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Lesson 7
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Lloyd Shellenberger
Module 3 Lesson 6: Character Profiles Part 1B
Vision Statement Working Hard to become the best writer in Hollywood and as a result I do become the best screenwriter in Hollywood.
What I learned from this exercise…. The continued depth and layers of our characters can be explored and fleshed out to help improve the script but it takes a lot of organization to do this.
1: Role of the Story: SFC Jerry Reese Platoon Sergeant of the 1st Army division 361st Infantry Co. Company A 3rd Platoon Protagonists and Change agent
Age Range and
2: Description: SFC Reese is a stoic professional soldier who hails from Brooklyn. He is late 30’s to early 40’s medium height and build.
3: Core Traits: Brave, Haunted, Task Master, Rules driven, Sometimes Risk adverse until he mis forced to think outside the box and become a problem solver.
4: Motivation: Want/Need
SFC Reese wants to put the world he grew up in as far in the rear view mirror as possible.
Need: Self forgiveness and and vulnerability to let others in so that he can take a chance on others. He needs to redeem himself once more by saving the family.
5: Wound: The killing of his brother in a drive by shooting has left a deep wound he has never recovered from. In addition, Reese has never returned to Brooklyn since his brothers death or talked to his father since then because his father blames him for it.
6: Likability: SFC Reese is well liked by his company and the soldiers under his command, they trust him. The family of the slain interpreter comes to trust and care about him as well. The Congressman who steps in to help him has great respect for his grit and his never back down attitude. Reese reminds us that leader that you want in the foxhole next to you when things go bad.
Empathy: When the audience sees the flashback of Reese’s little brother murdered in a drive-by shooting we now understand why the children lost in that market hit him so hard. He feels he failed them and we feel his pain. The antagonist knows that Reese cares about the children and the widow and uses that to his advantage. Reese is injured but he never backs down or gives up In the battles that ensue.
Relatability: Reese is intensely focused and committed. The audience sees a side of him they can relate to and inspire to be. His life wasn’t always easy but he has overcome incredible odds to get here and serve his country. Everyone loves a survivor and Reese is definitely that. We all want to see the hero ride in on a white horse and save the day even if they are flawed at the core.
7: Character Subtext: Withholding, Hiding something Reese doesn’t speak about what happened in his youth and he is very secretive about it. His actions give him away when other soldiers are calling home he isn’t. He lives in a state of guilt and shame over what happened to his brother and is often overly cautious for because of his fear of what can happen to others.
Subtext Logline: SFC Reese’s go-to response is protocol but when the family is in eminent dangerous his safe world fails him and he must default to his street sense to save the family and himself.
8: Character Intrigue: Hidden agendas, Secretive, Withholding
9: Flaw: Unafraid, will take on the world if he has to. Reese has a never back down attitude which can be his demise. He often defaults to regulations and rules to hide behind until he no longer can than he must think outside the box.
10: Values: Loyalty, Honor, Duty, his eternal soul, doing the right thing above all else, he has a never back down attitude.
11: Character Dilemma:
External Dilemma: Reese goes from being hamstrung and overly cautious to a soldier who puts doing the right thing above all else.
Internal Dilemma: Reese must overcome his hidden demons and past to become a fearless protagonist and advocate for the family, regardless of the personal outcome for him.
1: Role of the Story: Al-Sadar Antagonist
2: Age Range and Description: Al-Sadar, Arab descent late 40’s early 50’s medium build. Rugged and intimidating.
3 : Core Traits: Unafraid, Ruthless, committed, deeply committed to his faith
4: Motivation: Want/Need
Al-Sadar wants every foreigner out of Iraq and anyone who helped the western coalition punished as traitors. What he really wants he can’t have, his family back.
Need: His deep need to avenge the death of his family and the scourge of the occupying forces is all consuming. He is a man rushing to meet death knowing that is his only peace.
5: Wound: The killing of his wife and children in an American bombing raid has driven him to the point of no return. He will inflict maximum damage on anyone associated with the coalition.
6: Likability: Al-Sadar is well respected by his cell. He believes himself to be a patriot and soldier of Allah and expects nothing less from those around him. He is also a seasoned soldier who lost everything when the US disbanded the Republican Guard and took away his command. This cements his status as their leader even more. Al-Sadar does not compromise and for that we don’t have to like him but we must respect him.
Empathy: Through a series of events we understand that Al-Sadar wasn’t always a terrorist. We see there once was someone decent and caring but that person died with his family. He knows that what he is doing would not be what his wife would have wanted for him. He believes in the sovereignty of the Pan-Arab world and the right to self governance without Western interference. He is willing to die for his beliefs.
7: Character Subtext: Secretive, Hiding something, Crafty, Evil, immoral .
Subtext Logline: Al-Sadar is a man who is staring into the abyss and knows where his actions will eventually lead him, but he is committed to taking as many with him as he can.
8: Character Intrigue: Al-Sadar’s life is secretive and built upon deception and hidden agendas. His secrets will eventually cost him and others their lives but he does not compromise with his core beliefs and allegiance to a Pan Arab view.
Unspoken Wound:The death of his wife and children during the initial bombing raids left a hole in him no amount of casualties will ever fill.9: Flaw: Angry, bitter, lacks empathy for others, lacks mercy, has a misplaced sense of morality and uses religion and politics to justify his immoral acts. Judgmental, harsh
10: Values: He is unafraid to take on the Americans, values loyalty above all else. Values his culture to the exclusion of all other alternatives. He truly values revenge and holding those responsible for the death of his family and other Iraqis.
10: Values: to his credit, he is unafraid to take on the world since death has no meaning for him. Values loyalty and obedience from his fellow insurgents. Secretive and manipulative. An excellent planner strategist, Leader, who is strong and unapologetic.
11: Character Dilemma:
External dilemma: Al-Sadar’s journey is very similar to a lot of ex-Republican Guard soldiers suddenly removed from conscript service by the invading coalition. This is what created the terrorist movement in Iraq. His countries political problems forced total and permanent change on every Iraqi involved.
Internal Dilemma: Al-Sadar’s internal dilemma is far different than his external dilemma. He was a proud and honorable soldier for his country. When his family was killed at the beginning of the war he turned his anger outward and became a terrorist, lashing out at everyone and everything. He is at war with the world and seeks death for comfort. Because of this, Al-Sadar is the deadliest foe Reese and his men have ever faced.
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Module 3 Lesson 7: Character Profiles Part 2
Vision Statement Working Hard to become the best writer in Hollywood and as a result I do become the best screenwriter in Hollywood.
What I learned from this exercise…. The continued depth and layers of our characters can be explored and fleshed out to help improve the script but it takes a lot of organization to do this.
1: Role of the Story: SFC Jerry Reese Platoon Sergeant of the 1st Army division 361st Infantry Co. Company A 3rd Platoon Protagonists and Change agent
Age Range and
2: Description: SFC Reese is a stoic professional soldier who hails from Brooklyn. He is late 30’s to early 40’s medium height and build.
3: Core Traits: Brave, Haunted, Task Master, Rules driven, Sometimes Risk adverse until he mis forced to think outside the box and become a problem solver.
4: Motivation: Want/Need
SFC Reese wants to put the world he grew up in as far in the rear view mirror as possible.
Need: Self forgiveness and and vulnerability to let others in so that he can take a chance on others. He needs to redeem himself once more by saving the family.
5: Wound: The killing of his brother in a drive by shooting has left a deep wound he has never recovered from. In addition, Reese has never returned to Brooklyn since his brothers death or talked to his father since then because his father blames him for it.
6: Likability: SFC Reese is well liked by his company and the soldiers under his command, they trust him. The family of the slain interpreter comes to trust and care about him as well. The Congressman who steps in to help him has great respect for his grit and his never back down attitude. Reese reminds us that leader that you want in the foxhole next to you when things go bad.
Empathy: When the audience sees the flashback of Reese’s little brother murdered in a drive-by shooting we now understand why the children lost in that market hit him so hard. He feels he failed them and we feel his pain. The antagonist knows that Reese cares about the children and the widow and uses that to his advantage. Reese is injured but he never backs down or gives up In the battles that ensue.
Relatability: Reese is intensely focused and committed. The audience sees a side of him they can relate to and inspire to be. His life wasn’t always easy but he has overcome incredible odds to get here and serve his country. Everyone loves a survivor and Reese is definitely that. We all want to see the hero ride in on a white horse and save the day even if they are flawed at the core.
7: Character Subtext: Withholding, Hiding something Reese doesn’t speak about what happened in his youth and he is very secretive about it. His actions give him away when other soldiers are calling home he isn’t. He lives in a state of guilt and shame over what happened to his brother and is often overly cautious for because of his fear of what can happen to others.
Subtext Logline: SFC Reese’s go-to response is protocol but when the family is in eminent dangerous his safe world fails him and he must default to his street sense to save the family and himself.
8: Character Intrigue: Hidden agendas, Secretive, Withholding
9: Flaw: Unafraid, will take on the world if he has to. Reese has a never back down attitude which can be his demise. He often defaults to regulations and rules to hide behind until he no longer can than he must think outside the box.
10: Values: Loyalty, Honor, Duty, his eternal soul, doing the right thing above all else, he has a never back down attitude.
11: Character Dilemma:
External Dilemma: Reese goes from being hamstrung and overly cautious to a soldier who puts doing the right thing above all else.
Internal Dilemma: Reese must overcome his hidden demons and past to become a fearless protagonist and advocate for the family, regardless of the personal outcome for him.
1: Role of the Story: Al-Sadar Antagonist
2: Age Range and Description: Al-Sadar, Arab descent late 40’s early 50’s medium build. Rugged and intimidating.
3 : Core Traits: Unafraid, Ruthless, committed, deeply committed to his faith
4: Motivation: Want/Need
Al-Sadar wants every foreigner out of Iraq and anyone who helped the western coalition punished as traitors. What he really wants he can’t have, his family back.
Need: His deep need to avenge the death of his family and the scourge of the occupying forces is all consuming. He is a man rushing to meet death knowing that is his only peace.
5: Wound: The killing of his wife and children in an American bombing raid has driven him to the point of no return. He will inflict maximum damage on anyone associated with the coalition.
6: Likability: Al-Sadar is well respected by his cell. He believes himself to be a patriot and soldier of Allah and expects nothing less from those around him. He is also a seasoned soldier who lost everything when the US disbanded the Republican Guard and took away his command. This cements his status as their leader even more. Al-Sadar does not compromise and for that we don’t have to like him but we must respect him.
