Character profile: Protagonist

Character profiles

Protagonist 

Group of protagonists or an Individual 

• A group of protagonists is usually effective in horror films as an audience can become attached to each character within the group and then be upset and scared when each of them dies or is made to go onto the 'bad side'. Also, the connection between a group of protagonists can be effective as it becomes more distressing to see their reaction if one is killed or injured. It can also be more entertaining for the audience to watch the bond between a group of characters rather than how a single character reacts to things individually. 
• However, a group of protagonists may not be a good idea for our opening as we have a very limited amount of time to prove our effective skills at creating an effective piece of film and so we would not have time to develop the connections between the characters in such a way that the audience would come to sympathise and support them by the end of the opening. Also, having a group of protagonists means that we would have to make our actors talk and this can sometimes end badly and ruin the effect of the opening as the actors would not be professional. It may be hard for us to find more than one person who is interested in featuring in our opening.
• An individual as a protagonist is effective is as by having one person to identify with, the audience becomes more attached to them and so is more frightened when something happens to them. This can also mean that the character can seem more vulnerable if they are by themselves as there would be no-one to potentially get help or protect them and this makes for a more tense watch. It does not require any actors to talk at all as the camera could follow the character without them having to say anything and it will still be effective. It does not require much time to create a bond between the protagonist and the audience if they are an individual as the audience will automatically identify with them if they are alone and vulnerable and this is helpful in our limited amount of time available. 

Old or young

• Using a middle-aged or elderly protagonist can be effective as if they have a family, job and house they have a lot more to lose than a younger person and so they can have a lot more at stake and this raises the tension throughout the film. An older person can have a lot more weaknesses through the people they love such as their children and are also supposed to have a more developed moral code and so will be expected to do the right thing whereas teenagers often are expected to go off the rails. Even though this can be entertaining to watch, an audience likes to be able to trust the protagonist. Also, using an elderly person could be effective as they will not only seem very vulnerable but they will have a lot of memories which can be played on in the form of flashbacks etc.
• However, it may be quite hard for us to find an older actor who would be willing to co-operate due to their lack of time. A younger actor will be much more likely to be creatively imaginative in playing the role of the protagonist and this will be very helpful in creating our opening as we won't have to spend long amounts of time telling them exactly what to do.
• A younger protagonist such as a teenager is effective as they can seem much more vulnerable and so the audience will be more likely to fear for them. A lot of people can relate to being a teenager whether they are older or not as it is a memorable period of life and so the audience will relate to the character. It will be much easier for us to find a younger protagonist as they will be our age- they will be much more likely to get into their role if they know and are used to us. 

Male or female

• A male protagonist is successful sometimes being used in horror as males are usually used in films to create a strong and indestructible character to rely on to save the day. However, in horror this is usually subverted as we see the character be scared and made to seem weak and this subversion is very effective. Also, for horrors which include a mystery such as a horror/thriller or something similar, using a man as the protagonist is common as it is effective having a male character as a detective-type character. This is featured in films such as Sinister or The Sixth Sense where the protagonist is trying to find out information. 
• However, for our opening we will probably not be using much of a mystery to the plot especially so early on in the plot and so an actor which would be easier to make seem vulnerable and threatened would be ideal.
• Due to this, a female protagonist would be much better. This is because for our psychological theme is would be much more desirable to feature a girl as it is easier to make them look small and threatened. We can also use a lot more creative clothing such as long, flowy dresses which would look chilling in our cemetery location. It will also be much easier for us to find a female as we can find one who is interested from our school, most likely someone who is into drama. 

Overall, a female teenage protagonist will be the most ideal for our opening. This will not only be the most effective but also easy to find. A teenage girl protagonist is used quite commonly in horror films such as: When A Stranger Calls and Paranormal Activity 4.