Main Character Ideas - Male

Our Nerd Character

So, nerd is a very broad term in the sense of describing a person or someone’s personality, what I mean by this is a student who has a small group of friends, does well in school, probably wears glasses and gets along with the teachers.

A character like this would suit a horror film in my opinion because you would be able to torment him and show him becoming scared or even terrified; this would work well with a nerdy character because stereo typically they are weak and a lot of the time keep themselves to themselves but in turn get bullied or targeted.

Furthermore, because he is clever and has good grades this could also link to him overthinking many things, ranging from him being paranoid or anxious, to him researching things that he shouldn't, therefore setting something free or creating something other worldly.

Nerd Appearance

A stereotypical nerd would where the clothes shown above but we would want our 'nerd' character to look quite normal and be clever but still fit in.

I think that we should still have him wearing glasses to show that he is a bit different but also to tell the audience he is a bit of a nerd but he is a realistic nerd and the type of person you would actually see in to day to day life.

If we were to have a nerd dressed in checked trousers and a patterned shirt this would seem very fake and far too stereotypical, therefore distracting the audience from the actual story and content of the trailer. This would also allow us to add minor details that would further develop his character and personality.

Nerd Appearance - Minor Details

The minor details would be something like a pen he uses or a certain type of hairstyle he has which tells the audience more about him but doesn't change the way you look at the character completely.

For example, he could be wearing jeans and a shirt but then be wearing trainers, this shows that although he is a nerd he is still stylish and active whereas stereotypical nerds would wears cheap shoes and they aren't stylish at all.

Another minor detail would be something like a scar on his arm or face, this would tell the audience that he doesn't just stay inside all day and play computer games or read books, it would tell them he goes outside and is also adventurous enough to get scars.

Nerd Personality

The personality is the most important part of any character in any type of movie because this is what tells the audience to like the character or not. The nerd is often the character that the audience don't really have an opinion of as he usually guides the other characters with his perceptive thoughts and decisions.

If we were to have a nerd as the main character of our film we would have to make him more interesting and maybe have multiple personalities or hidden secrets that the audience would find out throughout the film.

In addition, we could also have it so he has a big interest in something very specific and this is what will lead him throughout the film, this could be a fascination with death or that he wants to find someone that he lost contact with. I think this is important to have because it will keep the audience interested in both the story and the character as well as seeing something new and innovative.

How we would use him

A nerd could be a very difficult main character to have because an audience may think that it is too cliché and they will know what to expect next; in order to prevent this from happening we will reveal things throughout in order to constantly peak the interests of a lot of people in the audience, in this sense we will add aspects of detective movies and also action movies where secrets and aspects of the character are revealed throughout and completely change the audiences view of the character.

Furthermore, the Nerd is usually one of the first to be targeted and got rid of in horror movies because he is always secluded rather than with a group of friends and protected, this is the reason we want to have him as the main character, so we can make a trailer that is very different to normal horror movies because we are focussing on a character that would usually be got rid of very early on.

Our Jock Character

A Jock is a very generic character in Horror movies and they are seen in the majority of them, this is mostly because they are able to take the heroic role where they attempt to protect everyone and sometimes succeed but other times they fail. If we were to have this kind of character we would probably give him the same role because of how well it works and also because there are a lot of examples that we are able to work from and get inspiration from.

In addition, when we talk about a Jock character we are talking about a sporty teenager that is popular and strong, therefore able to protect people and get along with people too. Jock characters are also stereo typically a bit thick and need the help of other (usually the nerd) to understand a situation; they will usually charge in before they know what to do and therefore get themselves in a pinch.

Jock Appearance

Because of how sporty a Jock is usually shown to be they would wear very sporty clothes: Jordan's would usually be the trainers, basketball shorts to show how involved in sports they are and a baseball shirt to show that they have an interest in sports.

I think the way the Jock looks is very important because this will tell the audience what type of jock he is but it will also show that he is very fit and active, the opposite of a nerd. It isn't actually too important the type of clothes a Jock would wear because this will show they don't care much about their appearance; it is still important for the clothes to be sports related though. I think in order to make a Jock look realistic he would have to wear normal gym clothes rather than clothes someone would wear to a football game or something similar.

Jock Personality

The personality of the Jock will be very relaxed and comedic but also very serious at times, this will link to his close relationships to his friends and also how he acts as a leader and supporter in his group of friends.

I think the supporting aspect of his personality will be very important to show because this will show the audience that although he seems like a macho guy that is thick and doesn't really think of others he is also very caring, this would make the audience like him more and also make them sadder if something bad happens to him.

Furthermore, I think we can also use the macho aspect of the Jocks personality and then juxtapose this, this will tell the audience that he isn't how you perceive him to be to start with and he is actually really nice and does care about others, this is going against usual stereotypes about jocks and horrors.

How would we use him

In our trailer I think we would have to show his relationship with all of his friends and the many different aspects of his personality; we would show him hugging his friends but also protecting them, this would show his protective and his caring sides.

We would also have to show that he puts himself before others throughout, this would make the audience know when he plans to sacrifice himself and they wouldn't want him to. I think this is good because this could then show that the protector and leader is gone and now everyone else has no protection and is in danger, this would allow for and antagonist to begin to attack them and also show that the Jocks life was lost for no reason, this would constantly be stirring the audiences emotions.

In addition, this would allow us to show the personalities of other characters that are in the trailer too, you could further change the audiences opinions of certain characters, for example, there could be a girl that also sacrifices herself to help her friends, this would further go against horror conventions.