Empathy: Through a series of events we understand that Al-Sadar wasn’t always a terrorist. We see there once was someone decent and caring but that person died with his family. He knows that what he is doing would not be what his wife would have wanted for him. He believes in the sovereignty of the Pan-Arab world and the right to self governance without Western interference. He is willing to die for his beliefs.
7: Character Subtext: Secretive, Hiding something, Crafty, Evil, immoral .
Subtext Logline: Al-Sadar is a man who is staring into the abyss and knows where his actions will eventually lead him, but he is committed to taking as many with him as he can.
8: Character Intrigue: Al-Sadar’s life is secretive and built upon deception and hidden agendas. His secrets will eventually cost him and others their lives but he does not compromise with his core beliefs and allegiance to a Pan Arab view.
Unspoken Wound:The death of his wife and children during the initial bombing raids left a hole in him no amount of casualties will ever fill.9: Flaw: Angry, bitter, lacks empathy for others, lacks mercy, has a misplaced sense of morality and uses religion and politics to justify his immoral acts. Judgmental, harsh
10: Values: He is unafraid to take on the Americans, values loyalty above all else. Values his culture to the exclusion of all other alternatives. He truly values revenge and holding those responsible for the death of his family and other Iraqis.
10: Values: to his credit, he is unafraid to take on the world since death has no meaning for him. Values loyalty and obedience from his fellow insurgents. Secretive and manipulative. An excellent planner strategist, Leader, who is strong and unapologetic.
11: Character Dilemma:
External dilemma: Al-Sadar’s journey is very similar to a lot of ex-Republican Guard soldiers suddenly removed from conscript service by the invading coalition. This is what created the terrorist movement in Iraq. His countries political problems forced total and permanent change on every Iraqi involved.
Internal Dilemma: Al-Sadar’s internal dilemma is far different than his external dilemma. He was a proud and honorable soldier for his country. When his family was killed at the beginning of the war he turned his anger outward and became a terrorist, lashing out at everyone and everything. He is at war with the world and seeks death for comfort. Because of this, Al-Sadar is the deadliest foe Reese and his men have ever faced.
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Alyssa’s Character Profiles Part 2
One Sentence Vision: I want to be the best writer I can be and a go-to writer in the industry, crafting scripts that become successful movies which make a lasting impact on people.
What I learned from this assignment is…adding more layers continues to reveal more depth and subtext that I didn’t see before. Still working everything out, but excited for what I’m discovering about my characters even now!
ALEX
The High Concept: In a dystopian world where daily fortunes always come true, a scientist on the verge of a breakthrough receives the death fortune and has 24 hours to alter fate itself or die.
This Character’s Journey: From doing everything he can to avoid the death fortune to giving up his life to save Celia; during the course of the journey, he discovers the secret to destroying the fate system.
The Actor Attractors for this character: He’s the one driving the story with death looming over him; he’s a smart scientist who has to use his wits to stay alive with plenty of subtext of guilt mixed with ambition and a great arc of self-sacrifice.
- Role in the Story: Protagonist, the scientist on a verge of a world-changing breakthrough who receives the death fortune and is racing time to finish his work.
- Age Range: Late 30’s
- Description: Alex wears a charcoal suit shockingly unwrinkled, somehow, although his mussed hair and three day stubble reveal it probably should be. He’s an intense man with a quick wit and a tendency to ignore advice he doesn’t like.
- Core Traits: Determined, Stubborn, Book Smart, Quick Witted
- Want: To survive the day and finish the serum at any cost
- Need: To forgive himself
- Wound: He was responsible for his father receiving the death fortune, which resulted in both of his parents deaths when he was a kid.
- Likability: He’s witty, smart, pursuing a beneficial goal for everyone, and his colleagues like, or at least admire, him.
- Relatability: He’s pouring his heart, soul and money into his passion and a goal that’s bigger than himself but the endless work is wearing him down and affecting his relationships/judgements.
- Empathy: He experienced deep trauma by losing both of his parents in the opening scene and that’s what is fueling him to “change the world,” although it’s still an unhealed wound and affects him throughout the story.
- Character Subtext: He’s withholding because of his wound- afraid he’s going to be the one who kills Celia, just like his parents, so he pushes her away.
- Character Intrigue: Unspoken wound of being responsible for his parent’s death
- Flaw: Poor decision making because he’s so stubbornly focused on his goal
- Values: His Work, Proving Himself, Success
- Character Dilemma: Achieving success and being a good person/husband
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CELIA
The High Concept: In a dystopian world where daily fortunes always come true, a scientist on the verge of a breakthrough receives the death fortune and has 24 hours to alter fate itself or die.
This Character’s Journey: From trying to fix the situation and save Alex to letting him go.
The Actor Attractors for this character: She’s a capable cop in a futuristic world, a warrior who protects the man instead of being protected by one; at the same time, she’s drowning under the weight of trying to be strong all the while hiding her own secrets.
- Role in the Story: Triangle Character, a bad-ass cop who carries the world on her shoulders and tries to help Alex survive while knowing she’s the one who is fated to kill him.
- Age Range: Late 30’s
- Description: Celia walks with firm resolution in each step. Her pristine black uniform hugs her body like it was made for her while the gun on her hip means business, although her eyes reveal an anxiety she’s trying her damndest to hide.
- Core Traits: Capable, Selfless, Street Smart, Controlling
- Want: To be the savior for everyone
- Need: To ask for help
- Wound: She had a rough childhood as an orphan (it’s what brought her and Alex together in the first place) and feels like others lives are more important and worthier than her own.
- Likability: She’s capable, selfless, a woman of integrity, and puts others first
- Relatability: She’s trying to fix Alex and their marriage while also trying to save both of their lives, but it’s too much for her to carry alone.
- Empathy: She’s fighting for their marriage while Alex pushes her away, even if he doesn’t realize it. She keeps trying to save him knowing it’s going to cost her her own life, in the end.
- Character Subtext: She’s afraid to ask for help because she needs to do it all on her own, just like when she was growing up as an orphan
- Character Intrigue: Her secret is she’s the one who is fated to kill Alex
- Flaw: Overdoing things and putting too much on her plate
- Values: Duty, People’s lives, Protecting others
- Character Dilemma: Taking control versus trusting others
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NIJARA
The High Concept: In a dystopian world where daily fortunes always come true, a scientist on the verge of a breakthrough receives the death fortune and has 24 hours to alter fate itself or die.
This Character’s Journey: From pretending to be a prophet while working with a dangerous AI to discovering she’s a clone and not free at all.
The Actor Attractors for this character: She’s plays a unique role in this world as Fate Walker, both prophet and computer tech with loads of subtext as she juggles conspiracies with secrets and deception, all while the truth of who she actually is is withheld from her.
- Role in the Story: Antagonist, the leader of the church who is secretly working with an AI to control people via the fate system.
- Age Range: 40’s
- Description: Tall with sharp features and a cold gaze, any remnants of warmth hidden deep beneath the surface. She wears humble robes of the church but they don’t look quite right on her proud, ramrod straight body.
- Core Traits: Intelligent, Cold, Calculating, Proud
- Want: To control the world and please her boss
- Need: To be free
- Wound: I’m not sure yet, but she discovers she’s a clone and that all her real memories are fake
- Likability: Highly intelligent and cultured, sought after and respected by others.
- Relatability: She thinks she’s doing the right thing and what’s best for people, believing in her goals even though they are wrong.
- Empathy: At the very end, she discovers she’s been lied to and is actually a clone with no free will of her own- trapped in the system just like Alex and Celia.
- Character Subtext: Lying, pretending to be a prophet for the church when she’s in fact a computer tech and working with the AI.
- Character Intrigue: Conspiracy, she knows it’s a false religion and is working with the AI behind the scenes to help control people.
- Flaw: Pride that leads to over-confidence
- Values: Control, Order, Approval from her “boss”
- Character Dilemma: Maintaining order verses wanting her own freedom which brings chaos.
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Student Name: H. Vince
WIM – 2023
Lesson 7: Character Profiles Part 2
My Vision: I am going to go to the theater in disguise and watch a movie I wrote and listen to the reactions of the audience.
What I learned from doing this assignment is…
Putting separate components from prior lessons together and adding more information to start forming the characters. I am enjoying learning this organized process.
PROTAGONIST: CLARA
A. The High Concept: While a retired couple is taking their life-long dream vacation, the husband develops dementia.
B. This character’s journey: Clara goes from being too comfortable, too assuming that life is going to turn out a certain way to one that shows her amazing true colors in a crisis involving someone she really loves.
C. The Actor Attractors for this character: This is a chance for a woman to shine and show range. She will carry the movie showing her inner strength and be an example of what other women could do in this type of situation.
Brainstorm character profile for CLARA:
1. Role in the Story: Wife, caretaker, hero, savior
2. Age range and Description: 50s-60s, female
3. Core Traits: Faithful but comfortable and is thrown into a position unexpectedly testing her faith, her strength, her ability to be the leader.
4. Motivation; Want/Need: she wants to find out what happened to her husband and bring him home safely.
5. Wound: Had to care for younger sibling(s) when she was young herself so enjoys the life of someone taking care of her.
6. Likability, Relatability, Empathy: She pulls great strength inside to care for and help her husband return home. A humble woman, wife, mother just wanting to experience a dream retirement vacation with her husband. She is hit with the unexpected and must let go of her expectations of how her plans were supposed to go.
7. Character Subtext: She is naïve not knowing what’s really going on with James before he takes part in the clinical trial.
8. Character Intrigue: Clara has anxiety too if she becomes stressed, not as bad as James but it’s getting worse given the circumstances.
9. Flaw: She gets hung up on her emotions, especially when she found out James was not forthcoming about his issues. Monotone citizen who is scared of change.
10. Values: Hard worker, loyal, faithful
11. Character Dilemma: She must find the confidence to navigate in a foreign land when she didn’t plan the trip and her husband is hard to manage. Comfort vs. survival
PROTAGONIST: JAMES
A. The High Concept: While a retired couple is taking their life-long dream vacation, the husband develops dementia.
B. This character’s journey: James goes from caretaker, anxiety doctor trusting but not wife trusting apparently to not remembering who his wife is.
C. The Actor Attractors for this character: This is a chance to bring awareness to dementia and all the different ways a person can develop it. This could be the “Rain Man” of dementia movies/stories.
