KPB116 Character Profile ( Final COPY) PDF

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This assessment is a character profile which is assessment 1 for kpb116 (a subject at QUT in Brisbane) ...

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KPB116 Introduction to Screenwriting Assignment 1: Character Profile

Name: Huon Hanssen Student ID: n10777202 Tutor: Tess Brading

1 Student Name: Huon Hanssen Key points of character: Intro: My protagonist is a 43-year-old man named Luther Morton who was born in the year 2148. When the audience meets him, he is in the middle of a nightmare due to the trauma he has endured after his wife and child were killed in front of him by a gang. He now lives on his own in a dingy apartment next to a tavern, doing his best to scrounge for items that he repurposes to trade for money and food. Personality Traits: Luther is quiet and reserved. He has a deep gravelly voice, but it is also soft and kind. He doesn’t talk much, however, when he does, it is eloquent and well educated. He also has a dry, dark sense of humor. Luther values respect, discipline and loyalty which was an integral part of the Bounty Hunters Guild where he spent his life after education as a young man. This is juxtaposed by his constant consumption of alcohol to wash away the pain. His biggest fear is falling in love with someone only to lose them like he lost his family. At the guild, he was taught how to fight using long-range weapons. He was also trained with a katana, a lethal samurai sword. Luther was a deadly hitman who was proficient in both Jujitsu and Kung Fu, but after the death of his wife and daughter, he has come to loath violence of any kind. His intense training made him resourceful, inventive and good with his hands. This allowed him to create items of value from junk to sell at the local market. Character setting: In 2191, the world has become a wasteland, blocked from the sun and choked by dark, polluted smog clouds. While the world is uninhabitable, the advancement of human technology has allowed megacities to be created which are shut off from the outside world creating a space where life can continue. Angular concrete buildings surround him, illuminated by bioluminescent lights in a world controlled by corrupt governments and big business. There are 5 regions in the city with the middle inhabited by the wealthiest men and women. As you move further out, life becomes harsher. Luther lives in sector 5, the outermost part of the city, walled off to the rest of civilization. Poverty, crime and overpopulation runs rampant. There are 9 subdivisions in the outer ring and each one is controlled by a gang. Violence breaks out daily as they vie for land and power. The police forces ignore it, only intervening if action must be taken to keep the inner sectors safe, although, there is the

2 Bounty Hunters Guild where he used to work. It is well paid but a dangerous business, as the primary target is hunting for gang members and criminals to eradicate. Luther does his best to stay out of harm’s way, however, he has the unfortunate habit of getting involved in many dangerous situations. Moment of Truth: After his wife and daughter’s death, Luther placed a wall over his emotions, blocking out almost all human contact. This way, he stopped any chance of going through the same pain he felt when he lost his family. One day, he finds a young girl who is lost, looking for her mother. He decides to help her, and this forms the first crack in a wall built up over years of pain. A couple of hours later, he is walking back to his apartment, when he sees the young girl and her mother, held against their will by a group of gang members. His contact, while it may have been brief, makes him feel connected to them. He feels that it is his responsibility to keep them safe. In this moment, he is forced to make the decision to commit an act of violence, which he is strongly against or leave them to certain death. An internal battle boils as he tries to find alternatives to violence, but he knows the gang members cannot be reasoned with. In that moment, he makes the choice to open-up, change his values and risk his life. From this action, he begins to find purpose in a life that once lacked meaning. Background: Physical appearance: Luther is tall, strong and extremely solid from his years of fight training. He has worn yet kind facial features, with a strong jawline, covered by three days of stubble. Luther has a large tattoo on his neck signifying his time at the Bounty Hunters Guild. Deep green eyes the color of emeralds enhance his features, complemented by a head of short, black hair. He wears a black leather coat, dark brown jeans and steel-capped boots to keep out the cold. Underneath that coat, there is a long sleeve navy shirt with a pocket on top of his left chest. Inside, he keeps an old, worn picture of his wife and daughter. Past: With a strong sense of ethics instilled by his parents as a young boy, Luther joined the Bounty Hunters Guild at the age of eighteen. Twelve years later, he had become one of the organization’s top men. His kill list was so big that the strongest gang at the time decided something had to be done. To get their revenge, they captured Luther’s wife and daughter and killed them in front of him. Such was his grief; he was unable to continue as a

3 bounty hunter and became an outcast relegated to sector 5 where he now lives. Life has beaten him down, but Luther is still trying to get back up and do what is right. Relationships with others: Luther keeps to himself mainly, only interacting with people if he must, although he longs to have close relationships. His past has made him afraid of contact with others. He feels that if he opens-up and connects with anyone on a deep emotional level, they will be taken from him. Character Arc: Goals: While he is out walking in the market, Luther comes across a young girl who has lost her mother amongst the bustling crowds, so he decides to help. When they find the young girl’s mother, she feels an extreme sense of gratitude knowing that if it wasn’t for him, there was a high chance she would have never seen her daughter again. As a token of thanks, she takes him to her jewelry store and gives him a bracelet made from leather and titanium; the strongest metal on earth. At first, he refuses, but she insists, so he eventually gives in and accepts it. Despite the wall he has placed over his emotions, he finds himself connecting to the woman and her child. Luther decides to go on his way, but after a few hours, he is walking back to his apartment, when he hears a commotion up ahead. The young girl and her mother are being held against their will by a group of gang members. If he does nothing, he will be leaving them to certain death, however, violence is against his values. After a while, he realizes there is no other choice than to risk losing his life. In a brutal display of violence, Luther kills them. While the fight ensues, a man watches from an alleyway. He calls an unknown woman and tells her that he thinks Luther is the perfect candidate for a mysterious task, leaving the audience with an open ending, wondering what will happen next. Emotional Journey: When we first meet Luther, he has dug himself a psychological hole where he cowers, hoping that the trauma of previous events will eventually leave him. His fatal flaw is that he thinks his strategy of non-violence will work, even though it has failed him every time. In a moment of conflict, he learns that the only way to beat his fears is to face them head-on. While he used to be afraid to express his feelings to another person, he is finally willing to form new relationships with people he can trust. He knows the journey ahead won’t be easy, but he has a newfound hope rekindled in his heart....