-
Lesson 5
Reply to Post your assignment.
-
6 Replies
-
KZ’s Character Emotions
What I learned doing this assignment…is that putting in time to analyze what makes a character tick will pay off with a thorough understanding of who a character is.
Assignment #1: THE 100
Character: Abby
A. Situational: Hope/Fear
Hope her daughter is alive / Fears that she is dead
B. Motivation: Want/Need
Wants to do things for the good of all / Needs to act unilaterally based on her idea of right
C. Mask. Base negative emotion / public mask
Base emotion: self-righteous maverick Public mask: Team player
D. Weaknesses
Powerless to put forth her agenda? Impulsive?
E. Triggers
Her daughter in danger
F. Coping Mechanism
Covert action
Character: Bellamy
A. Situational: Hope/Fear
Hopes to survive – Fears the Ark inhabitants’ retribution
B. Motivation: Want/Need
Wants to protect his sister / Needs to be in control
C. Mask: Base negative emotion/public mask
Self-preserving / public mask: leader
D. Weaknesses
Doesn’t understand the difference between power and leadership
E. Triggers
Threats to his sister / Threats to himself
F. Coping Mechanism
Rash actions
Character: The Chancellor
A. Situational: Hope / Fear
Hopes his son is alive / Fears that he is not
B: Motivation: Want/Need
Wants: to preserve order on the ship Needs: to be honorable
C: Mask
Base negative emotion: Coward? (That’s what Abby called him)
Public mask: Impartial Judge
D: Weaknesses
Self-doubt
E. Triggers
Wound: He has had to order the death of others, including Abby’s husband – his best friend.
F: Coping Mechanism
Looks for the moment when he can call it quits
Character: Clarke
A. Situational: Hope / Fear
Hopes she and the others will survive on Earth / Fears that they will die
B: Motivation: Want/ Need
Wants: to save others / Needs: to live her life
C: Mask
Base negative emotion: Doesn’t like restraints
Public Mask: Team player
D: Weaknesses
Rushes to judgment
E: Triggers
Injustice
F: Coping Mechanism
Loses her temper, confrontational
Assignment #2
Characters on my show, MURDER MY DARLINGS
Character: NOLAN
A. Situational: Hope / Fear
Hopes he will hold on to Tony / Fears he will be abandoned
B: Motivation: Want/ Need
Wants: To be a famous author / Needs: To be loved
C: Mask
Base negative emotion: Jealousy
Public Mask: Roué, Cynic
D: Weaknesses
Insecure
E: Triggers
Anyone flirting with Tony
F: Coping Mechanism
Uses his pen to take revenge
Character: TONY
A. Situational: Hope / Fear
Hopes to live his life / Fears having to do what Nolan says
B: Motivation: Want/ Need
Wants: to be free / Needs: to be told what to do
C: Mask
Base negative emotion: Insecure
Public Mask: Bon Vivant
D: Weaknesses
Wants to be taken care of, fears poverty
E: Triggers
Anyone telling him what to do
F: Coping Mechanism
Runs away, rebels, does the opposite
Character: OLIVER
A. Situational: Hope / Fear
Hopes to find out who he is / Fears he is someone awful, maybe even a murderer
B: Motivation: Want/ Need
Wants: to be with Tony / Needs: to be admired
C: Mask
Base negative emotion: Fears abandonment
Public Mask:
D: Weaknesses
Vain
E: Triggers
Injustice
F: Coping Mechanism
Character: MICHELLE
A. Situational: Hope / Fear
Hopes she will remain alive / Fears Nolan will kill her off in his next novel
B: Motivation: Want/ Need
Wants: to be with the Detective / Needs: to be free
C: Mask
Base negative emotion: Afraid
Public Mask: Nosy neighbor
D: Weaknesses
Gossipy, but worries what others are saying about her
E: Triggers
Threats to her life
F: Coping Mechanism
Sets herself up for success, sets others up for failure
-
LESSON #5:Depth of Emotions
LESSON #5
What I learned from this lesson is how much deeper I need to dig into my character for my pilot.
Mr. Robot
ELLIOT — Lead Character
A. Situational: Hope / Fear
Hope: Ruining Evil Corp to avenge his father.
Fear: Never being normal like other people.