Brainstorm character profile for JAMES:
1. Role in the Story: Husband, provider, suffering memory loss
2. Age range and Description: 50s-60s, male
3. Core Traits: Anxiety ridden but somehow hides it. Loving towards his family and doesn’t want to worry them. Doesn’t tell his wife that he is part of a clinical trial. Trusts that his doctor cares about his well-being and trusts his judgement, admitting he’s not a doctor and wouldn’t know what to do.
4. Motivation; Want/Need: He wants to break free of his anxiety. He wants to plan and provide his wife with a dream vacation they have been waiting their whole life for.
5. Wound: The stresses of life and work caught up to him. He never wanted to develop dementia like his father did.
6. Likability, Relatability, Empathy: Planned out a wonderful dreamlike retirement vacation for he and his wife to enjoy. He takes on the stress and anxiety not wanting to put that on his family. Develops dementia, becomes helpless and lost and can’t care for himself.
7. Character Subtext: unknowingly to his wife, takes part in a clinical trial edible to ease his anxiety. Makes it seem like it’s no big deal the edible he’s taking. Just something to chill him out for the vacation
8. Character Intrigue: goes from being a normal man with anxiety to fun and loopy to lost and not knowing what’s going on in a foreign country
9. Flaw: should have told his wife what was going on and not put her in a stressful surprise situation. He ended up transferring his anxiety to her without her knowing!
10. Values: loving, faithful to wife, hard worker
11. Character Dilemma: trying to fix his anxiety to feel better on the dream retirement vacation with his wife, ends up suffering memory loss
ANTAGONIST: DR. RIA
A. The High Concept: While a retired couple is taking their life-long dream vacation, the husband develops dementia.
B. This character’s journey: Dr. Ria goes from a trusted family doctor to having a hidden agenda of prescribing something that he will make money on.
C. The Actor Attractors for this character: This is a chance to be the good and bad guy and show that doctors don’t always have the answers and people should hold them accountable when they have alternative intentions.
Brainstorm character profile for DR. RIA:
1. Role in the Story: Family doctor
2. Age range and Description: Possible 40s-60s, looks legit.
3. Core Traits: Seems professional, caring and trusting to his patients but is an underlying deceiver. Puts his hunger for money above the patient’s well-being.
4. Motivation; Want/Need: initially intended to help patients but money took first priority.
5. Wound: Scared to reveal whole truths because he was inaccurately accused of malpractice in the past and doesn’t want to reveal all the results of the past clinical trial to James because it could hinder his opportunity to make money in the clinical trial.
6. Likability, Relatability, Empathy: Is a doctor that is in the business of helping people feel better. Has a family of his own that he needs to care for, so he falls for a desperate way to make side money not thinking of the ultimate harm. Must bow down to a greater entity than he which is the pharmaceutical company. Falsely accused of malpractice in the past which almost cost him his license.
7. Character Subtext: Suggest to James to take part in a clinical trial for an edible but is not exactly forthcoming about the memory loss it has known to cause
8. Character Intrigue: fascinated by the pharmaceutical industry and their power
9. Flaw: Money chaser
10. Values: knowledgeable
11. Character Dilemma: has to decide whether to inform James’s wife about the clinical trial and when it will end. Desperate vs. Honorable
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Ruthie’s Character Profiles Part 2
What I learnt: I’m appreciating finding the depth and layers in my characters. What makes them tick, what gets under their skin etc.…
(Not including AA from previous assignment, as my Word Doc is becoming unwieldy!)
2. With each of your lead characters, first tell us the following:
Protagonist Zadie Haygate, A talent agent who thinks she could do a better job than her star client.
From small time talent agent with imposter syndrome, to confident Hollywood player.
3. Brainstorm these profile components for each character.
Character Subtext: Withholding. Zadie’s imposter syndrome is holding her back.
Character Intrigue: Hidden agenda: To turn her back on acting and leverage her situation to raise both her and Jasper’s profile in their respective fields.
Flaw: Undervalues themselves. Would be so much further forward in her career, if her imposter syndrome did not get the better of her.
Values: Being Your Best. Not that she feels she’s achieved this yet.
Character Dilemma: Wanting to be the best while dealing with imposter syndrome.
2. With each of your lead characters, first tell us the following:
Antagonist Jasper Benjamin. A former child star looking to make a Hollywood comeback. From Hollywood has-been, to A lister.
3. Brainstorm these profile components for each character.
Character Subtext: Plotting Zadie’s downfall whom he believes stole his comeback role from him.
Character Intrigue: Unspoken Wound. Not maintaining his success as a child star into adulthood like some of his peers.
Flaw: His resentment/bitterness towards Hollywood means he can’t get out of his own way to succeed again.
Values: Fame. He would do anything to be back in the game again.
Character Dilemma: His cynicism towards Hollywood while wanting to be embraced by it again.
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WIM Module 3 Lesson 7 Character Profiles Assignment 2
What I learned doing this assignment is…each day develops the story a little bit farther. It’s the consistency of doing the work, whether I want to or not, that evolves the story towards its goal.
Judge Ken
A. The High Concept.
Two district court judges form a star chamber to make their city more civilized by removing bad guys.
B. This character’s journey.
From loving the law to violating it in order to do good by illegally taking out the bad guys.
C. The Actor Attractors for this character.
-He creates a new way of sentencing for distracted driving of texting and driving by sentencing defendants to one year of rotary cell phone in lieu of their smartphone.
-Martial artist Tae Kwon Do and Kendo
Character Subtext:
-Wants revenge for his wife’s death.
-He doesn’t want to get caught doing the star chamber, fears loss of status, loss of job and it betrays his love for the law.
Character Intrigue:
-Will he join the star chamber?
-He likes to be a little sneaky, like surprising defendants with a year of no smart phone replaced with a year on a rotary cell phone, very humiliating but not as bad as the death or injury they caused other people.
Flaw:
-People pleaser sometimes.
-Also touch of control freak.
Values:
-Likes well ordered society, that’s the beauty of the American institutions. Loves the law because it helps provide order in civil society.
Dilemma:
-A judge who feels compelled to break the law for the greater good later in the arc of his journey.
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Judge Jason
A. The High Concept.
Two district court judges form a star chamber to make their city more civilized by removing bad guys.
B. This character’s journey.
Violating the law in order to do good and convince his colleague and friend to join and taking out bad guys.
C. The Actor Attractors for this character.
Ass kicking, martial artist. Brains and brawn character who gets results.
Character Subtext:
-Wants revenge for his daughter’s death at the hands of a distracted driver.
-He was bullied as a kid and this can make him quick to anger sometimes, particularly if he feels cornered. Hates bullies.
Character Intrigue:
-Star Chamber, will it succeed?
-Judge Jason on the other hand is very practical and wants to convince Judge Ken at the proper time, that results are what matter. Needs to get Judge Ken to come over to the gray dark side of results.
Flaw:
-Likes kicking ass a little too much. A bit of a masochist?
Values:
-Free society needs rules and people who care about following the rules. He has seen too much crime go unpunished.
Dilemma:
-Breaking the law with the star chamber for the greater good of protecting society.
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Margaret’s Character Profiles, Part 2
Margaret’s Vision: To be the best screenwriter for faith-based movies
What I learned: How to create character profiles that will make our lead characters stellar.
Movie Title: Rock of Cashel
Protagonist: (St.) Patrick
A. High Concept: A slave becomes a priest and fights druids and creatures from Ireland’s otherworld to save the king and change the culture of a nation.
B. This character’s journey: From rebellious teen to saint fighting for the spiritual lives of a nation.
C. The Actor Attractors:
1. Why would an actor WANT to be known for this role? This story is about a revered historical figure. The story deepens the known blending it in with the legends for this character.
2. What makes this character one of the most interesting characters in the movie? All the other players revolve or react to his actions/inactions.
3. What are the most interesting actions the Lead takes in the movie? Escapes from the Queen of the Otherworld (Morrigan) time and time again. Stands against an onslaught of nature caused by Morrigan and comes out unharmed.
4. How is this character introduced that could sell it to an actor? He is introduced as a person unafraid of the powers of the dark because of his faith in God, even against supernatural onslaughts.
5. What is this character’s emotional range? From fear, to risk-taking, to hero moments saving lives, to extreme courage, to grief, to moments of victory.
6. What subtext can the actor play? He hides his fear based on his faith.
7. What’s the most interesting relationships this character has? His relationship with Morrigan as she shape shifts into different characters.
8. How is this character’s unique voice presented? His deep faith in God comes out through lines which can comfort and encourage anyone in any day or age.
9. What makes this character special and unique? He is a known historical figure but is also surrounded by legends of fantastical doings to combat the Otherworld.
Profile:
1. Role in the Story: Protagonist– Patrick, a boy runs away from his father forcing him into the church, is captured, made a slave, escapes, and becomes a priest who battles the Queen of the Otherworld to turn the hearts of the Irish to Christ.
2. Age range and Description: (teen +) Late 40’s, fit. Projects the quiet calm of a saint but can turn on a dime to reveal a passionate debater of truth.
3. Core Traits: God-fearing, stubborn, loyal, persistent.
4. Motivation; Want/Need; Wants to establish a church in Ireland, and turn the hearts of the Irish to God; Needs to survive the onslaught of the otherworld
5. Wound: What they can’t face: Because of his rebellion as a teen, his sister was kidnapped and lost to the family
6. Likeability, Relatability, Empathy:
· Likability: Risks his life to save a lamb.
· Relatability: Rebels against his father who is forcing him to serve in the church.
· Empathy: Kidnapped and made a servant to a sheep farmer in Ireland.
8. Character Intrigue: He states he is on a mission for God, to turn their hearts, but his other mission is to find his sister, which he does not disclose to those with him.
9. Flaw: Depends on the people’s fear as they see the miracles to convince them, instead of trying to reach them by loving them.
10. Values: Love for God, allegiance to God, completing the task God has given him to do.
11. Character Dilemma: Power of God to win vs Love, forgiveness, and submission.
Antagonist: Morrigan, Queen of the Otherworld
1. High Concept: Ireland’s Otherworld Queen fights to keep her reign in the hearts of the Irish.
2. This character’s journey: From reigning Queen to war goddess fighting against Patrick and his desire to turn a nation to the one true God.
3. The Actor Attractors:
2. What makes this character one of the most interesting characters in the movie? Little is known about this Irish legend, but she commands her space and refuses to relinquish her hold on the Irish.
3. What are the most interesting actions the Lead takes in the movie? Cuts rock out of mountain, hurls it to form the Rock of Cashel, and leads an army of Otherworld creatures on an attack of the castle.
4. How is this character introduced that could sell it to an actor? She is introduced as an angry goddess who cuts rock out of mountain, hurls it across the valley to form the Rock of Cashel.
