FAV2102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Heredity
5 Jun 2018
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FAV2102
WEEKLY READINGS: CHP 3- CHARACTER & EMOTION- WHO DOES WHAT AND WHY:
• But in film, where the principles of drama tell us that stories must take the form of
characters in action, the emphasis is on showing. The screenwriter must rely on action and
behaviour to show the audience who the character really is.
• The writers create characters who we can relate to and identify with and that make us
intrigued.
EMOTION:
• true emotion is the source of our connection to the character.
• Screenwriters, regardless of experience, often neglect the emotional aspect of characters.
often emotions are expressed, they come in tears or anger.
• Believable emotion besides creating connections, makes scenes more interesting and
compelling. How characters respond emotionally to the story, often is the way we develop
meaning and understanding.
• As you think about your story, you need to think in terms of how your character is affected
by what happens to them and incidents and events and changing circumstances.
Emotional progression: incorporating a progression of emotion into screenplay helps us
understand the character better and their motivations. one emotion audiences generally
understand is fear, if you know what a character is afraid of, then you know what they need to
face.
THE FOUNDING OF DRAMATIC CHARACTERS:
• For the protagonist to function effectively, they must take action to achieve something. in
draa, haraters, speifiall the ai haraters, ust e atie. If the are’t, the drama
will fail. The protagonist must be committed to something and forced to take action because
of that commitment.
Want & Need:
1. what does the character want?
2. why do they want it?
3. what do they need?
The want refers the story to the goal. the why relates to the protagoist’s osious
motivation and the need differs in many cases from what they want, it is an unconscious,
inner force that compels a character to act without understanding the real reasons why.
Character need driving the story: if the protagonist doesn’t want to drive the story, his need must.
CREATING THE CHARACTER:
• once you have a basic understanding of the above questions, you have the structural key to
what drives the plot. your characters must have emotions, attitudes, beliefs, and actions
that represent them. They need a history, personal traits and quirks, to come alive.
Personal experience: Draw from your whole background of experience to create the people who
live in your scripts. Good characters often come from actual models. Basing characters on
people ou ko ell gies us a idiatio hat a harater’s respose ight e i a partiular
situation. They have to have themes in the story and create and come from you, but you still
must shape them.
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