Day 4 Assignment

[Alan Larson]

DAY 4 – ASSIGNMENT

Subject: Alan’s Character Profiles

What I’ve learned doing this assignment is…I need to do a lot more work on improving all of my characters.

ASSIGNMENT

1. Logline: A wisecracking Denver Everyman risks his life to save his sister from the sordid world of date rape drugs and sophisticated global sex trafficking.

2. Create a Character Profile for each of your top five characters.
Include two required items and at least two optional items.

A. JAY CROCKETT

REQUIRED:
Role: HERO / EVERYMAN

Core Character Traits:

– Smart

– Creative

– Smartass
– Thinks he’s funny

Character Subtext Logline: Will take any risk to save his loved ones.

OPTIONAL:
Flaw: Hates his father

Mission/Agenda: To save his sister, Holly, & Erin

Character Arc (if any): Goes from hating his father to working for him

Something they don’t want to admit about themselves: His marriage is falling apart.

CHANGE: Want/Need: Jay wants his father’s love.

This change gives the hero more depth.

B. ORLANDO SKODA (ROLEX GUY)

REQUIRED:
Role: VILLAIN / TRAFFICKER GANG LEADER
Core Character Traits:

– Arrogant

– Ruthless

– Physically strong

– Swanky

Character Subtext Logline: Won’t let anything or anyone stop him.

OPTIONAL:
Flaw: Overly arrogant

Mission/Agenda: To abduct and sell girls.

CHANGE: World View: Take anything you want

This change gives the character more depth.

C. ERIN RAYNOR

REQUIRED:
Role: VICTIM / LOVE INTEREST / HEROINE
Core Character Traits:

– Trusting

– Innocent

– Vulnerable

– Determined

– Attractive

Character Subtext Logline: Feels trapped in this hellish situation.

OPTIONAL:
Flaw: Was overly trusting

Mission/Agenda: Save Holly and herself
Character Arc (if any): Goes from being innocent and trusting to shrewd and cunning

CHANGE: World View: Even after everything that happens because of the Chinese, she still loves China.

This change gives the story more balance.

D. SPECIAL AGENT RACHEL QUINN

REQUIRED:
Role: THE SAGE / HERO’S MENTOR
Core Character Traits:

– Dedicated

– Stern

– No B.S.

– Expert Marksman

Character Subtext Logline: Sometimes lines must be crossed to achieve good.

OPTIONAL:
Flaw: Overly aggressive

Mission/Agenda: Save all the missing girls

Secret: She’s divorced

CHANGE: Want/Need: To protect her own 13 year-old daughter.

This change gives Quinn’s character more depth and motivation.

E. HOLLY SAMPSON

REQUIRED:
Role: HERO’S SISTER / ABDUCTEE
Core Character Traits:

– Accepting

– Easy-going

– Gullible

– Attractive

Character Subtext Logline: Unlike Jay, she loves their father.

OPTIONAL:
Flaw: Smokes weed

World View: You Only Live Once

CHANGE: Character Arc (if any): Goes from being gullible to being worldly.

This change gives the character more depth.

3. Improve at least one item on each
character profile. Place the
change at the bottom of that profile and tell us
how it improved the
character and what it might do for your story.

[Erica Miner]

I really love what you’ve done here, and I’m enjoying getting to know your characters. You’ve clarified them, their roles and characteristics so that the plot you previously wrote makes much more sense. The logline works especially well, too.

You also did a great job with Jay’s arc, the change, from hating his father to wanting/needing his love, really works.

For some reason, I couldn’t find Orlando’s World View other than the Change, but I really liked the Change. The same holds true for Erin (am I missing something?), though her traits and subtext definitely make her an intriguing character. Her mission almost makes her the heroine counterpart of Jay.

Rachel’s daughter heightens the drama and her motivation to solve the case. I also like the contrast between Holly and Erin, definitely not 2 peas coming from the same pod. I’m curious to learn how she progresses from naive to savvy.

Great job, Alan.

[Patricia Semler]

Hi classmates, unfortunately life has intervened for my partner, Tom. He has a family crisis to deal with. He may be back, he may not. I have no further information. That leaves me without a sounding board. Is anyone here still looking for a partner? Is anyone available to take on another critique? Thanks Pat

[Demethress Davis]

Demethress’ Character Profiles

What I learned doing this assignment is…character’s change and I am discovering new traits as I am doing each of these assignments. Reinforcing that things are set in stone.

LogLine: Henry, a light-skinned Black man is taken in by the town’s Good Samaritan. When Henry discovers that she is a White Supremacist intent on killing as many Black people she can, Henry must overcome his own demons before he can stop her.

