True / False stories.
Purpose?
True story not necessarily a good story.
Good stories have to be worked and re-worked
- True life stories do not offer neat and relevant endings
- Life is Unpredictable
- in a story, we can and must control the events and sequences so that it gives the appearance of being like life.
Characterization : Defining The Character
- Every story starts with a character
- the character is the Heart, Soul, and the nervous system
- it is through your character that the viewers experience emotions
<without a character, there is no action>
<without action, you have no conflict>
<without conflict, you have no story>
<without story, you have no screenplay>
Developing Characters
-who is your character?
-what doe he want?
- what is his quest?
-what drives him to the resolution of the story?
1. establish main character
-characters should have 3D structure.(Physiology, Sociology, Psychology)
a). Physiology
-sex
-age
-height and weight
-colour of hair, eyes, skim
-posture
-Appearance
-Defects, abnormalitites, deformities, birth marks, diseases
-hereditary
b) Sociology
-class (lower, middle, upper)
-Occupation : tyoe of work, hours of work, income, condition of work, attitude towards organization, suitability for work
- Education : amount, kind of schools, marks, fav. subjects, poorest subjects, aptitudes
- home life: parents living, earning power, orphan, parents seperated / divorced, parents habits, parents’ mental development , parents’s vices, neglect, character’s marital status.
-religion
-Race, Nationality.
- Place in the community; leader among friends, clubs, sports
-political affiliations
- amusements: hobbies, books, newspapers, magazines he/she reads.
c). Psychology
-sex life, moral standards
- personal premise, ambition
-Frustrations, chief disappointments
-Temperament : Choleric, easy-going, pessimistic, optimistic
-Attitude towards life: resigned, militant, defeatist
-complexes: obsessions, inhibitions, superstitions, phobias
-personality: extrovert, introvert
-abilities: language, talents
- qualities: imagination, judgement, taste, poise
-I.Q./ E.Q
***-what is the dep and personal secret this character has which he is desperate to protect/ hide?
1.) Seperate the components of his life into 2 basic categories:
a)interior
b) exterior
INTERIOR – takes place from birth until where the story begins. (its is a process that forms the character. when u start formulating ur character from birth, you see your character build in body and form)
-how old is he when the story begins?
-where does he live?
-does he have siblings? wad kind of childhood? his r/ship with parents? wad kind of child? married? single? etc….
EXTERIOR- where the story begins to the conclusion.
-It is a process that reveals the character.
-who are they and wad do they do?
-are they sad, happy with life? do they wish their life was different? another job, another wife?
You must create your characters in relationship to other people or things.
all dramatic characters interact in 3 ways:
1. They experience conflict in achieving their dramatic need.(eg. Need money- rob a bank, rob a store, rob a person?)
2. They interact with other characters.(either in an antagonistic, friendly or indifferent way)
3. They interact with themselves.(eg. He overcame his fear of being caught by pulling off the robbery successfully)
How do u invent characters?
-turn them upside down.
eg. a monk who is devoted to his religion…….but is a football fanatic
eg. a serial killer…….whose obsession is to kill other serial killers
eg. a common street rat…….who loves to eat and cook only fine food.
quiz
-3 storytelling tools
-memory
-observation
-experience
-aristotle’s storytelling techniques
-developing 3 dimensional characters
-writing for an audience.