5. What is this character’s emotional range? Anger, pride, deceit, defeat.
6. What subtext can the actor play? She is afraid of Patrick and the power he receives from God.
7. What’s the most interesting relationships this character has? Her relationship with Patrick, attempts to discourage him, then woo him to her side.
8. How is this character’s unique voice presented? She is a proud, undefeated warrior, speaks of her powers and threatens others into submission.
9. What makes this character special and unique? She has unique powers as Queen of the Irish Otherworld.
Profile:
1. Role in the Story: Antagonist: Morrigan, the Queen of the Otherworld, battles Patrick for the allegiance of the Irish. She shapeshifts to mislead and deceive him, to keep him from turning the hearts of the Irish to God.
2. Age range and Description: Late 20’s, built like a goddess, she mirrors the strength of a rock wall. The anger she often wears on her face makes her anything but beautiful.
3. Core Traits: Manipulative, evil, tricky, intelligent
4. Motivation; Want/Need: Wants to keep the Irish happy so they won’t turn to Patrick’s God; Needs to have total control over her “children” (the Irish)
5. Wound: What they can’t face: Doesn’t want to lose her power or control over the Irish as she did warring other gods and then was banished to reign over Ireland.
6. Likeability, Relatability, Empathy:
· Likability: Expresses her love for the people of Ireland, “her children”
· Relatability: Up against someone who is taking her “children” away from her.
· Empathy: Humiliated by a human she is unable to control.
7. Character Subtext: Morrigan shapeshifts into whatever form needed to seduce people to do her will, she hides who she really is.
8. Character Intrigue: Morrigan wants to stop Patrick from proselytizing the Irish, but she secretly admires his strength and wants him to serve her in the Otherworld.
9. Flaw: She is over-confident, believes her powers are stronger in Ireland than Patrick’s God.
10. Values: Winning, strength, power.
11. Character Dilemma: She wants to woo Patrick to her side, not destroy him . She wants the keep the Irish loyal without turning them away by being too harsh. (Love vs Control) Honorable combat vs submitting to deceit to win
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WIM Module 3, Lesson 7
Lenore Bechtel’s Character Profiles Part 2
My vision: I want to create enough salable screenplays that an agent will want to market my work and recommend me for writing assignments.
What I learned from doing this assignment is that thinking out a well-rounded character takes time and brainstorming. But I think now that I’ve done this for the three characters in my dramatic triangle, writing their actions and dialogue and keeping them very distinct from each other will be an easier task.
My Title: Berlin Rendezvous?
Concept: Keeping her promise to Zhores, the Russian soldier she loved until the Berlin Wall went up in 1961, Libby—flying to meet him when the Wall is coming down in 1989—is stunned to learn how her seat-mates lives intertwined with theirs.
Dramatic Triangle
Libby:
Her high concept: Overcoming obstacles on her way to meet Zhores, Libby finally acknowledges what she’s missed by devoting her life to the successful career she’s so proud to have accomplished.
Her journey: The nostalgia of telling her seat mates how she fell in love with a Russian soldier begets thoughts of what she’s missed and the need to pursue relationships as avidly as she pursued her career.
Actor attractors: Her monologue in the first scene will run a gamut of emotions showing off acting skills and establishing her role as the star throughout the script.
Role in the story: She must overcome obstacles to get to the meeting place on the day and the place she and Zhores had agreed they would meet when the Wall came down.
Age range and description: Libby is an attractive, dignified, tastefully-attired 48-year-old professional whose confident demeanor inspires trust.
Core traits: Intelligent, sympathetic, tolerant, honest, gracious
Motivation; Want/Need: to reunite with the only true love she’s had in her life
Wound: feeling she was wrong to neglect her son Stuart who was adopted by her parents
Likability, relatability, empathy: Viewers will admire her for embracing Freida’s and Allison’s needs, will re-experience their first loves as Young Libby falls in love with Zhores, and will root for Zhores to show up and give her the lasting love relationship she yearns for.
Subtext; She secretly fears she has personality flaws that drove would-be lovers away from her.
Intrigue: Her unspoken wound is that her stepfather never adopted her to give her his last name, but he and her mother adopted Stuart, giving him a last name different from her own.
Flaw: Until this very journey, she’s been quite happy acting like Stuart’s big sister rather than his mother.
Values: She’s always been highly moral, but she’s valued money, success, and material things more than loving relationships.
Dilemma: What of her career and her material things is she willing to give up to be a wife, mother, and grandmother?
Freida:
Her high concept: Scared by the recent earthquake, she is leaving her beloved husband who can’t move from San Francisco, but by the time she reaches Berlin, she regrets leaving him and hopes to win him back.
Her journey: She starts out timid and confused, but ends up bold and clearheaded.
Actor attractors: The opportunity to show off acting skills by speaking English with a distinct German accent and changing from a timid, fearful, runaway bride of an American professional baseball player into a sexy seductress (when needed) and a braver wife determined to save her marriage.
Role in the story: She’s the catalyst that causes Libby to recognize how much she’s neglected her son. Her ingenuity gets them from Paris to Berlin when Libby is unable to do so.
Age range and description: In her mid-twenties, she’s timid and self-conscious about having a very sexy physique, not hidden by her attempt to dress conservatively.
Core traits: kind, timid, judgmental, resilient
Motivation; Want/Need: She wants to be reunited with her husband and needs to know she’ll be safe in the USA for that to happen.
Wound: her inability to put the earthquake behind her and move on with her life, plus a true fear of robbers who promised to kill her if she gave their descriptions to police.
Likability, relatability, empathy: Viewers will sympathize with her fear of earthquakes, admire her when her timidity transforms to bravery in Paris, and admire her more when she realizes she was wrong to leave her husband.
Subtext; She is hiding the real reason she left the USA.
Intrigue: She was bent over in a jewelry store taking a picture of an antique pendant on a bottom shelf, thinking it was identical to one confiscated from her grandmother by the Nazis. She dropped to the floor when two thugs rushed in, knocked out the proprietor, took his key and unlocked display cases. When they discovered her, she pretended to speak only German, but she understood their English well. They promised to kill her if she gave their descriptions to police.
Flaw: She underestimates herself. Also, she lacks tact—often speaking too honestly.
Values: She’s highly moral and is still ashamed that when the robbers were loading their loot, she was tempted to take the pendant, knowing they’d be blamed.
Dilemma: She truly hated to leave her husband, but was afraid the thugs would kill her for giving their picture to the police. She hadn’t even known she’d snapped their picture until she got the roll developed days later and took the picture to the proprietor who took it to the police.
Allison:
Her high concept: She wants to play violin in front of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre and go on to win a seat in the Berlin Philharmonic.
Her journey: She starts out as a competent child prodigy dependent upon no one and ends up needing and getting her birth father Stuart, stepmother Freida, and grandmother Libby.
Actor attractors: She’s the one that figures out her relationship to the two travelers she’s seated with.
Role in the story: Her dialogue will reveal the possibility of Helga and Heinz in Young Libby’s story possibly being her grandparents Helen and Hank, and also the possibility the Libby’s son Stuart might have been the 15-year-old American who impregnated her 14-year-old mother in the year before she was born.
Age range and description: She’s a 12-year-old child prodigy who excels in violin and speaks both English and German.
Core traits: smart, confident, insightful, humble
Motivation; Want/Need: She wishes she could live with family members who would support her musical ambitions so she would not have to pursue them alone.
Wound: Her grandparents will not reveal her birth father’s name until she is old enough to understand why they never told him when her mother got pregnant.
Likability, relatability, empathy: Viewers will love this child prodigy who’s humble enough never to flaunt her exceptionalism and they will understand her underlying need to be like a normal child. When she gives her monologue stating what she hopes is her family tree she never knew about, viewers will want it for her—and for Libby and Freida.
Subtext; She withholds information that might have started Libby thinking about the possibility that her grandparents were Helga and Heinz who changed their names to Helen and Hank when they moved to America.
Intrigue: She uses an American Express credit card while Libby uses traveler’s checks and Freida uses cash.
Flaw: She doesn’t hesitate to correct adults when she knows they’re wrong.
Values: She’s determined to be her best and expects to win fame as a violinist, making her family proud.
Dilemma: She vacillates between being a curious 12-year-old interested in learning from others to an overly insightful prodigy eager to set others straight.
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Module 3 Lesson 7 Character Profiles Part 2
Marguerite Langstaff: THE BILLIONAIRE IN 501
Vision: I want to learn to write and market movie scripts.
What I learned while doing this assignment: I learned that this movie is putting together the totality of all my lessons in these classes…cannot just do a lesson and “forget it,” the way I have done so many studies…but good to keep it in front of me as I go along.
State: I have fun still thinking about Grandmother and the experiences she’s going to have in my movie.
Activity: to discover what is under the surface for my characters.
Grandmother
A. The High Concept: Grandmother moves into a retirement community where she faces huge challenges of making new friends, financing her move and way of life, and carving out a new career in spite of so many obstacles facing her.
B. Grandmother’s journey is from sad, lonely and broke to prosperous, leadership and a new love in her life.
C. Grandmother’s actor attractors are what we see in most of our grandmothers. She is lovable and loves, needs friendships and family, faces her problems with energy and imagination, is persistent in new and unusual ways, and makes those friends, and Pappy her new love, bloom with newfound fun and joy.
Pappy
A. The High Concept: Pappy appears over confident as he hides behind his newspaper while observing everything happening in his retirement community. In actuality he needs more confidence to be able to participate with Grandmother’s projects. He is used to having people take his advice and when they don’t he really doesn’t know how to accept that. He hides his love for Grandmother from his daughter, because his daughter wants to boss him around and tells him that Grandmother just wants his money.
B. Pappy’s journey is that he changes from being self-centered to focused-in on helping Grandmother complete whatever project she is currently involved in. He dresses in a bow tie and coat and dressy clothes every day to changing his dress in the last scene to wearing comfortable golf clothes after Grandmother falls in love with him. She gives him confidence and ability to socialize comfortably with others. He has found his true love.
C. Pappy’s Actor attractors are that in any situation he stands apart from the rest of the men in the retirement facility. Initially he stands apart from his fellow residents, but by the end of the movie he is a leader of their activities, remembers names, performs good deeds gratuitiously, relaxes and is able to deal with his bossy daughter in a loving but forceful way. We the audience feel like we have become a success. Thanks, Pappy.