B. Motivation: Want / Need
Want: To feel normal
Need: A real sense of social, interpersonal connection
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion / Public Mask
Base: Self-Hatred
Public Mask: Brilliant Hacker
D. Weaknesses
Morphine/ Ashley — regret over his father’s death
E. Triggers
Memories of his childhood, particularly abusive mother
F. Coping Mechanism
Morphine
My show — BLAXIT:
ALISON WEAVER — lead character
A: Situational Hope/Fear:
Hope: To find love’s secret recipe
Fear: There is love for everyone but her.
B. Motivation: Want / Need
Want: To be pursued by her soulmate
Need: A real sense of a soul connection by a partner
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion / Public Mask
Base: Insecurity
Public Mask: Brilliant Professional
D. Weaknesses
Male attention
E. Triggers
Memories of her childhood and the mean popular girls that she was not one of.
F. Coping Mechanism
Her own intellect.
-
What I learned doing this assignment is that digging into hope vs. need really adds a new level of depth to how I understand the characters in my example series, and in the series I’m developing. The same applies to the other categories, as well. Consciously, intentionally looking at these specifics, and WRITING THEM DOWN creates specific images of the characters I create, rather than a vague picture in my head. It also helps me think about the kind of actor that might play this character.
MORE IMPORTANTLY: recognizing that these are just starting points, and letting go a little, knowing they’ll improve as things progress. I call this “The Shitty Version.”
ASSIGNMENT 1:
Example Series: THE MORNING SHOW
Create an Emotional Profile for two or three main characters in this show.
This is the FILL IN THE BLANK version. Not great, but a starting place…
ALEX LEVY
A. Situational: Hope / Fear
HOPE: Alex hopes she’ll stay at the top and gain control
FEAR: she fears she’ll lose the spotlight, especially to Bradley
B. Motivation: Want / Need
WANT: to remain the top spot on TMS
NEED: control over her own destiny
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion / Public
BNE: fear, cutthroat when threatened
PUBLIC: unflappable, gracious
D. Weaknesses
Insecurity
E. Triggers
Threats to her position or power
F. Coping Mechanism
Discreetly lashes out when in public. In private, she just straight-up lashes out.
BRADLEY JACKSON
A. Situational: Hope / Fear
HOPE: she’s able to be the voice of truth/reason through her public platform
FEAR: she fears she’ll be irrelevant, ignored, and obscure
B. Motivation: Want / Need
WANT: the top job and the freedom to speak her truth; wants to heal her family
NEED: respect
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion / Public
BNE: ambition at anyone’s expense
PUBLIC: situational vulnerability
D. Weaknesses
Her need to feel a connection drives bad decisions (this isn’t right, it needs to be deeper, but this’ll be a placeholder for now)
E. Triggers
When someone questions her motives or threatens her mother or brother
F. Coping Mechanism
Reacts without thinking, intelligent well-founded retorts
CORY ELLISON
A. Situational: Hope / Fear
HOPE:
FEAR:
B. Motivation: Want / Need
WANT:
NEED: excitement / chaos
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion / Public
BNE: I don’t think this gets it, but for now, I’ll go with “insecurity.” That’s not right…there’s something deeper, something better.
PUBLIC: Confident, fearless, and completely in charge, while at times appearing untrustworthy, scheming, chaotic
(Interesting twist—on the surface he eagerly presents some of what most people try to hide)
D. Weaknesses
E. Triggers
He doesn’t appear to get triggered
F. Coping Mechanism
Quips to deflect, schemes
MITCH KESSLER
A. Situational: Hope / Fear
HOPE: he can get his former coworkers to support him, and that he saves his career.
FEAR: he will be convicted in the court of public opinion and will lose everything
B. Motivation: Want / Need
WANT: he wants his career and life back and revenge against Fred
NEED: he needs to acknowledge what he did and who he is
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion / Public
BNE: sexual predator
PUBLIC: America’s dad / guy done wrong by society not telling him the rules changed seeking forgiveness
D. Weaknesses
Ignores reality, bases decisions on what he wants rather than what the reality is
E. Triggers
Disrespected or shamed
F. Coping Mechanism
Lashes out, breaks things
ASSIGNMENT 2: Your Show
1. For each of your main characters, brainstorm an Emotional Profile, filling in the following:
My goal is to thread the needle between Northern Exposure and Breaking Bad. And if you squint, just a touch of Pushing Daisies
HOLLY GLASS
Holly is a woman whose entire life always unfolded in magical ways. She somehow always ended up where she wanted, but never by being mean or divisive, she just effortlessly floated to the top of whatever she did.