CHARACTER #1- HENRY CARPENTER

REQUIRED:

Role in the story: Protagonist

Core Character Traits (no more than five):

Lacks self confidence

Secretive

Persistent

Fearless

Inquisitive

Character Subtext Logline: Henry must overcome his feelings of inadequacy to regain his identity and save his life.

OPTIONAL:

Flaws: He lets the guilt of his part in the death of his wife stop him from being the best he can be.

Want: To prove he is worthy of having the things he desires.

Need: To overcome his demons and stop Lillian’s crime spree.

Mission/Agenda: To overcome

his guilt and stop the killing spree of a White supremacist.

Character Arc From Passive to Aggressive

CHARACTER #2- LILLIAN CANTOR

REQUIRED:

Role in the Story: Antagonist

Core Character Traits:

Friendly

Selfish

Vicious

Spiteful

Masked

Character Subtext Logline: Lillian hides behind her “Good Samaritan” persona in order carry out her vicious White Supremacist ideology.

OPTIONAL:

Flaw: Lillian regrets not having a real childhood; always lived in her father’s shadow who was the head of the KKK in her town.

Want: To kill as many people of color as she can.

Need: To prove she, as a woman is worthy to become the Leader of the KKK chapter in the county.

CHARACTER #3 JEWEL SIMPSON

REQUIRED:

Role in the story: Supporting Character

Core Character Traits (no more than five):

Sensitive

Loyal

Apprehensive

Shy

Guarded

Character Subtext Logline: Jewel, a neighbor, hides behind her shyness in order to stay alive.

OPTIONAL:

Want: To show she can be trusted

Need: To step outside her shell and take control of her life.

Mission/Agenda: To break Lillian’s hold on her life and do the right thing.

Character Arc: From Shy to Empowered

• This reply was modified 3 years, 10 months ago by  Demethress Davis.

[Erica Miner]

Discover Your Characters and Profile Them

Logline: When a brilliant young violinist teams up with an opera-loving detective to solve the murder of a famous opera conductor, the violinist finds herself in the sights of the killer.

Subject: Erica Miner Character Profiles

What I’ve Learned Doing this Assignment: I don’t know my characters as well as I thought I did. But as I peeled off the layers, I gained new insights into what makes them tick.

Character Profiles, top five characters:

1. Character Name: Julia Kogan

Role: Professional violinist

Core Character Traits:

– Musical prodigy

– Ingenuous

– Sensitive

– Curious

Character Subtext Logline: Julia’s natural curiosity propels her into dangerous situations.

Flaw: Her concern for people who are important to her leaves her vulnerable.

Want/Need: Achieve top success in her field/ To be loved

*Character Arc: Goes from vulnerable to self-protective to save her own life.

Something they don’t want to admit about themselves: What makes this character unique?

Combines a prodigious musical gift with an ability to solve mysteries.

*Change: [*Character Arc: Goes from vulnerable to self-protective to save her own life.]

Learns to fight back aggressively when her life or a friend’s life is in danger.

Improvement: Making Julia more aggressive makes us root for her feistiness.

2. Character Name: Sidney Richter

Role: Closest colleague to lead female

Core Character Traits:

– Hot-tempered

– Avuncular

– Experienced

– Defensive/Aggressive

Character Subtext Logline: Sidney is an easily angered violinist who has a weakness for illegal substances.

Flaw: Underneath his gruff exterior, he is a total softie when it comes to protecting Julia.

*Want/Need: To find a more fulfilling life situation/ To be loved.

*Change: [Want/Need: To find a more fulfilling life situation/ To be loved.]

To be the best mentor he can be for Julia.

Improvement: Emphasizing Sidney’s altruistic side makes us feel more sympathetic toward him.

3. Character Name: Charles Tremaine

Role: Underappreciated tenor/Lover

Core Character Traits:

– Egotistical

– Capable

– Take charge

– Charmer

*Character Subtext Logline: Charles is a talented singer who resents his older brother’s career success.

Flaw: He thinks he is smarter than everyone else.

His Mission: To become the most famous tenor in the world using any means necessary.

*Change: [A talented singer who resents his older brother’s career success.]

An aggressive, unrelenting Don Juan will stop at nothing to grab the spotlight.

Improvement: Focusing on Charles’s Casanova-like behavior hints at its potential for danger.

4. Larry Somers

Role: Detective on murder case

Core Character Traits:

– Humorous

– Smart

– Skeptical

– Curious

*Character Subtext Logline: Larry is a savvy detective who takes charge first and asks questions later.