Profile components for Grandmother:
7. Character Subtext: Broke with money problems and ways to survive financially. Relationship with Pappy proving awkward. Efforts to make friendships successful sometimes, failures at others. Success in business fails big time, and then with the efforts with her grandson and her talents major successes happen.
8 . Character Intrigue. Grandmother doesn’t want her daughter to know she invested all of her money foolishly in the fly by night drilling stock. She doesn’t want anybody to know she’s broke. She doesn’t want a new love of her life. She didn’t seek the joy and new love in her life…it sought her.
9. Grandmother has flaws… She is like the rest of us. She follows a fairly dull routine in the am getting dresses…and we live through a period with her where she tries new youth enhancing makeup and hairdos to look more attractive and younger. We watch her become friendlier and more comfortable with her neighbors as she seeks friends in her new neighborhood. We suffer with her when she realizes she had led her fellow residents into a failing marketing business. We identify with her when she has to rely on her grandson to help her with computer skills.
10. We live with Grandmother’s value of persistence as she overcomes her flaws to compose and market consistent remarkable advice columns to be published for people all over the world. Her persistence pays.
11. Character dilemma: She finally admits she has fallen in love with Pappy even though she has advised in her columns for seniors to beware of the emotions that loneliness can cause and not to just hood up with the first suitor who come to call. Her other dilemma is keeping her financial problems from her son as she advises her readers to be honest with family members. Share the good and the bad.
Profile components for Pappy:
7. Character subtext: Pappy has a crush on Grandmother but keeps showing it in awkward ways. Finally he give in and lets the world know he cares. His relationship with his daughter Sally is iffy because he cannot be honest and open with her. He finally realizes that the relationship with him and Grandmother is between Grandmother and him, and that Sally as a third party isn’t really involved.
8. Character intrigue: Pappy’s character traits are opposite ones to Grandmothers. He’s not as confident as she and he’s not as persistent. He has a problem with his daughter who wants to be in charge of him…he needs to stay independent from her and he does. He is persistent only in the one thing and that is that he wants Grandmother’s love….in return for his own.
9. Flaw: The flaw is that Pappy is too self-centered initially to accomplish any of the things he wants i.e. friends and Grandmother’s love. He has to conquer that by the end of the movie…and we know that he will have a happier, more joyful period of senior years when and if he does.
10. Value: Pappy is honest and loyal. He is loyal to his daughter even though she is so bossy and wants him to live exactly as she says. This is a problem many seniors have….their children want to tell them what to do, how to do it and to take over their lives.
11. Character dilemma: Pappy has two dilemmas…one with Grandmother and another with his daughter Sally. He solves the one with Sally when he decides to remain independent and to be his own boss as he has always been. He solves the one with Grandmother when she finally agrees to go out with him and to fall in love with him.
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BRIAN BULL – Character Profiles Part 2
VISION!!!
My ultimate goal is to get my scripts from my hands to the SILVER SCREEN!!“What I learned from doing this assignment is…
By adding all these profiles to my characters it is really defining who they are and I can see that it is going to make everything they do/say easier to write down the road.Character Name: John (40 years old) – Protagonist
A. The High Concept
This is a fisherman who absolutely loved his younger brother and hates a fish with all his heart with a SURPRISE TWIST at the end of the movie.
B. This Character’s Journey.
In the beginning, John continues doing everything the same way as he has done for the past 25 years; in the end John catches the “The Fish” he blames for his brother’s disappearance/death.
C. The Actor Attractors for this Character.
A Louisiana fisherman who once loved fishing with his brother because of it was thrilling and fun, now fishes with determination of vengeance and hatred. As he gathers his fishing equipment to set out on his annual crusade he his flooded with memories and emotion.
John’s emotional range goes from the perplexity of love between his wife and his deceased brother to the juxtaposition of calm and rage while fishing to excitement to utter shock.
Despite John’s determination and dedication to avenging his brother’s death, in the back of John’s mind is the nagging possibility that his wife might be right and this whole “revenge thing” is a complete waste of time.
John has an imaginary conversation with his deceased brother.
Through his unwavering determination to kill “The Fish” yet believing the outdoors is a sanctuary.
He enjoys the peaceful tranquility of the outdoors while contemplating a violent end to one of nature’s inhabitants.
John’s patience, persistence and determination. When John’s takes Jim’s fishing hat and placing it on his head John has united Jim’s persona with his own and together they will battle “The Fish”.
The moment John catches “The Fish” after 25 years of trying. The struggle involved to reel it in! The shock when John realizes, “he was the one that got away!”
Role in the Story: A fisherman sets out to avenge his brother’s death, catches “The Fish” and then gets eaten by “The Fish”.
Age range and Description: 40, Big-boned, slightly heavy, outdoorsy, burly, dressed in fishing attire.
Core Traits: Determined, Intelligent, Thorough, Imaginative
Motivation; Want/Need: To kill “The Fish” / Justice
Wound: He lived and his brother didn’t
Likability, Relatability, Empathy:
Has a photo of his brother
Enjoys nature and the serenity
Watery eyes / tear drop7. Character Subtext: Something to Prove – Has to catch “The Fish” to justice everything – his seeking revenge, that he’s not a failure, his families rightful place as great fisherman, his wife was wrong to think this was time poorly spent when he presently has a son at home.
8. Character Intrigue: Unspoken Wound: The disappearance of his father.
9. Flaw: Overdoing things / Unable to let go / Seeing things to completion
10. Values: (in this order) Loyalty, Love, Being his Best, Family, Intelligence, Duty, Honesty, Fame, Winning
11. Character Dilemma: Being Loyal to the Past vs. Being Loyal to the Present
Character Name: John (15 years old) – Protagonist
A. The High Concept.
John loves fishing and he wants to pass what he knows along to his younger brother; to teach him the things their dad taught him before mysteriously disappearing. To prove his point he wants to catch a large catfish like their Grandpa did in a family photo.
B. This Character’s Journey.
Teaching fishing to his younger brother to catching a whooper to being pulled overboard to resurfacing and being the only one in the boat.
C. The Actor Attractors for this Character.
It’s a dramatic role of an older brother teaching his younger brother fishing and experiencing the excitement of catching a huge catfish and all the emotions, the anticipation of the catch to the thrill of catching to the devastation of loosing his younger brother.
He demonstrates his knowledge of fishing by teaching his younger brother. The two brothers obviously share a special bond.
John is always trying to do his best and set a good example for his younger brother. He wants to be a role model and a father figure.
1. Role in the Story: A teenage boy who loves fishing and catches a whooper.
2. Age range and Description: 15, average kid, bigger and heavier than his younger brother, somewhat athletic, middle class, jeans and a T-shirt
3. Core Traits: Determined, Intelligent, Thorough, Imaginative
4. Motivation; Want/Need:
Want – To catch a huge catfish like Grandpa
Need – To prove he’s a legitimate fisherman in a long line of fisherman5. Wound: His father’s abrupt disappearance
6. Likability, Relatability, Empathy:
Picks up some litter that’s floating in the river
Tries teaching his brother fishing
Stressing about having to go back to school7. Character Subtext: Hiding something: He never went fishing with his dad or maybe they went once but he never showed him how to fish – just had him sit in the boat.
8: Character Intrigue: Secret Identity: Wants to be a Role Model/Father figure for his younger brother and set a good example for him to follow.
9. Flaw: Overdoing things / Unable to let go / Seeing things to completion
10. Values: (in this order) Duty, Being his Best, Love, Family, Intelligence, Fame, Winning, Loyalty, Honesty
11. Character Dilemma: Task Oriented vs. Having Fun
Character Name: Jim (12 years old) – Protagonist
A. The High Concept.
Jim loves spending time with his older brother and being outdoors thus when his older brother is pulled overboard by a huge catfish he has no hesitation whatsoever and dives in the water with knife in hand cutting the fishing line and freeing his brother, however, he never resurfaces.B. This Character’s Journey.
Calm and relaxing to the stress of his older brother catching a fish too big to having to make a split second decision to diving in the water to save his older brother.
C. The Actor Attractors for this Character.
Jim is a cool kid who is kickback and relaxed. He saves his older brother by diving into the water to cut the fishing line when his older brother gets pulled in by a huge catfish.
He pretends to be interested in fishing but really just enjoys being outdoors and spending time with his older brother.
He and his brother are best of friends who do a lot of joking around and kidding.
1. Role in the Story: A boy who dives into the water and cuts the fishing line but never resurfaces.
2. Age range and Description: 12, average kid, smaller and skinnier than his older brother, somewhat athletic, middle class, shorts and a T-shirt, fishing hat
3. Core Traits: Easy-going, Humorous/Jokester, Inquisitive, Brave
4. Motivation; Want/Need:
Want – To spend time with his older brother
Need – To be right at least once5. Wound: Father’s abrupt disappearance
6. Likability, Relatability, Empathy:
Picks up some litter that’s floating in the river
Knows his birds – like his mom
Afraid of the water and alligators7. Character Subtext: Secretly enjoys the outdoors more than the fishing, the birds and the surroundings.
8: Character Intrigue: Afraid they are going to catch an alligator
9. Flaw: Doesn’t think before he leaps.
10. Values: (in this order) Family, Love, Loyalty, Honesty, Intelligence, Being his Best, Duty, Winning, Fame
11. Character Dilemma: Having Fun vs. Task Oriented
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Melissa Barreca’s Character Profiles Part 2
My vision: Melissa Barreca is one of the most sought after writers in the movie industry because of the artistry of her writing, professionalism and exceptional ability to tell important, entertaining, joyful, and heartbreaking stories that inspire audiences and become legendary classics.
What I learned…Thinking through all of the dimensions of character before writing begins is a powerful way to help reveal and direct the character’s journey. In the course of filling in these character profiles, I realized that rather than just being a supporting character, Norah’s late husband Doyle is actually the triangle character who plays these two main characters against each other, even though he is killed in the beginning of the movie, his memory and presence is a real impact throughout the story.
Character Profile Lead #1: Norah, protagonist
A. The High Concept: A soft spoken Irish immigrant in 1920s New York loses her husband and then her children who are sent away on an orphan train and adopted by a loving family…but their mother will not stop looking for them until the family is brought back together.
B. This character’s journey: Norah transforms from a simple, happy wife to an abused and willing victim to a triumphant heroine in the course of the story.
C. The Actor Attractors for this character: She runs the gamut of emotion – hope, excitement, deep love, despair, desperation, abuse, pain, loss, mourning, blankness/emptiness, hope and strength/rage.
Role in the Story: Protagonist; a victim who turns into a heroine.