Things just “happened” for Holly in a way that led to her goals being fulfilled. It wasn’t a perfect life, but Holly realized that every bad thing that ever happened to her ultimately led to something amazing she could never have imagined—or would have had without that “terrible thing.” It all fell into place for her. And she was doing good work. She was happy, and she build an environment around her for the people she worked with to discover their best self…
And then, one morning, that day ended up different than ever other day of her life.
The person she loved most betrayed her. The people she trusted betrayed her, and she was sent to prison for two years.
When she came back, she no longer trusted that there was magic in the world, and so, for Holly, there wasn’t any. In the blink of an eye, her world became a hard place, filled with one disappointment after another. It was a hard place now, where people are no longer blindly trusted—they have to earn the trust, and one slip—up, or anything that hints at deception becomes a red flag for her. What Holly must do is find a way to let go of her fear of being destroyed again, find a way to trust, and reclaim the magic that is her birthright. Turns out, it’s everyone’s birthright.
The series explores how Holly must change in order to discover the “something amazing” in this current, unprecedented “terrible thing.”
A. Situational: Hope / Fear
HOPE: she’ll create a new life, bigger and better.
FEAR: she’ll never again know the power and influence and opportunity she had before she was framed.
B. Motivation: Want / Need
WANT: to create an empire, regain her financial independence and power.
NEED: to let go of control, and let the wisdom of the town seep into her psyche.
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion / Public
BNE: betrayed, rage, bent on revenge
PUBLIC: poised, self-assured, the calmest person in any room
D. Weaknesses
Unable to trust anyone while at the same time, bad at protecting boundaries
E. Triggers
Being lied to. She has an overly sensitive bullshit detector, which can keep her at a distance from good people.
F. Coping Mechanism: When her back is against the wall or she is under heavy stress, she _____.
Shuts people out, turns them into pawns to be used, becomes clever and verbal
JACK OADLINKER
Holly’s closest friend from work, and possibly the only person who genuinely believes she’s innocent. They’re in touch, but keep it secret—the company doesn’t allow anyone to be in contact w/Holly, so they use burner phones. He is her secret “in” to news/tech at the company. They meet in neutral secret places and sometimes do capers. One could think of Jack and Holly as twins, sharing a psyche. That said, they’re nothing alike, physically or personality wise. Whereas Holly is a charming, effortlessly cool extravert, Jack is quiet, and lives comfortably in the silences between sentences.
A. Situational: Hope / Fear
HOPE: Jack hopes he can help Holly clear her name and get her job back.
FEAR: he fears he’ll get caught conspiring with her and go to jail—or at the very least get fired and lose his stock options.
B. Motivation: Want / Need
WANT: to be recognized for his contributions
NEED: to be needed, loved
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion / Public
BNE: Fear
PUBLIC: Bravado
D. Weaknesses
Loyalty, poor boundary defense
E. Triggers
Sensing he’s losing affection or respect
F. Coping Mechanism
Overcompensates
MINDY MARGOLIS
Nora’s lifelong friend. Can find a sparkle in a mud puddle. Loyal. Grew up in the town.
A. Situational: Hope / Fear
HOPE: someday she’ll have the means and courage to leave Love Springs.
FEAR: she’ll die in the town she where she was born, never realizing her potential.
B. Motivation: Want / Need
WANT: to be a person of consequence
NEED: to stop trying so hard
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion / Public
BNE: inadequate
PUBLIC: social coordinator/butterfly
D. Weaknesses
She uses her physical appearance to get what she believes she needs
E. Triggers
Being left out or told “no.”
F. Coping Mechanism
Sex.
BOBBY KYLE
Mayor for the last 30 years. A retired litigator, he’s a worthy adversary in a war of words. Don’t let his age fool you. He’s as sharp as he always was, and now, maybe a little Bobbie the town to stay the same. He remembers the good old days when the town was busy and full of government employees before they decommissioned the radar station at the top of the mountain. Imagine the mayor of Pleasantville, who never wants change. This mayor believes that change will ruin the natural beauty of the town and the area. He actively prevented a ski resort opening in the town, putting in runs, lifts, etc, which would have meant the demolition of the abandoned radar facility which has, over the years become an eyesore, but the good news is you can only see that from above. Bobby is a Roadblock to any progress, development, or change to the village and adjacent forests.
