tom’ injecting himself in a realistic manner with no damage to personal safety, in order to shock and gain the audiences attention. We will construct a risk assessment before filming to ensure that they pose no danger.

• Fake Guns: We plan on including fake guns in our opening sequence to add a sinister twist and a ‘survival’ atmosphere, moreover they are a common conventional prop in Thriller films. I own one red BB gun and one plastic shot gun, and we shall use these in filming before editing the footage to appear more realistic.

• Fake Blood: Fake blood will be spilt on the ground for certain shots, used to fill the needles, splatter clothing and be applied on ‘The Cannibals’ for effect. I plan on making some home made blood from syrup, food colouring and chocolate sauce, but as a back up Kevin will be bringing a bottle of tomato ketchup from home.

• Bandages: Bandages will be used for a close up shot of a ‘Cannibal’s’ arm, to illustrate their drug use to the audience, and there will also be a shot of some bandages left on the floor coated in blood. We will only need one roll of bandages, which will be supplied by my Mother.