Pre-Production: Defining Characters

 Introduction

Hi everyone! In today's blog post, I will be discussing our lovely characters in this film. I will provide information on all the characters in this story, so that you will get to know them well! Our three main characters of this story are Mercedes(protagonist/hero), Christine (antagonist/villain), and Lizzy (protagonist's best friend). So, what are we waiting for?? Let's get to know them!

Work

Name: Mercedes (main character)  Acting:  -Confident, Popular, Flirtatious, Upbeat, Feminine, Curious/ Prospecting, Ambitious, and keeps healthy relationships (setting boundaries).    Appearance:  -Face: dark brown eyes, curly hair, slender face, sculpted jawline and cheekbones, button nose, and beauty mark  -Body: Lean, muscular, toned, smaller stature, and light-skinned/ light brown  -Clothing: Baggy, neutral or dark colored jacket/ hoodie, biker shorts, jeans, scrunchie, graphic t-shirt, and light-colored sneakers  -Facial Expressions: relaxed, casual, pleasant, perplexed, and anxious    Body Language:  -Confidence: hands swinging at her sides, bouncy/ upbeat walk, hands clasped behind her back, holding hands with her loved ones, or hands at her hips, making eye contact, and head held high.  -Nervous: Hands folded, one hand grips her shoulder or elbows, head held down, quick walking, hands in her pockets, and her fists are clenched.  -Neutral: walks at a casual pace, hands at her sides/ in her pockets, head is held straight and up, shoulders are squared, and back is straight.  -Ecstatic: Hands are clenched, fast-paced movements, rhythmic movements that mimic dancing, hums in a sing-song tone, running, head is facing the sky, and her hands are stretched into the air.  -Uncertain: slow-paced watching, looks around/ over her should in case of danger, her shoulders are more tense vigilant of her surroundings and noises, and can only make up slurred mumbling noises    Voice Quality: pleasant, energetic, outgoing, inflected, and warm.      Name: Christine (obsessive friend/ hinted love interest)  Acting:   -Obsessive, touchy, mysterious, gaslighting, manipulation, crosses boundaries, charismatic, vindictive, ecstatic, infatuated, love-stricken, daydreamy, out of touch with reality, stalking behavior (like Joe Goldberg from the Netflix Original titled “You”), possessive, and delusional  Appearance:  -Face: round, youthful, beauty-marked, plump lips, kinky/ curly hair, decent, and long eyelashes.  -Body: curvy, short-statured, narrow shoulders, light-skinned/ very light brown skin, and chubby.  -Clothing: sweatpants/ comfortable clothing, basic graphics t-shirt, plain white shirt, athleisure, oversized hoodie/ jacket, and combat boots.  -Facial Expression: intent glare/ stare, unnerving fake smile, grin, lighthearted, discontent, hateful, vengeful, and fiery rage.    Body Language:   -Manipulative: head leaned in disbelief, scratches, itches neck, picks her nails, rubs shoulder of victim, her hand grips her elbow, and arms crossed.  -Ecstasy: pleasant, relaxed smile, with wrinkles at the sides of her eyes, laughter, intent, and subtle nodding, and hand covers her mouth/ or is in her pocket.  -Vengeful: harsh glare, head is lowered, fake grimace, eye squint, blank, emotionless face, condescending tone, and folds hands under chin in deep thought.  -Infatuation: Passionate, attentive stare, wiggles around, dances, chiseled smile, blushed, faintly whispers to herself, leans forward, rests head on her hand, mirrors the motions of her victim (Mercedes), stares at mouth, and fixes herself to look her best when her crush is around.  -Delusional: anxious movements, humming, hyperventilating/ irregular breathing, extensive zoning out and daydreaming, breathy speech, subtle shaking, in a confined body position (curled up, head lowered, while arms and legs are crossed), talks to self, and may stumble on or bump into objects.    Voice Quality: calm, inflected, giddy, breathy, giggly, deep, confident, accusatory, resonant, and at times dead.        Name: Lizzy (Mercedes’ best friend)  Acting: Energetic, humorous, outgoing, protective, introspective, skeptical, and quirky  Appearance:  -Face: round, slightly freckled, button nosed, dark-brown eyes, long eyelashes, youthful, and plump/ prominent facial features  -Body: Curvy, tall stature, mature features, and medium brown-skinned/ brown skin tone.  -Clothing: form-fitting, casual, contemporary, athleisure, jeans/ or long pants, neutral-colored sneakers, ankle shoes, Beatz headphones, zipped jacket, and graphic t-shirt  -Facial Expressions: concerned, puzzled, inspective, pleasant, resting face/ neutral, and anxious.    Body Language:  -Skeptical: head tilted, eyes squinted, tense shoulders, and body leaned in/ leaned forward.  -Concerned: eyebrows raised, slight shaking, tense muscles, slow walking, and fast-paced heartbeat.  -Enjoyment: playful grin, dancing, swinging arms, arms stretched high, and wide, and humming.  -Remorse: lowered head, crying, feet shifting, body swinging and moving back and forth, fidgety fingers, and hands behind their necks.  -Anxiety: shaking, lips quivering, irregular breaths, heart racing, impatient/ jumpy movements, and pacing back and forth.  Voice Quality: soothing, casual, deep pitched, orotund, warm, and inflected.
Age  -Mercedes:16  -Christine: 15  -Lizzy: 16	Gender  -Mercedes: Female  -Christine: Female  -Lizzy: Female	Ethnicity  -Mercedes: Dominican American  -Christine: Black American  -Lizzy: Jamaican-American
Identity or title  -Mercedes: athlete  -Christine: theater kid  -Lizzy: class clown  -Elijah: rebel  Class and social status  -Mercedes: low-middle class  -Christine: low-middle class  -Lizzy: low-middle class  -Elijah: low-middle class
Moral Values  -Mercedes: hopefulness  -Christine: perseverance  -Lizzy: honesty  -Elijah: compassion    Struggles  -Mercedes: suffers from anxiety, has parental struggles/ fights at home  -Christine: attachment issues from past neglection, manipulation, and gaslighting  -Lizzy: friendship issues, trust issues, and pessimism  -Elijah: naiveness, pessimism in fighting for his life, and stoicism

Reflection

Today, I introduced you to the characters of this story! When creating these characters, our teammates made sure to make characters that resonate with our target audience (mainstream teenagers-young adults). We didn't make our characters plain, we gave them several ethnic backgrounds, different personalities, differing sexualities, and diverse moral beliefs/attitudes. We used our previous research about our target audience to create these characters. Thank you for reading my whole blog post! P will be signing off now.