A. Situational: Hope / Fear
HOPE: he’ll stay in power and keep the town from changing
FEAR: he’ll be voted out and retired
B. Motivation: Want / Need
WANT: power
NEED: to feel useful, to have a purpose
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion / Public
BNE: Machiavellian
PUBLIC: “just an old small-town lawyer-turned-mayor
D. Weaknesses
Desperate for control and relevance
E. Triggers
Challenges to his authority
F. Coping Mechanism
Threatens, uses his intelligence, knowledge of the law to intimidate.
-
What I learned doing this assignment
Assignment 1: Walking Dead
Rick:
Hope- finding a cure
Fear- terrified he or his family turning into walkers
Want- happy and safety for his family
Need- food, water and shelter
Public Mask- Strong Leader
Base Negative Emotion- Terrified
Weakness- Humanity
Triggers- Walkers
Coping Mechanism- Fight for survival
Shane:
Hope- survive
Fear- losing more of his people
Want- love
Need- food, water, shelter
Public Mask- stand up guy/ team leader
Base Negative Emotion- hatred
Weakness- needs to be in control
Triggers- stress when things don’t go his way
Coping Mechanism- shuts down and lashes out
Assignment 2: Tree Whisperer
Susan
Hope- Promotion
Fear- becoming forgotten
Want- power
Need- acceptance
Public Mask- helpful
Base Negative Emotion- guilt and shame
Weakness- tries to do everything by oneself/ doesn’t ask for help
Triggers- being cut off when speaking
Coping Mechanism- run and/or hides
-
EMPIRE
LUCIOUS LYON
A. Situational: Hope: Becomes immortal through his music Fear: Dying
B. Motivation: Want: To build a legacy / Need: Control
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion: Fear / Public Mask: Musical and corporate genius
D. Weaknesses: Only loyal to himself
E. Triggers: Mental health issues, loss of control
F. Coping Mechanism: Fight back, manipulate
ANDRE LYON
A. Situational: Hope: To be a successful businessman / Fear: His mental illness will hinder his success
B. Motivation: Want: To be the next CEO of Empire / Need: Validation
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion: Depression/Anxiety / Public Mask: Wharton School businessman
D. Weaknesses: Always saves his father
E. Triggers: being off his meds, being asked about his musical abilities
F. Coping Mechanism: Shutdown, call for help
COOKIE LYON
A. Situational: Hope: To get her part of the company back / Fear: That nobody will respect her
B. Motivation: Want: To run Empire Records / Need: Respect
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion: Shame / Public Mask: Bossy, reckless
D. Weaknesses: her sons, Lucious
E. Triggers: her prison time, Lucious
F. Coping Mechanism: Fight back, lie, manipulate
-
What I learned doing this assignment is that getting into the character’s emotions and deeper layers sets the stage for your show. It makes a good blueprint for what my characters will be chasing and how characters are going to respond over and over again.
Like the Joneses, Character Emotions
TONY JONES
A. Situational: Hope: Be his own man / Fear: Dying alone
B. Motivation: Want: Wants something that’s all his / Need: Respect
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion: Unfulfilled / Public Mask: VP of Jones Farmacy
D. Weaknesses: People pleaser, lacks confidence
E. Triggers: Feeling unseen/unheard
F. Coping Mechanism: Analyze, fight back
WILLIE JONES
A. Situational: Hope: Take a step back from work / Fear: His children will fuck up the company he built
B. Motivation: Want: Take time for himself / Need: Control
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion: Shame / Public Mask: Business man with integrity
D. Weaknesses: Co-dependent
E. Triggers: being ungrateful, deceit, lack of loyalty
F. Coping Mechanism: Lie, manipulate
HENRY JONES
A. Situational: Hope: To be Willie’s favorite/ Fear: Being forgotten/overlooked
B. Motivation: Want: To be accepted by the family / Need: Validation
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion: Worthless / Public Mask: Important. well known person
D. Weaknesses: Women, gambling
E. Triggers: Competition, feeling outcasted
F. Coping Mechanism: Alters his state, lie, distract
PETE ROBERTS
A. Situational: Hope: To have the #1 black owned cannabis company / Fear: Being 2nd to Willie Jones
B. Motivation: Want: Wants to be Commissioner / Need: To feel respected
C. Mask: Base Negative Emotion: Guilt / Public Mask: Man of the people
D. Weaknesses: Elaine; Power
E. Triggers: Competition, violations of trust
F. Coping Mechanism: Analyze, distract
Log in to reply.