Characterisation

The film I have chosen to do my characterisation task on is the first Twilight film. I have chosen the clip where Edward Cullen is first introduced to the film. The character of Edward Cullen has been constructed by a number of ways. This is by what other characters say about him, the mise en scene, what the character is doing and by the camera work in the clip.

What other people say about Edward Cullen is a very important way of constructing his character. The character Jessica describes each of the Cullen family as they come into the canteen, she describes Edwards’s family as being very weird and even says ‘she’s with jasper, the blonde one who looks like he’s in pain.’  She gives each of his family quite negative descriptions but the when she’s describing Edward she says all positive descriptions like when she says ‘he’s totally gorgeous, obviously.’ This shows that he is very eye catching from a women’s point of view and that he is very much admired by them.  As she goes on she says ‘apparently nobody’s here’s good enough for him.’ This then shows that his character keeps himself to himself and doesn’t have close relationships with anyone other than his family.

The way the character is constructed through mise en scene is mainly through his costume, lighting and his proximity with other characters. Edward Cullen’s costume is very dark, which is a major juxtaposition with the rest of his family who are all in lighter colours like white and blues. This shows that his character could have a darker side to him or it could show that he is totally different from the rest of his family or wants to be different from his family. By wearing darker clothes it makes his character stand out from the rest of his brothers and sisters.   The lighting when the character enters is very dark with could connote that his character has a dark personality and to show the audience that there is a bad side to this character, it also then shows a massive contrast to how the girls have described him as being very dreamy.  Proximity with other character help to construct his character as Edward Cullen doesn’t walk in with the rest of his family, he walks in on his own this shows that he doesn’t have many friends and that given that option he would prefer to be alone then with his family. When he sits down he doesn’t interact with his family which gives us the impression that he isn’t that close with them.

Camera work is very useful when constructing Edward Cullen’s character. When he first walks into the canteen the camera is at a mid-shot.  This then helps to show his facial expression and also his costume. His facial expression is very hard and stern which then gives us the impression he is a serious character, it also shows him walking in a slow manner which shows he is a very calm and majestic character. The camera only ever does a mid-shot when they first introducing him until he sit down it then cuts to a long shot this then helps us to see the relationship he has with his family.

All of these factors help to convey Edward Cullen's character and helps us to interupt him as a character.  As the film goes on are opinion of him may change or it may help us to understand the type of character we first saw him to be.

Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObWiQPqbFqo