Make the characters in the movie memorable and real.

• From memory, describe a character from The Lord of the Rings (or, if you haven't seen the film, a character from another movie).
• Brainstorm the things that make the character memorable.
• Find out what an archetype is and give examples of archetypes.
• Discuss character archetypes in relation to The Lord of the Rings. How difficult do you think it is to build a character as an archetype at the same time as making them real and distinct?

e.g. the way the character looks or behaves, what the character says or does, what the character symbolises, how often the character appears, the actor who plays the character, other things associated with the character (the setting, props, music)

An archetype is a typical example of someone or something in literature or art - a typical symbol (e.g. Frodo could be seen as the archetype of goodness).

Hear:

• Elijah Wood on playing Frodo (zone 1)
• Sir Ian McKellen on playing Gandalf (zone 6)
• Andy Serkis on playing Gollum (zone 18).

Read about:

• how Viggo Mortensen lived the part of Aragorn (zone 5)
• how the film-makers brought the character of Gollum to life (zone 18)
• how the film-makers developed the iconic looks and characterisations of the evil races and cultures (zone 5, 10 and 11).

Focus questions:

• What are some techniques that film-makers use to make characters seem real?
• What are some of the most memorable things about the main characters?

e.g. giving them a realistic background and culture and a consistent appearance and personality (attention to detail)

• Describe someone (real or invented) in a way that they will be memorable and real to an audience. Think about where they are from, how they dress and move, what sorts of things they think, feel, and say, and so on.
• Get your classmates to give feedback on how memorable the character is (e.g. what they think is realistic or not, what more they want to know about the character).

Related activity links: