INSPIRATIONS (RESEARCH)
When I started making films I was creating them outside with my friends, giving them characters and directing them, even doing some acting myself. Without realising we would do this frequently or we wouldn't even record and just act out scenarios. At the time film making wasn't my passion but I can see where I gained the enjoyment for it. I did many skits that no longer exist or are hidden in the depths of a broken laptop or tablet with many friends and was something I did in my spare time. The first ever people I watched on YouTube that influenced me were Jack and Dean and was a style that I wanted to be able to use, once wanting to be a comedian but changing my ideas.
In the films I have made so far that have had my own reigns I have done fight scenes or topics that are serious which I love to do but I am really looking forward to bringing back a form of comedy that gained my interest for film making in the first place, showing the old style that I used to want to create but with no knowledge or understanding in the matter of recording a video and editing it. It's almost a nostalgia trip for myself to discover if this is what I feel more comfortable with and what I should have stuck with, comedy or action. For my final I plan to mix the two and to bring back some nostalgic memories for myself and to show the audience that I can do something different from my comfort zone.
JACK AND DEAN (COMEDY STYLE)
Jack and Dean have a unique and interesting style, being memorable to the audience that watch their videos. Their comedy can be completely random but is well written and placed throughout the video. They are well thought out and planned, making the comedy even more funny to the audience and more respected overall and uses a good amount of sarcastic humour. This is something I wish to take inspiration from as I want my comedy to be implemented correctly and to affect the audience in the correct way, making the audience provoke emotions and to find the situations comedic. I want to use the comedy in my own film to split up the more intense scenes, allowing the audience to relax before being put back into a more serious situation. I also want the comedy to be able to progress the characters, this comedy by Jack and Dean showing that you can develop a story and the characters involved in a very short time, being able to present them to the audience in an understandable way.
CHARACTERS
THOMAS SANDERS- SANDER SIDES
Logan, or logic, is Thomas' logical side, knowing every fact that Thomas has learnt and has shown that he also may hold much more than expected. Logan is brutally honest, not having an understanding of emotions or how they work, quoted saying 'Emotions, the bane of my existence.' This can make Logan come across as cold to the others but he always seems to have the best interests in mind for Thomas and the other sides. Logan is focused, serious, rational and labelled as the 'smart guy' or 'nerd' by the others, this not affecting him as he doesn't really understand emotions.
Patton, or Morality, represents Thomas' emotions and sense of right and wrong, being described as Logan's opposite, being the right side of the brain whereas Logan represents the left. Patton has a love of Dad jokes that annoys Logan but can also be seen as spontaneous, naive and hyperactive compared to the others. He is optimistic and cheerful, being the optimist of the group of the issues they discuss and is shown to be a man child. Patton is the most innocent out the group but is shown to fanboy over Logan, wanting him to open up, and protecting Virgil when Roman picks on him or when Virgil puts his self-down.
Logan and Patton have influenced my character, Marshall, who has logical thinking but blown up emotions and care towards his friends. He has intelligence and is also labelled as the 'smart guy' like Logan but also can be spontaneous and cheerful like Patton. Marshall can be seen having traits of both characters but also some characteristics of his own that these characters might not have, allowing my character to be unique but influenced by these characters.
Roman, or creativity, is Thomas' fanciful side, also representing all of his hopes and dreams, imagination and creativity. Roman can be over the top, being the most energetic out of the group. Roman is theatrical and is called 'Princey' because of his attire and love for Disney movies. Roman can be inspiring but also impulsive and irritating, fond of giving nicknames to the other sides, examples of this being 'Hot Topic' to Virgil or 'Microsoft Nerd' to Logan. Roman is energetic and entertaining, all of the other sides liking Roman but can find him too much sometimes as he can be seen to be self-centred compared to the others.
Virgil, or anxiety, represents all of Thomas' doubts and fears, being the negativity of the group. Like Logan, Virgil is brutally honest but understands how it may affect the others. Virgil is shown to be sarcastic, grouchy, rude and cynical although he does care about the others and Thomas' well-being. Virgil is shown to be the closest to Patton as he accepted him the quickest and treats him like his child but Virgil understands Logan the most, both of them having a strong connection as they both think logically and are less energetic to the others, Logan also accepting Virgil into the group.
Virgil and Roman have influenced my character, Scott, who is sarcastic, rude and grouchy but also self-centred and energetic. Scott is a lot more complicated than these two characters but I have taken influence of some of their personality traits in how Scott may act when interacting with others such as Marshall.
EDGAR WRIGHT'S SHAUN OF THE DEAD
The first main character of the film is Shaun who is acted by Simon Pegg. Shaun is a 29 year old man slacker that works as an electronics salesman, being disrespected by his co-workers and is a dead end job, Shaun having no direction in his life. Along with his dead end job, he also has a strained relationship with his girlfriend, Liz, and is trying to re-kindle their relationship throughout the film despite the bromance that he has with his best friend, Ed, being called boyfriends throughout the film from how close they are, both living together in the film. Shaun is lazy, useless and a mummy's boy at the beginning of the film but also very snarky and naive in what is happening in the world around him and his friends.