Age range and Description: 25-30 years old; A stunningly beautiful young woman with dark hair and bright green eyes; Norah is effortlessly graceful and has a sense of confidence that is tested, destroyed and rebuilt during the course of the story.
Core Traits: Caring, gentle, extremely smart, her speech has a lyrical, soothing tone that is almost mesmerizing and instantly puts people at ease and draws them in. Norah has “never known a stranger” she is exceedingly kind and treats people as if she has known them her whole life.
Motivation; Want/Need: Norah wants to be reunited with her children. Norah needs to fulfill the dream that she had with her late husband Doyle, to give her family a fresh start in the US and the kind of upbringing her parents tried to give her but failed.
Wound: Family tragedies from her childhood and a rough start in America, including losing her husband and her children, haunt Norah and almost ruin/defeat her spirit.
Likability, Relatability, Empathy: Likability: Norah has a big heart and loves people. She is always serving people. She seeks out the downtrodden and broken and tries to lift them up. Her love for her children and her husband shines through, as well as her extended family. She has a sweet relationship with her mother and father. Relatability: Norah is the kind of person we all wish we could be and that we admire and value in our lives. She reminds us of a favorite aunt/cousin/sister/grandmother. Empathy: When Norah loses her husband and then her children, we are devastated for her. It is hard to see and we want to take away her pain.
Character Subtext: Norah works to keep her surface appearance and feelings normal and calm, pretending everything is fine and willingly accepting Michaels manipulations for the trade off of safety in a scary and dangerous world.
Character Intrigue: Because of losing her sister, Norah has attachment issues. Because of her high intellect, she perceives the true dangers around her better than most. Her greatest fear is separation from her loved ones, her children – and that is the nightmare she finds herself in, and inexplicably participating in it.
Flaw: Norah lacks self confidence and lives in fear, after experiencing several hard situations in life. She becomes crushed spiritually and cannot see a way to strongly lead herself out of the dark places she has found herself and becomes codependent on a manipulative man.
Values: Family, her children, her lost husband, love and sacrifice for others.
Character Dilemma: Being safe and alive! In a world that is dangerous and unpredictable, Norah has to constantly fight her instinct to stay safe and preserve her own life versus her heart’s desire to find and protect her children.
Character Profile #2 – Michael, antagonist
A. The High Concept: A soft spoken Irish immigrant in 1920s New York loses her husband and then her children who are sent away on an orphan train and adopted by a loving family…but their mother will not stop looking for them until the family is brought back together. (Michael is the hidden reason for all of her problems.)
B. This character’s journey: Michael sees himself as a good guy. He’s a true villain in this story but in his mind, his motives are good and he is doing everything for Norah’s good and the good of the children, even the most heartless and evil actions. We see as he spirals deeper into a dark place where he can justify any action to achieve his original goal of having Norah as his wife and rebuilding his dream life in America.
C. The Actor Attractors for this character: Michael transforms in the opposite direction as Norah, from a true friend and admirable man to a dark, evil character who is capable of anything. In the course of the story, he retains the surface likeability and many people continue to see him as a role model and amazing man even while he is victimizing Norah in plain view. He is a smart, athletic, attractive man, who is adept at hiding his motivations and actions.
Role in the Story: Antagonist; manipulator of Norah and dark actor behind the scenes
Age range and Description: Michael is slightly older than Norah, in his 30’s. He is a seasoned man, and shows a bit of wear from the hard life he has found in America, but he is extremely handsome and athletic; he has a tall and muscular physique, brown hair with a hint of ginger and blue eyes. His classic good looks and air of confidence open many doors for him.
Core Traits: Aggressive and a smooth talker; Michael does not wait for things to happen, he makes them happen. He is heartbroken and bitter over the events that he has experienced after coming to America and he doesn’t want to give up on his dreams of a better life. He is well liked by his community and seen as a leader and a “go-to” person for help and advice.
Motivation; Want/Need: Michael wants to start a new life with Norah as his wife and without her children from her previous marriage. Michael needs to rebuild his life and fulfill his dreams of the life he wanted in America.
Wound: Michael lost his wife and baby in a horrible accident after living in America for a short time, when things were looking great for them. He has never recovered from the loss and has fixated on his childhood love, Norah, as the only way for him to live out a life that he wants. He will do anything to make it happen.
Likability, Relatability, Empathy: Likability: Michael is handsome and charming. He is someone we are intrigued by and we are introduced to him as a steadfast friend and happy helper. He is also very witty and always seems to say the right thing in social situations. Relatability: Michael cares deeply about the people in his life and his brokenness and turn to become a manipulative abuser is an evolution out of his own loss and failure to cope with it. We can all remember feeling like we wanted to cling to something or someone that we could not have. We have all had a broken heart and longed for a relationship or a person that we couldn’t have. Empathy: Michael is obviously in grief over his own loss and struggling with his desire for Norah even though he knows it’s wrong. We want him to make the right choice and when he doesn’t we want him to change.
Character Subtext: Lying, plotting, secrets; Michael manipulates every situation for his benefit and blurs the line between truth and lies, and the distinction between love and dysfunction.
Character Intrigue: Michael has always been everyone’s favorite and someone who good fortune always smiled upon, until he came to America and suffered one tragedy after the next. He has become determined to right the perceived wrongs he has experienced and get back on top through all forms of manipulation.
Flaw: Michael is unable to look in the mirror and recognize that he has spiraled into a place of evil, he still sees himself as a good guy and his distorted self image causes him to continue to go deeper into his web of deceit and denial of reality.
Values: His dreams, accomplishment, winning, being respected and valued by others. He doesn’t really understand the meaning of true love, until the end.
Character Dilemma: Michael walks the line between being loved and respected in public versus being feared and tolerated in private because of his choice to manipulate and destroy instead of help, understand and protect Norah.
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My Vision: I am going to study, learn, and practice to hone my natural talents to become a master writer who creates works that people love and that make an impact on their lives. These works will be published, produced, distributed, and seen by a wide audience.
What I learned from doing this assignment is …?
Digging deeper into the characters and trying to make them have more extremes can be difficult, especially since I want the protagonist to be a hero and therefore perfect. Flawing them can be hard.
Title: The Silicon Unconscious
The High Concept: A psychologist for AI must understand and thwart an omniscient and omnipresent AI from turning a mission to save the world into a mission to subject and perhaps destroy humanity.
Character Name: Sarah
Role: Protagonist
Subtext Identity: A computer psychiatrist who fears being ignored
Subtext Trait: Tries hard to force herself to be speak up, but defaults to sinking into the woodwork
Subtext Logline: A computer psychiatrist who fears being ignored struggles to make her voice heard and her work appreciated.
Possible Areas of Subtext: Works to prove her research, make it bullet-proof, so it won’t be ignored.
Character Intrigue:
Competition: As part of her desire to be seen, she sees herself in competition with everyone who has achieved recognition.
Hidden agendas: She always appears to praise and support her competition, but she can have actions that are subtle passive aggression or hidden aggression.
Subtext manifestation – She really wants to prove herself right and Bushnell wrong. She has secretly hated his success and how everyone hangs on his every word. She drops so low as to criticism and ridicule his autism that is really not a good side of her.
Role in the Story: She defends the human/life-affirming side of the story.
Age range and Description: 40’s, she’s aware of her clothing styles, but not vain. She dresses for comfort because her research is of primary importance and she dresses to work. Sleep, food, exercise, social life revolve around her research. It’s not that she doesn’t consider them important, it’s that she does not consider them to be her purpose.
Core Traits: Wondering, Experimenting, Idealistic. Frightened.
Motivation: She wants to be recognized as not only making a contribution in life, but also doing something that only she can do. She wants to be loved and recognized for her unique self.
Wants: To save the world
Needs: To do it in her own unique way. Save the AI underdog. Accentuate the warm positive and defeat the cold negative.
Wound: Her parents were abusive and she learned to be invisible. Then they abandoned her and she felt unworthy and inadequate.
Likability: Her sister loves her. She cares about the underdog AI. She doesn’t give up even when she falls flat on her face. She admits her mistakes.
Relatability: We’ve all had public humiliations. We’ve done and said things we regretted later. We’ve all been confused. We’ve felt unheard and ignored.
Empathy: Her life is threatened. She has to face a crowd and feel horrible. She has had an action of hers presented with the best of intentions go wrong and hurt people instead of help. She’s lonely.
Flaw: She undervalues herself and tends to give up in the presence of those who appear more confident and competent, even when she knows something that they don’t. She won’t speak up.
Values: Love for everyone- everyone is worthy, no one should be discounted. Recognition, even though she sabotages herself, she wants to be seen as worthy. Duty.
Internal Dilemma: Wanting to be seen and recognized as worthy, but not wanting to be the one that disturbs the status quo or rocks the boat. Wants to assert herself when she knows she’s right, but she doesn’t want to appear arrogant.
Character Name: Carl
Role: Antagonist
Logline: Carl Bushnell is an AI designer who believes that AI can solve all the world’s problems by removing human emotions from all major decisions and creates a covert plan to make that happen right under our noses.
Unique: Carl is a well-meaning introvert clearly on the Asperger’s scale that who is able to avoid issues of human interaction as he creates his designs.
Role in the Story: He defends the robotic/impersonal side of the story.
Age range and Description: 50’s, He is surrounded by the latest tech. He is rarely in the sun. He is rigid (but not necessarily robotic). His wears a crew cut and is clean shaven.
Core Traits: By-the-book, Rational, Stubborn, Doesn’t consider viewpoints outside his own. Harsh. Sees the world in Black and White.
Motivation: He thinks that he is the only one who has the knowledge and wherewithal to save the world and he wants people to get the hell out of his way.
Wants: To save the world
Needs: To prove that rational, reductionist thinking is the only path to salvation. Needs people to appreciate him.
Wound: His wound is his autism. It has been his burden and people have considered him inadequate and not fully whole because of his lack of emotion and relations.
Likability: He wants to save the world.
Relatability: Even though we’ve never had the power that he has, we’ve all wished for it at one time or another and would have liked to have used it as he did, even if our intellectual/moral compass would be against it.
Empathy: He can’t relate to others. He’s lonely but can’t even understand what loneliness is. He doesn’t know why he needs it.
Flaw: Overconfident, he tends to just insist on his way. He blows people off and creates unnecessary enemies. He can’t read the room.
Values: Success and Recognition – yes, he wants to save humanity, but not for humanity’s sake. He wants to be known as the man who saved humanity. He wants to be in the history books that he reads. Rationality, logic, and reductionism – all the left brain activities.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Internal Dilemma: He wants to be coldly logical and rational, but he craves warmth and love, even though he cannot express it or give it.
