Character Development

In my portfolio project with Cambridge, I am executing a two minute thriller introduction called Stay Inside. I primarily aim to change the atmosphere towards comfortable routine to an one-step-up-two-steps-ahead paranoia with the help of only two minutes. Sound design, lighting, and the outside threat are the largest tensions but the audience requires something real, something that is of their substance. That is difficult when you have to create characters quickly, without slowing down the action, with extensive wordplay. My character development must be instant, visual, and reactive in the first place. I am not narrating lengthy back stories, I am merely proffering familiar archetypes and demonstrating how easy they are to destroy. 

I envisioned Jay and Marcus as those of Beavis and Butt-Head.

They are the two archetypal friends hanging on a couch, laughing about everything, and showing no concern about the world. By bending over this slacker archetype I am able to generate a feeling of safety and some humor in the beginning. Their conversation of remaining at home the whole day is straightforward and purposeless, such as that of prototypical characters. That establishes a certain level of comfort and safety which I intend to break. I must create their connections and personalities swiftly through what we see and the surrounding, rather than the lengthy discussions to make their future eventual fear real. 

Before even the emergency broadcasts are lost the audience must have recognition of who these guys are merely by the way they are dressed and what is around them. The living room must be homely and uninhabited, wrappers of snacks and warm low-lamp lighting, indifferent and easy sitting on the couch reveal that they are completely safe. They are also frail since they are so easygoing. They should be dressed in comfortable clothes, torn hoodies, track pants and sweat socks, etc. That image delicacy will contrast with the severe metal sounds and big thuds that will follow subsequently. 

The character development really occurs as soon as the broadcast is initiated. On the ground that you are in a thriller, your actions in a stressing situation reveal who you are. In my script, I have made Jay and Marcus react a little differently to the threat at the beginning, so that there is a slight dynamic. Marcus plays the pragmatist. He brushes off the noise initially though when it comes to the point where the matter at hand has gone serious, he becomes the first to go to the hallway sound and make attempts to justify the absurd. Jay acts more on intuition. He feels fear earlier and realizes that the broadcast had not sounded right. His ultimate act in the climax is not to investigate this but to ensure their safety- he pulls the deadbolt lock. These minor things in the last thirty seconds make them what they are, one wants to know what the threat is, the other what to put over it. Both fail as the handle turns. 

Through the choice of costumes, which underline vulnerability and the development of different physical responses to the sound effects, I aim to establish the immediate rapport between the audience and my characters. The audience will feel the dread of the rattling doorknob in case a viewer perceives him or herself in those comfortable clothes.