Something he doesn’t want to admit about himself: he has a soft spot for vulnerable females.

Life Metaphor/Identity: Controller of all situations.

*Change: [Larry is a savvy detective who tends to take charge first and ask questions later.]

Larry uses his control freak side to discount others’ possibly valuable opinions.

Improvement: Punches up Larry’s personality to hint at his potential to be tough and unforgiving.

5. Patricia Wells

Role: presumed Antagonist to lead female

Core Character Traits:

– Difficult

– *Exacting

– Argumentative

– Self-important

Character Subtext Logline: Patricia is the Opera’s general manager who is always on Julia’s case.

Flaw: She has a weakness/need to self-medicate with drugs.

Something they don’t want to admit about themselves: She came from a lower-class background far below her personal standards.

– *Change: [Exacting] Delusions of grandeur

Improvement: Emphasizing Patricia’s ambitious side will make her a more compelling character.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 10 months ago by  Erica Miner.
• This reply was modified 3 years, 10 months ago by  Erica Miner.

[Alan Larson]

Hi, Erica,

I think you’ve done a really nice job with your character profiles. Each one has a distinct set of characteristics that stand out.

My only question (and it’s a carry-over from Assignment 3) is Julia’s observations of the chess board. Since it seems to be a key part to your Story Beats, I might like to see some explanation of this in Julia’s profile.

On the changes you made to the Character Profiles, these four in particular really add depth to your characters:

Julia – Learns to fight back aggressively when her life or a friend’s life is in danger.

Charles – An aggressive, unrelenting Don Juan will stop at nothing to grab the spotlight.

Larry – Larry uses his control freak side to discount others’ possibly valuable opinions.

Patricia – Delusions of grandeur

I think the hardest part of this assignment will be integrating these changes in our screenplays. I’m anxious to see how these changes come across in your script.

Another excellent class assignment on your part.

Keep up the great work, – alan

[Patricia Semler]

This might be a duplicate post. I couldn’t find it before. Enjoy.

Pat’s Character profiles

What I learned doing this lesson is to dig a little deeper and give my characters lives beyond the needs of the story. I’m also introducing a Latin female character in a role normally given to a white male. We’ll see what kind of sparks this generates. It also tells me my antagonist needs to be stronger still.

Logline: A grieving adult daughter investigates her home security agent as causing her mother’s untimely death, but she’ll be under his surveillance to do so.

Character profile:

Monica Cassidy

Role: Ad Executive/Daughter

Core character traits:

Stubborn

Angry *CHANGE – This was formally stressed out, but Monica’s really angry about the way her life is right now and has to find the right way to deal with the frustrations.

Intuitive

Action oriented

Character Subtext logline: Monica loves her mom, but resents her thankless obligation to care for her.

Optional

Flaw: her strong sense of self gets in the way of listening to advice

Want/Need: wants freedom from caregiving

Mission/Agenda:

Character Arc (if any):

World View:

Life metaphor/Identity: Daddy’s little helper

Secret:

Something they don’t want to admit:

What makes this character unique?

Character 2

Dennis Wiley

Role: Security monitoring agent

Core character traits:

Obsessive

Authoritarian

Compassionate

Lonely

Character Subtext logline: Dennis is a shy loner who found his identity in being a watchdog. **CHANGE – Like Rosemary, Dennis is a recluse and he’s found self-respect in his position, but that hasn’t brought him the love he really craves.

Optional

Flaw: He doesn’t see himself as evil. He’s performing a service, wanted or not.

Want/Need: wants respect, needs to be recognized

Mission/Agenda: protect his clients according to his code of compliance

Character Arc (if any):

World View: his overreach is for the good of the people he protects

Life metaphor/Identity: He is his job. Without this he’s just another nobody.

Secret: he loves Rosemary’s house as his own property

Something they don’t want to admit: that his methods are intrusive

What makes this character unique?

Character 3

Rosemary Cassidy

Role: mother to Monica

Core character traits:

Paranoid

Opinionated

Manipulative

Narcistic

Character Subtext logline: A self-styled Southern Belle Rosemary isn’t well educated, expects to be sheltered. **CHANGE_ A wallflower over-shadowed by a domineering mother she got attention by being helpless. This may or may not come out in dialogue, but it certainly explains a lot about her personality, making her sympathetic.

Optional

Flaw: rudely defensive of her opinions, susceptible to conspiracy theories

Want/Need: attention

Mission/Agenda:

Character Arc (if any):

World View: the world is a dangerous place, people are untrustworthy

Life metaphor/Identity:

Secret: She’s capable of doing for herself, she simply prefers to be waited on.

