Creating a character Ashley hall

Costumes and characters

Pennywise (iT)

What does costume tell us about a character?

Picture yourself Quickly find a picture of yourself on your phone where you like how you look. Where do the clothes come from that you’re wearing? Were they a gift? Did you buy them yourself? What do you like about them? What do they say about you?

Picture somebody else - homework task 1 Ask a sibling/parent to dress up as if they were going out somewhere fun with friends, not work. Take a photo of them in their clothes. Ask them the same questions and write down their answers: Where do the clothes come from that they’re wearing? Were they a gift? Did they buy them themselves? What do they like about them? Why did they choose those particular clothes? What do they say about them?

Designing a character When sketching and designing a character, you should carefully think about every single aspect of them. What do they wear? Why do they wear it? What does their costume say about them? What sort of person are they? What time period are they from?

Job interview Imagine a character is going for a job interview. Quickly sketch in your book/folio what they would wear. Annotate the sketch with explanations about why you chose the clothes. Why do you choose them? What do they say to the potential employer?

FILM CHARACTER – homework task 2 FILM SYNOPSIS Two high school students are babysitting at a remote house in the woods. It is late at night, when the phone rings. One of them answers, but there’s only breathing on the other end. There is a noise outside. One of the girls goes to investigate. She doesn’t return. When the parents return later that night, there is blood on the ground. Furniture is upturned and shows there has been a struggle. Their children are still asleep upstairs, but the two baby sitters are nowhere to be seen. Two months later one of the girl’s dead bodies is found in an old slaughter shed on a remote farm. It has ben mutilated and has obviously been there some time. This is the prologue for a new horror film. The antagonist is the killer who has done this to the girl. TASK You need to design the antagonist. Provide a character background description. Sketch what they look like, including costume. Be specific and annotate details. Think about how your costume tells the audience a story about the character.