Second character: Dr. Frankestein

Character Analysis:

Unlike the first movie, in the Bride of Frankenstein, the doctor is not the “mad scientist ” anymore. He is traumatised, weakened and more than willing to abandon science. Unlike the first film, what drives his actions is fear and guilt. He understands too late the consequences of playing god. In this film, he suffers an ethical conflict: he managed to create life, but the problem is whether he should do it regardless of his ability. He is someone who crossed a moral boundary and now understands what he has done. His knowledge is a curse rather than a power.

In this movie, he is also acting out of blackmail, not ego; this reframes his “sin” as a tragic consequence rather than a malicious intent.

After acknowledging the consequences of his creation, he is refusing this ability he has acquired.

If the Bride stands out as a scream against creation , Dr. Frankestein is the silence that comes after.

Because of that i think visually he shouldn’t have a very bold design. He doesn’t want to be found, doesn’t want to stay at the centre of attention and also he is almost inflicting upon himself a sort of self-penance.

Design considerations :

where the bride stands out and is bold and outward , he shoud be almost hunched inward.
absence of bold colours and shapes. No metals , muted colors , maybe also some old clothes.
long outer layers , fabric that hangs , not flares.
nothing too bold like the bride. they are on two oppostite sides.

moodboard:

Finding the silhouette: I wanted a simple design where the lab coat is in contrast with the bold attire of the bride, but I will need to keep it in the same ” world”. i want him to be the exact opposite of the bride: there is no big contrast in his clothing. the bride has to fight for her ” newborn life, he is surrendering to his sin. Order in a quite , low contrast attire is disrupted only by his mildly unkept hair.

Some costume exploration to determine how to shape the lab coat and what it’s underneath. I wanted a simple shape that still communicated the aura of knowledge of the character.

I decided to keep the double layer but to modify the head, since the bride has a bulky head cover , with Henry I decided to go the opposite way.

For the face, I wanted to portray a middle-aged man marked by the consequences of his actions, not a bold younger one following his hubris. His hair is a bit unkept, like in the movie. I wanted to maintain this as I think that it really conveys this feeling of letting himself go almost as the unability of keepint it all together or punish himself a little like he is undeserving of care.

Expressions:

Final design

Colour : colour wise I choose very neutral and toned down colours for this character to set it apart from the bride.

POSES:

i wanred to explore beside the neutral pose also a couple fo poses able to convey his torment for the inability to stop acting upon his arrogance and then regretting it.