Something they don’t want to admit: she’s ignorant and behind the times

What makes this character unique?

Character 4

Paul

Role: Monica’s fiance`

Core character traits:

Playful

Compassionate

Sardonic

Insightful

Character Subtext logline: Paul wants to be helpful to Monica, won’t buy into Rosemary’s neediness

Optional

Flaw:

Want/Need:

Mission/Agenda: To get Monica to see she’s an enabler and get professional help for Mom

Character Arc (if any): His patience strains to the breaking point

**CHANGE – Paul was a passive character in the original draft. He needs to be much stronger to be Monica’s equal. Showing more of his anger and annoyance will combat this.

World View:

Life metaphor/Identity:

Secret:

Something they don’t want to admit:

What makes this character unique? He can push Monica’s buttons as well as Rosemary, to help her sete boundaries.

Character 5

Coco Rivera (New character to this story)

Role: Police detective who investigates Rosemary’s death

Core character traits:

Suspicious

Bull-headed

Conservative

biased

Character Subtext logline: She immediately feels for Rosemary, determines to convict Monica

Of elder abuse.

Optional

Flaw: reluctant to give up her first impressions

Want/Need:

Mission/Agenda: to solve this case and get justice for Rosemary

Character Arc (if any): Coco has to overcome her latent class hostility to be an honest investigator

World View: us v them along racial and social class lines

Life metaphor/Identity: **CHANGE – She’s an advocate for elder care and rights. Coming from a close knit family she takes any insult to seniors personally, knows its usually a family member causing the grief.

Secret:

Something they don’t want to admit: She’s the same driven woman as Monica.

What makes this character unique? A Cuban-American detective in Miami.

[Rachel Morgan]

Subject: Rachel’s Character Profiles

I’m so far behind in this course, that I haven’t been able to finish the assignment – I have no changes to the character profiles. I’m moving on to the next assignment and hope to get back to this one later.

Character: Det. Bob Stoughton

Role: Protagonist

Core character traits: self-reliant, intelligent, resourceful, brave, loyal, honest

Character subtext logline: Through his work, Stoughton wants to embody the ideals espoused by the Allied forces during the Second World War – saving the world from tyrants

Flaw: PTSD, nightmares, sometimes angers to the point of striking out

Want/need: to capture the sense of mission he felt as a combat soldier in WW 2

Mission/agenda: to solve a murder and make amends for bungling two cases

Character arc: Initially, his character is partly a façade – a goal more than a reality. Over the course of the story, the façade is challenged, but he proves to himself that he is the good man he wanted to be.

World view: People are inherently good; America is a beacon of democracy

Life metaphor/identity: a boy scout; the cowboy in the white hat

Secret: There’s an artistic, insecure part of him that requires validation

Character: Ian Clark

Role: Antagonist

Core character traits: dangerous, unrelenting, self-possessed, intelligent, willing to kill, sociopathic

Character subtext logline: The world exists solely for his benefit

Flaw: Overconfident, believes he can get away with anything

Want/need: to control his own destiny and to control others

Mission/agenda: to steal nuclear sub secrets for the Soviets, while pretending to work for the Americans

Character arc: no change over the course of the story

World view: People are to be used

Life metaphor/identity: the thief in the night

Secret:

Character: Det. Jack Harrison

Role: Mentor, older detective

Core character traits: patient, dedicated, honest, trustworthy, pragmatic

Character subtext logline: a peacemaker, works to smooth things over

Flaw:

Want/need: to help folks who get a raw deal out of life

Mission/agenda: to do his job as best as he can

Character arc: no change over the course of the story

World view: People are basically good, and he can tolerate a little rule breaking

Life metaphor/identity: the older brother

Secret:

Character: Lt William Raymond

Role: head of homicide department

Core character traits: tough, pragmatic, focused

Character subtext logline: Detectives will follow orders or be tossed out

Flaw: is more concerned with how his department is perceived than actually solving crimes

Want/need: to control his department

Mission/agenda: to reduce the crime rate to bring credit to himself

Character arc: no change over the course of the story

World view: the world is not fair, and some innocents will get steamrolled

Life metaphor/identity: the difficult boss

Secret:

Character: Dick Galbraith

Role: friend of Stoughton’s

Core character traits: mysterious, secretive, loyal to his friends

Character subtext logline: The world is a dangerous place

Flaw:

Want/need: to help Stoughton and keep him out of danger

Mission/agenda: to protect American military secrets

Character arc: no change over the course of the story

World view: The world is a dangerous place

Life metaphor/identity: the spy

Secret: we never find out which federal department he works for