Character Development

 

Charactersssss!!!!!  This might be one of my favorite posts since I adore character growth/creation. I also love the challenge of making and developing a character of my own. I understand this may be a bit difficult since I won't have much time to develop a full view of my character, and also because I want to ensure that the way I envision them comes across well to my audience. 

I've stated previously that I based my protagonist (Josephine) on Maren from Bones and All, and also myself and my other character (Kat) on Lee from Bones and All and my best friend, Kailyn. Both of them are teenagers, aged 17, and in most films, teenagers are perceived as moody or lazy and incapable of understanding their own feelings. Teenagers' feelings are most of the time invalidated by adults because they are "too young to have problems".

One of the perfect representations of this is the film Thirteen (2003)

Tracy starts off her film as a sweet and innocent girl in middle school. She is then introduced to "popular girls," and she becomes one of them by acting out and trying to present herself as older. Her mother doesn't understand why she's acting out and begins to act dismissively towards her as a response. She doesn't understand her daughter's emotions,s which leads them to begin yelling at each other and only worsens Tracy's behavior. 

Josephine just lost her father and chooses to be alone, and kind of give up on her own life. The difference that I want to make between Tracy and Josephine is that when Tracy got a new friend, she went down a dark road, but when Josephine makes a new friend, she is pulled into a light road instead of a dark one. 

Maren is determined in the face of misery and decides how she doesn't want her life to be. She is strong and driven to the point that her darkness won't catch up to her, and Lee helps her even when she feels like it's too much and she wants to give up. 

Kat is that guiding light just like Lee. Kat is the pushing force behind Josephine, and to be able to properly convey that, I might need to change the way it's usually done in other films. 

The mis-en-scene will play a huge part in how my characters are perceived. Things such as costuming, lighting, props, and other stuff of that nature will either make or break this film. I will go more in-depth in later posts about all of my creative ideas and where they come from, until next time everyone!!