Costume and Character Profile - Thriller Planning

Character One: Billy

Originally, we were going to portray 'Billy' as the stereotypical masculine antihero; the name 'Billy' is often associated with American outlaw Billy the Kid (1859-1881), perhaps causing the audience to be wary of him, creating a preconception. However, we found it far more intriguing to subvert this stereotype. We wanted to make Billy appear vulnerable within the large outdoor location. We accomplished this by giving Billy the prop of a camera. The camera limits Billy's eyesight, making his focus solely on what he can see through the lens, this also heightens the audiences senses as, as seen in this close up, they too have limited sight of the surroundings. 

The prop of the camera also indicates Billy is dedicated to his photography or perhaps that he is an arty individual, therefore connoting he is a deep thinker. Additionally Billy's character is mysterious as the audience are encouraged to question why he has been killed.

Billy's Costume: 

Billy wears a plain white T-shirt; white is suggestive of purity and therefore enhances his vulnerability. The T-shirt is somewhat of a 'blank canvas' as it gives little indication to his personality, this further makes him appear more mysterious as the audience wonders as to who he is, and what his personality is.

Additionally the audience sees Billy wearing a khaki parka coat. This covers Billy's white t-shirt, perhaps metaphorical of him covering his insecurities.

Billy's shoes are contemporary, making him seem modern and fashionable. This may comfort the audience as they are use to seeing such apparel.









Character Two: Danielle


Danielle is a masculine character who's qualities are reinforce through her costume; Danielle is a woman seeking revenge, within our Thriller opening we do not expand on the reasons why however if we were to develop the thriller into feature length film then we would make her murdering as a crime of passion /love. 

The audience sees little of Danielle, only little glimpses. One particular shot focuses solely on her hands. 
This shot is intended to make the audience cautious of Danielle as they have limited sight of her, they can see nothing other than her hands gripping rope. 

The prop of the rope, a typical workman's tool, enhances Danielle's masculinity alongside the Timberland boots. However it could also has connotations of suicide, and a sense of self deprecation for herself and her actions.

Danielle's Costume:

The first introduction of the female character 'Danielle' is via her Timberland boots; despite Timberland's fifty year history, it wasn't until 1990 that women's Timberland boots were introduced largely due to it being a typical workman's boot, therefore these make her appear a modern woman with masculine qualities. The muddied boots also suggest that she has been waiting for a considerable amount of time in the mud and, metaphorically, she's been waiting a long time to seek her revenge.

The close up of Danielle's hands shows some detail of feminine qualities such as her nail polish; this could suggest that she is a femme fatale or would portray herself to be, if the thriller were to continue.

The focus on Danielle's rings works as an intertextual reference to Jackie Brown within which there is a close up 

of the character Melanie's feet wearing rings - as seen below.

Danielle also wears a black hoodie. The black colour creates a direct negative contrast between itself and Billy's white t-shirt. This immediately connotes the good versus bad divide between the two characters. The 'hoodie' is also associated with youth crime, and used as a derogatory term to generalise groups of teenagers. Current British PM David Cameron famously introduced the 'hug a hoodie' companion in order to eliminate the negative stereotype, however the stereotype still remains.