Lesson 26

[Kenneth Johnson]

Kenneth Johnson – Solved Character Problems

What Learned with this assignment is that I need to take more risks with the characters to make their interaction and their journey more engrossing.

WEAK PROTAGONIST OR ANTAGONIST
Protagonist: Yes, I am trying to get the audience to like Michael. He is fighting an uphill battle to gain the respect of his father as he tries to get his father to tell the story of his time under fire in the Korean War. I think if I show a stronger example of Lee demonstrating his disappointment with Michael it will strengthen his journey

Antagonist: With Lee I have been too timid about giving him anti-social behavior that labels him “mean spirited” instead of misunderstood. I need a couple of stronger examples of Lee being aggressively anti-social.

B. PROTAGONIST TOO GOOD OR ANTAGONIST TOO BAD
Right now I see the characters as being a bit too middle of the road. I think going harder at Michael’s need for approval and Lee’s need for Michael’s respect will strengthen them both.

C. WEAK CHARACTER INTROS
I will play with the intros for both Michael and Lee.

D. CHARACTERS NOT IN ACTION
I’ve done a pretty balanced job of making the characters physically conduct themselves to demonstrate the point of the scene. Though with this assignment I will watch for more opportunities to add meaning to action.

E. PROTAGONIST JOURNEY NOT STRONG
I need to add more obstacles and give Lee more opportunity to make Michael’s life Hell.

F. ALL THE CHARACTERS SEEM THE SAME
Quite to the contrary, all characters have distinct traits and manners of speaking that set them apart from each other.

G. LEAD CHARACTERS NOT PRESENT
This piece is a study of the relationship between father and son. One or the other, or both are in pretty much every scene.