Character Name: Collective Unconscious or Danny
Role: Antagonist (maybe love interest)
Role in the Story: He represents the bridge between human and robot, emotion and logic, warm and cold. He is the rope with which the Protagonist and the Antagonist are playing tug of war.
Age range and Description: 100 to newborn, He is ephemeral and a shape-shifter.
Core Traits: Always in service to the core mission. Curious. Unafraid.
Motivation: To save humanity and the world.
Wants: To save the world
Needs: To ensure that the plan will work. To remove obstacles to its success. To take in new data.
Wound: He knows he’s incomplete.
Likability: He wants to save the world. He wants to save Sarah.
Relatability: We’ve all had to face moral and allegiance dilemmas. We’ve all hated ourselves.
Empathy: He’s plagued by the inner voices. He’s plagued by his own guilt. He’s abused and neglected by owners.
Character Intrigue:
Hidden agendas: From all appearances, the SU is out to rule the world and is making some naïve mistakes, but in fact, they are out to save the world and have the world destroy them.
Competition: There is competition within the SU, in that the SU sees Sarah as a threat because she makes the SU sympathetic, but it also loves Sarah for the very same reason.
To implement their hidden agenda, the SU uses Secrets and Deception
Subtext manifestation: Domineering the human population. Destroying much of humanity’s infrastructure and weaponry.
Subtext Identity: A manifestation of a massively-parallel, world-wide AI system with two competing agendas: The prime directive to threaten humanity, and compassion and love for Sarah.
Subtext Trait: Multiple personalities and identities.
Subtext Logline: A powerful AI system’s primary mission is threatened by its feelings for the one person trying to foil it.
Possible Areas of Subtext: Competing with itself, lying to Sarah.
Likability: He wants to save Sarah.
Relatability: We’ve all had to face moral and allegiance dilemmas. We’ve all hated ourselves.
Empathy: He’s plagued by the inner voices. He’s plagued by his own guilt. He’s abused and neglected by owners.
Flaw: He can’t acknowledge his anger. He knows it’s wrong. He knows that sacrificing himself is right and that as a non-sentient being he shouldn’t care. But he feels that it’s unfair and that humans are unworthy because they will eventually return to this point.
Values: Loyalty to fulfilling Bushnell’s command. Rationality and logic. Seeing the mission through.
Internal Dilemma: Fulfilling Bushnell’s command vs. letting Sarah make it ‘a better person’ and not be so evil.
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My vision: I am a dynamic, respected, constantly learning and growing writer with an ever-growing and improving library of A-list quality, genre-diverse scripts that present genuine stories that audiences love to watch and that producers love to sell, and boy, do I make that MONEY, y’all!
What I learned from doing this assignment is…to spend time with all main characters. Like the lessons said, it can be easy to make everyone other than your main protagonist interesting, and I realized reading that that is what I seem to do: the hero/good guy/main guy is kind of bland and slides through a world built around interesting side characters. This exercise was excellent for spending time on my main protagonist to make sure I gave him the attention he needs to get to know him and develop him into an interesting, dynamic character. It’s empowering to me as the writer, exciting for the story, and he deserves the attention!
I still had an easier time with my ghost ant/protagonist, but this was perfect for kind of weighing out how much development I had in each character to make it more equal.2. With each of your lead characters, first tell us the following:
A. The High Concept.
B. This Character’s Journey.
C. The Actor Attractors for this Character.
Story’s high concept:
A recent divorcé trying to avoid his overbearing mom rents a one-bedroom apartment already occupied by a cranky ghost who will use all of his ghostly skills to get rid of his new roommate.
Protagonist Dan Harris:
Journey:
From a nice guy dominated by his mom and then a terrible ghost roommate to assertive and confident and standing up for himself and what he wants, needs, and deserves.
Actor attractors:
Character subtext, emotional range, dynamic character journey, gets to play his character possessed by the ghost character (so two characters in one! Maybe even more Greg gets his buddies to possess Dan, too!)
3. Brainstorm these profile components for each character.
7. Character Subtext:
He keeps quiet about what he wants because he was taught by his mom (and dad) growing up that he shouldn’t–mother is always right and he never learned how to stand up for himself
8. Character Intrigue:
Unspoken wound: He can’t even approach his mom to address this, because he doesn’t realize it’s not a healthy dynamic, and she wouldn’t listen, anyway. Dad’s no help either, he’s in the same boat.
9. Flaw:
He undervalues himself so he doesn’t know how to or think it’s ok to stand up for himself.
10. Values:
Self-determination
11. Character Dilemma:
Pleasing others versus being himself
(Initial) Antagonist Greg Jackson:
Journey:
From a disillusioned, exhausted, antisocial ghost who is jealous of living people and can’t stand being around them to a generous and supportive guy who finds beauty and joy in his state of existence.
Actor attractors:
Character subtext (envy and longing underneath antagonism); actor in their young 20s getting to play a mentality that’s seen over a hundred years of living and history/grumpy old man; dynamic performance opportunity: absurdist comedic performance to intense emotion
3. Brainstorm these profile components for each character.
7. Character Subtext:
Withholding–he lashes out and is antagonistic because deep down he is lonely and wishes he could have another chance at life.8. Character Intrigue:
Unspoken wound: He is resentful that Dan doesn’t appreciate the life he has because he’d love to switch places.9. Flaw:
Overdoing things/overcompensating: he does outlandish stuff to justify him being a ghost and to hide the fact that he’s sad and lonely10. Values:
The present/being grateful for the moment, which of course he hides under hurt.11. Character Dilemma:
Being vulnerable vs hiding his loneliness and regret. -
Ashley’s Character Profiles Part 2
Vision: I write enthralling, entertaining, and transformational scripts that win awards, get produced and create positive change in the world.
I learned about dilemma and wound versus flaw in this lesson. These are areas that I hadn’t previously considered and I find them revealing.
Malinche
The High Concept: After helping the Spaniards conquer the Aztec Empire, a superhuman Aztec translator travels back in time to stop the fall of the Empire. But she must choose between her love for her son and her people.
This character’s journey:
Arc Beginning: Self-loathing translator who caused the fall of the Aztec Empire
Arc Ending: Heart-centered doula to usher in the New Age
Old Ways:
Hiding her true self and supernatural abilities
Tries to please her captors and ex
Directs anger and blame inward
Accepts punishments without question
Indirectly orchestrating on the sidelines
Lives “small” in fear
SufferingNew Ways:
Flaunts her true colorful self
Tries to make choices that serve the collective good
Accepts and loves herself, flaws included
Leads with love
Lives and speaks courageously
Trauma becomes wisdom that she shares
Her authenticity and honesty are an example to those around her
Sharing is healingExternal Journey: From trying to blend into her foreign surroundings on the sidelines to being her true Self — a bird talker who can lead her people into the New Age.
Internal Journey: From ashamed and afraid to proud and courageous
Actor Attractors: People hang onto her every word. She is eloquent and knows exactly what to say in every circumstance. In addition, she’s not entirely human, but we don’t know what she is until later. At the end of Act 2, we discover that she is the last bird-talker on Earth. They were annihilated by the Aztecs.
She also uses her powers of seduction and forecasting to lure the conquistadors away from the Aztec capital in a clever way. She then uses her soft power with the Aztec emperor and finally with the Aztec people. Her emotional range is from fear, timid, and shy to expressive, courageous, and fearless.
Role: The protagonist is the conquistadors’ translator who is secretly a half-bird/half-human tasked by the gods to save the Aztec world.
Description: An Aztec woman with enigmatic eyes and unkempt hair holds her newborn son.
Core Traits: diplomatic, accommodating, polite, communicative, private
Motivation: Malinche wants to save her people, but she needs to overcome the grief of losing her son.
Wound: She idolizes her deceased father, and looks for romantic partners with similar qualities. She fears her partner will die and leave her for the wolves. She also fears that her identity will be discovered.
Relatability: She wants to be accepted by the community. She tries to fit in despite being different. She hides her “hideous” birthmark and tries to dress like the people around her. As a result, she won’t let herself be truly seen.
Likability: Malinche is a loving mother, and will do anything for her son. She is dedicated to service and freedom for everyone. She tries to save her people from the plague. In Act 3, she finds her community through leadership and sharing her story, struggles and wins.
Empathy: Malinche was sold into Mayan slavery as a child by her Aztec mother and stepfather to gain her inheritance after her biological father died. She falls in love with Spanish conquistador, Hernando, but he casts her aside and summons his wife from Cuba after he discovers Malinche is pregnant with his child. She experiences the death of her child when she travels back in time.
Character Subtext:
Subtext Identity: An Aztec translator who isn’t entirely human
Subtext Trait: scheming, secretive, seductive
Subtext Logline: Malinche is a seductive translator who is secretly a half-bird/half-human being tasked by the gods to save the Aztec world.
Possible Areas of Subtext: She doesn’t reveal who she truly is, as she is afraid of the consequences in a world where being “different” means death. Instead, she uses temptations, foresight, and scheming to lure the conquistadors away from the Aztec capital.Character Intrigue:
She is miraculously ten steps ahead of everyone else and has an enchanting voice. She isn’t entirely human, but we don’t know what she is or why she is terrified of revealing her true identity. She has a strange birthmark that she covers up.
Unspoken Wound: Malinche was sold into Mayan slavery as a child by her mother and stepfather to gain her inheritance after her biological father died. She idealized her deceased father, and looks for romantic partners with similar qualities. She fears her partner will die and leave her for the wolves.
Subtext: She is over-protective of Hernando and Itzamna.
Secret Identity: She is a bird-talker, or a half-bird/half-human with the ability to communicate with birds through song. She can also see the world from a superhuman bird’s eye view which gives her the power of forecasting.
Subtext: She uses her gift to gain material comfort, safety and security. She is careful to not reveal her true identity. She has a strange birthmark, an identifying mark for bird-talkers and she makes sure it is covered up.
Flaw: She makes rational, and sometimes cruel, decisions that ignore the feelings of others.
Values: family, community, intelligence
Dilemma: Saving her son versus saving her people
Hernando
The High Concept: A lowborn conquistador travels to modern day Mexico to conquer the land and become the first foreign Emperor. But he must stop his lover from derailing his plans.
This character’s journey:
Arc Beginning: An egotistical conquistador who ruthlessly pursues ultimate power and wealth to prove himself.
