✍️Craft of Film Writing Unit 2 – Character Development in Film Writing

What's Character Development?

• Process of creating and revealing the inner life of a character over the course of a story
• Involves crafting a character's personality, motivations, flaws, and growth
• Requires establishing a character's starting point and gradually showing how they change or evolve
• Achieved through a combination of dialogue, actions, reactions, and internal thoughts
• Essential for engaging the audience and making characters feel authentic and relatable
• Helps to differentiate characters from one another and make them memorable
• Can be influenced by a character's background, experiences, and relationships with other characters

Why Characters Matter in Film

• Characters serve as the emotional anchor for the audience, allowing them to invest in the story
• Well-developed characters make the plot more engaging and impactful
• Compelling characters can elevate a simple story and make it memorable
• Audiences often remember and discuss characters long after the film has ended
• Strong characters can help to convey the theme and message of the film
• Relatable characters allow the audience to see themselves in the story and connect with the narrative
• Characters drive the action and conflict in a film, creating dramatic tension

Key Elements of Strong Characters

• Clear and consistent personality traits that inform their actions and decisions
• Believable motivations that drive their behavior and create conflict
• Flaws and weaknesses that make them human and relatable
• Unique quirks, habits, or mannerisms that make them memorable and distinct
• A well-defined character arc that shows growth or change over the course of the story
• Authentic relationships and interactions with other characters
• Dialogue that reflects their personality, background, and emotional state
• A backstory that informs their present-day behavior and decision-making

Character Arc Basics

• The journey a character takes over the course of the story, often involving personal growth or change
• Typically follows a three-act structure: setup, confrontation, and resolution
• The setup establishes the character's starting point, including their personality, goals, and flaws
• The confrontation presents challenges and obstacles that force the character to confront their weaknesses and make difficult choices
  • This is often the longest part of the arc and involves the most significant growth and change
• The resolution shows the character's final state, reflecting the lessons they've learned and the growth they've achieved
• Character arcs can be positive (growth and improvement), negative (decline or fall), or flat (little to no change)
• The most compelling character arcs involve significant, believable change that is earned through the character's experiences and decisions

Crafting Backstory and Motivation

• Backstory refers to the events and experiences in a character's past that shape their personality and behavior
• Motivation is the driving force behind a character's actions and decisions, often stemming from their backstory
• Effective backstory is revealed gradually through dialogue, actions, and other storytelling techniques
• Backstory should be relevant to the character's present-day arc and inform their motivation
• Motivation should be clear, believable, and strong enough to sustain the character's actions throughout the story
• Conflicting motivations can create internal struggle and add depth to a character
• Backstory and motivation help to create empathy and understanding for a character, even if their actions are questionable

Dialogue and Character Voice

• Dialogue is a powerful tool for revealing character and advancing the story
• Each character should have a distinct voice that reflects their personality, background, and emotional state
• Effective dialogue is concise, purposeful, and sounds natural when spoken aloud
• Subtext, or the underlying meaning beneath the words, can reveal a character's true feelings or intentions
• Dialogue can be used to create conflict, reveal backstory, or show a character's growth or change
• A character's voice should remain consistent throughout the story, unless a change is intentional and justified
• Dialogue should serve the story and the character, not just provide exposition or information

Showing vs. Telling in Character Writing

• Showing involves revealing character through actions, dialogue, and other storytelling techniques
• Telling involves directly stating a character's traits, feelings, or motivations
• Showing is generally more effective than telling, as it allows the audience to infer and engage with the character
• Telling can be useful in small doses, particularly for minor characters or quick exposition
• Effective character writing balances showing and telling, using each technique where appropriate
• Showing often requires more screen time and attention to detail, but can create a more immersive and engaging experience
• Telling can be efficient, but overuse can lead to flat, unengaging characters

Advanced Techniques and Common Pitfalls

• Subverting character tropes and expectations can create fresh, memorable characters
• Giving characters contradictory traits or motivations can add depth and complexity
• Using foils (characters with opposing traits) can highlight a main character's qualities and growth
• Ensemble casts require careful balancing to ensure each character is distinct and well-developed
• Overusing clichés or stereotypes can lead to flat, uninteresting characters
• Inconsistent character behavior can undermine believability and engagement
• Rushing character development or relying too heavily on telling can lead to shallow, unengaging characters
• Overcomplicating a character's backstory or motivation can confuse the audience and detract from the main story