Shaun develops through the film, becoming a bad ass fighter with a cricket bat as his weapon and becomes fairly intelligent by the end of the film; also considered as going crazy when he puts his tie around his forehead. Shaun only wants the best for his relationship with Liz and has a heart of gold throughout the film which is hidden behind his stupidity and his naive tendencies, Shaun wanting to go and save Liz from her flats as well as his own mother. Shaun manages to find direction in his life with the zombie apocalypse, managing to become stronger, more loving and more intelligent throughout the film. Shaun suffers from having no initiative which leads to his girlfriend breaking up with him in the first place, the zombie apocalypse forcing him to take action and fix the broken bonds, Ed being by his side from the very beginning on the film where their roommate, Peter, turns into a zombie.
I took inspiration from this character as I wanted my main character to also be fairly idiotic about what is happening around him and the situations that he is in. I want my character to also develop throughout the film, watching this and understanding the main character allowing me to take some inspiration into how to develop my own character's story in comparison to Shaun.
WALTER O'BRIEN'S SCORPION
Walter is a genius with an IQ over 170 but doesn't understand the emotions of others or his self. Walter is shown throughout the series to have heroic tendencies from those 2,000 civilians who died in Baghdad thanks to his program, him wanting to help out where he can. Walter leads the group of geniuses, working together to solve global issues and to save people's lives; their own or complete strangers. Walter is shown to be snarky when irritated or upset, having to clarify his importance to the group as he doesn't feel like he fits in with the rest of the group and because he doesn't understand emotions. Walter was a child prodigy and now is a computer whiz with an extremely high IQ, this sometimes making him act cold and arrogant towards the others although he has a hidden heart of gold.
Walter develops throughout the series, becoming less cold towards the others and trying to understand emotions better. He starts to show his heroic side much more frequently when he is protecting his friends from danger or are getting them out of danger, not thinking twice about running into save them. If he can't physically go in to save them, he will think of a plan to get them out safely. He tries to show that he cares about his friends but has difficulty doing so, showing progress from his before cold and arrogant self. This is why I took inspiration from this character, wanting to have a similar main character in my own film that develops similarly to Walter, both of them starting to listen to those around them and working together.
Toby may come off across as snarky when talking about his intelligence and understanding but has proven that he is the best of the group at analysation. Toby is the psychiatrist of the group but remembers all of the medical training that he went through at Harvard as he has a photographic memory, being able to perform medical procedures when needed. Toby is shown to have a gambling addiction because of his love for analysing problems but also has a love for hats, him getting stressed out or complains when he loses them. Toby is a nerd and enjoys music and is one of the first characters to get close to Walter, being able to understand how he works and his thought processes because of his psychiatric training.
Toby can be shown to be a lot to handle at a time when he gets excited about a situation or needs to tell people some intelligence he has gathered but is also shown to be a hero and carer for his friends. He puts his self in danger to save his wife and friends where normally he wouldn't, showing he has heroic tendencies behind his actions. Toby is also shown to help Walter understand and discover his emotions, allowing him to understand his exact feelings, showing that Toby can be a great friend when needed. Most of the series he is acting silly or talks too fast for anyone to understand but becomes a hero to those around him. This is why I took inspiration from this character, wanting one of my characters to have this motivation to protect his friend; Marshall and Scott. The dynamic between Toby and Walter is also why I took inspiration from them, wanting to have a similar friendship between my own characters.
This research can be implemented into my own work as the characters in my short film will be one of the main aspects to the short film, their interactions being unique in how they treat each other and how they change throughout the film; an example of this being the two best friends, Scott always being mean or sarcastic to Marshall but becomes nicer and more protective over his friend throughout. This research will allow me to help the audience to understand the characters more clearly and their motives behind their actions, giving the audience reason and knowledge of their personalities.
References
Diamond, K., Reilly, S., Marshall, L. and Cassandra, C. (2018). The Importance of Character Development. [online] Thanet Writers. Available at: https://thanetwriters.com/essay/characters/the-importance-of-character-development/ [Accessed 6 Mar. 2018].
TV Tropes. (2017). Shaun of the Dead / Characters - TV Tropes. [online] Available at: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/ShaunOfTheDead [Accessed 29 Nov. 2017].
TV Tropes. (2018). Scorpion / Characters - TV Tropes. [online] Available at: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/Scorpion [Accessed 7 Mar. 2018].
TV Tropes. (2018). Thomas Sanders / Characters - TV Tropes. [online] Available at: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/ThomasSanders [Accessed 7 Mar. 2018].
Bubbl.us. (2018). brainstorm and mind map online. [online] Available at: https://bubbl.us/ [Accessed 7 Mar. 2018].
YouTube. (2017). ACCEPTING ANXIETY, Part 1/2: Excepting Anxiety! | Thomas Sanders. [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/Ndk9JXKci4g [Accessed 23 Nov. 2017].
YouTube. (2017). Living Room Shootout - JACK AND DEAN (feat. Hazel Hayes & Bertie Gilbert). [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/BssEnWI5a3g [Accessed 23 Nov. 2017].
YouTube. (2017). MOVING ON, Part 1/2: Exploring Nostalgia | Thomas Sanders. [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/ihCqpkPNtNM [Accessed 23 Nov. 2017].
YouTube. (2017). Shaun of the Dead Official Trailer #1 - Simon Pegg Movie (2004) HD. [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/LIfcaZ4pC-4 [Accessed 23 Nov. 2017].
YouTube. (2018). SCORPION TV SERIES SEASON 01 OFFICIAL TRAILER. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U402uMSRq1g [Accessed 7 Mar. 2018].