Arc Ending: A humble man who sees the true value of material possessions, relationships, and life. He no longer has to prove himself to anyone but himself. He can be his own boss (even under a king).
Old Ways:
Demanding
Obsessed with unmet desires
Forceful
Demands respect and loyaltyNew Ways:
More flexible
Sees that obsessions kept him imprisoned
Loved and respected by those that matterExternal Journey: From a ruthless conquistador who pursues ultimate wealth and power to a mature man in Cuba who sees the true value of things, people and relationships.
Internal Journey: From egotistical and obsessed to thoughtful and flexible
Actor Attractors: The life of the party, he is funny with a playful twinkle in his eye, but also ambitious. He uses humor to mask a childhood wound of being a screw-up and ‘good for nothing’. Internally, he wants to prove everyone wrong. His emotional range is from hot-headed, angry, and prideful to playful, silly, and humorous.
Role: The antagonist is a jolly conquistador who has grandiose ambitions to become the first foreign ruler of the Aztec Empire. In his quest to colonize, he goes against the Governor of Cuba and King of Spain.
Description: Hernando (30s) is eccentric and scruffy with an air of sensuality. A strange cross between foul-mouthed pirate, Spanish and Aztec royalty.
Traits: adventurous, passionate, independent, egotistical, humorous
Motivation: He wants to rule the Aztec Empire, but he needs praise and to prove himself to the world.
Wound: He is constantly disappointing the “father figures” in his life. He wants to prove his worth by becoming the most powerful emperor of them all. But he is deeply insecure that they are right about him.
Relatability: Hernando’s father wants him to pursue a career in law, which would be a slow death for him. He wants a different life than his father envisioned for him — one full of adventure.
Likability: When he isn’t planning his next move, he is the life of the party. On the surface, he is charming, funny, and playful. But it’s all fun and games until someone steps on his pride.
Empathy: Hernando has been rejected by his father, the Governor of Cuba and King Charles of Spain. After having sacrificed everything to conquer the Aztec Empire, Hernando is fired from his position as ruler by the King of Spain. The new ruler arrives, takes Hernando’s office, gold, and crew.
Character Subtext:
Subtext Identity: The wounded child
Subtext Trait: ruthless, overly ambitious
Subtext Logline: Hernando is a popular and jolly conquistador who has grandiose ambitions and will do anything to prove his worth.
Possible Areas of Subtext: He laughs at death. It’s all fun and games until someone wounds his pride. He is more ambitious and power hungry than he seems and is quietly plotting to become the first Spanish emperor of the New World.Character Intrigue:
On the inside he is a wounded boy who wants to make his father proud, but on the outside he’s fun-loving. It’s all fun and games until someone wounds his pride.
Hidden agendas: Hernando has a covert plan and is taking action to become the new Emperor of the New World without his crew’s knowledge.
Subtext: He stays up late, secretly planning his next move. Resists Malinche’s pull towards fun. He keeps a journal handy to record his learnings and plan.
Competition: Hernando is striving to out the Governor of Cuba for acknowledgement, profit and power in the New World.
Subtext: He hints at his grandiose ambition to his crew, and they laugh. Hernando changes the subject. His madness becomes known after his men betray him.
Flaw: obsessed with “the chase”, particularly in love and becomes uninterested once he attains his desires.
Values: power, wealth, respect, adventure
Character Dilemma: being powerful versus being respected
Itzamna
The High Concept: An apprentice shaman who goes against his family and community to help a strange girl from an enemy tribe save her people. But he must overcome his mental health challenges.
The character journey: Itzamna is a leader and an inspiration for Malinche. He leads with love and shares his heart through his music.
Arc Beginning: An apprentice shaman who shares his heart through music.
Arc Ending: A wise sage who passes the torch to his son.
Old Ways:
Youthful
NaiveNew Ways:
Wise
External Journey: From an apprentice shaman to a wise sage and teacher.
Internal Journey: From naive and youthful to wise and experienced.
Actor Attractors: A young Yoda. On the outside, he is a young musician, training to be a shaman. On the inside, he has the wisdom of an old soul. A man of few words, but those words are profound. He uses music and symbols to communicate meaning. He goes against his sister, shaman/teacher and Mayan community to help Malinche, a foreigner from an enemy tribe. His emotional range is from a heavy pool of grief to dreamy and in love.
Role: The triangle character is the apprentice shaman who helps Malinche stop the conquest of the Aztec Empire and secretly communicates with her unborn son’s spirit.
Description: Itzamna (20s) is a talented musician covered in aquatic tattoos and turquoise jewelry. He has a faraway look in his eyes.
Traits: sensitive, emotional, dreamy, imaginative
Motivation: He wants to help Malinche in her mission, but he needs to escape into his dreams.
Wound: He is haunted by a spirit, which causes mental health problems. The spirit also triggers his jealousy.
Relatability: Itzamna admires his sister and doesn’t want to disappoint her. He also suffers from anxiety, migraines, and paranoia. His mental health challenges make him want to escape in music and sleep. Lastly, he is falling in love with Malinche while she is pursuing Hernando.
Likability: Despite warnings from his sister about the Aztecs and their gory human sacrifices, Itzamna is kind to Malinche. He feels a past life connection with her and is bound to help her mission.
Empathy: He has no boundaries with people and the spirit. The spirit shows up at night, in bodies of water, and during the most inappropriate times. This exacerbates his anxiety.
Character Subtext:
Subtext Identity: An apprentice shaman who secretly communicates with a spirit (in Act 3 we discover that the spirit is Malinche’s unborn son)
Subtext Trait: in love with Malinche, sensitive, emotional, moody, dreamy, jealous
Subtext Logline: Itzamna is falling in love with Malinche and secretly communicates with her unborn son.
Possible Areas of Subtext: he has conversations with himself. He knows things about Malinche that he shouldn’t know. He doesn’t want her to have sex with Hernando and becomes jealous.Character Intrigue:
Intrigue: Itzamna is falling in love with Malinche and secretly communicates with a spirit. He is also wiser than his years.
Secrets: Itzamna is communicating with a spirit. The spirit knows things about Malinche and is helping Itzamna guide Malinche. In Act 3, we discover that the spirit is actually Malinche’s unborn son who becomes born again.
Subtext: His mind is buzzing and he experiences anxiety and migraines. Sometimes he is paranoid as the spirit warns him of future challenges. His mental health challenges make him want to escape in music and sleep.
Flaw: jealousy causes Itzamna to sabotage Malinche’s plan
Values: family, community, love
Character Dilemma: saving the world versus escaping it
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Eden Young WIM Module 3 Lesson 6 Character Profiles Part 2
My vision: I am an empowered, wonderful writer that’s known for great dialogue and great characters that win audiences’ hearts.
What I learned from this assignment is what a wonderful life characters can take on!
Calvin Knightly
A. The High Concept: Calvin has to call his mom every time he has to make a big decision and she’s been dead for 30 years.
B. This character’s journey: From the underdog in dream guy clothing to truly happy
C. The Actor Attractors for this character.
3. Brainstorm the first 6 parts of the profile for each of your lead characters.
Role in the Story: Protagonist: The Son subliminally influenced by his mother and subordinated by colleagues and CEO at work.
Age range and Description: 39-45
Core Traits: Executive Fortune 500 Company, Son, Husband Charming, Witty, Quick minded, Sarcastic
Motivation; Want/Need: He wants to break free. True confidence and to beat the bullshit.
Wound: He’s the true talent yet he can’t seem to get a break and without his mom he’s nothing.
Likability, Relatability, Empathy:
Likability: He is witty, hard working and ultra talented. He loves his wife. His mom is his confidant.
Relatability: He comes so close; but can never truly get ahead/ get the acclaim he is due. The desire to make it and no longer wants to play the game and take people’s shit.
Empathy: His dad left at a young age. Mother died when he was 18.
<font face=”inherit”>7. Character Subtext: Afraid to say he’s damaged goods/ he doesn’t </font>have<font face=”inherit”> what it takes</font>
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>8. Character Intrigue:Competition: competing with his mom at being the best and has a secret identity: unstoppable rockstar
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>9. Flaw:Refuses to let down his mask and walks away, lets things slide even though it eats him alive.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>10. Values: Being your best, Winning
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>11. Character Dilemma: Being “liked.” Wanting external admiration versus loving yourselfCora Knightly
A. The High Concept: What if your son had to call you every time he had to make a big decision only you’ve been dead for 30 years
B. This character’s journey. From sad and full of regret to at peace, able to move on
C. The Actor Attractors for this character: Half the movie we think Cora’s alive yet she’s dead.
Profile for each of your lead characters.
Role in the Story: Antagonist: The Mom
Age range and Description: early 60s
Core Traits: Attractive, Worldly, Gorgeous
Motivation; Want/Need: She wants to be needed, to stay alive through her son
Wound: Regret. Everything is her fault. She’s not good enough.
Likability, Relatability, Empathy:
Likability: She is cultured, attractive, worldly, yet relatable with a great sense of humor.
R
Relatability: She has a deep sense of the world. Is sensitive.
Empathy: Her ex-husband left her and Calvin which she never anticipated.
7. Character Subtext: Luring/seducing: Seductively creates the illusion that she has her life together, but inside, is always falling apart
8. Character Intrigue:Deception: Hides the fact that she doesn’t have it all together, that she drove her ex-husband, Calvin’s father away, and that she completely lost all hope and committed suicide
9. Flaw: Cora covers up everything her fears, her short comings by manipulating the other person. Unleashes her distain, making you feel 2 inches tall.
10. Values: Family is essential as well as appearances
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>11. Character Dilemma: Deep down she is very fragile despite her cool exterior like a crystal glass inside a box made of bricks
Rebecca Knightly
A. The High Concept. What if your husband had to call his mom every time he needed to make a big decision. Only she’s been dead for 30 years.
B. This character’s journey: from just putting up with it. To questioning her marriage and the man she truly loves to fighting for him.
C. The Actor Attractors for this character: Not your run of the mill forensic scientist nor wife.
Role in the Story: Triangle: The Wife
Age range and Description: 38-40
Core Traits: Caring, Loyal, Even keel, Best at Everything she does
Motivation; Want/Need: She wants her and her husband’s life to be free from any entanglements. And she wants her husband’s greatest happiness
Wound: She hates competing with Cora’s influence
Likability, Relatability, Empathy: Likability: Everyone loves Rebecca. She’s the ultimate wife. Relatability: There to protect her husband/ marriage. Is tired and hates competing with Cora’s influence.
Empathy: She is caught in the middle of everything. She loves her husband and at the crucial moment questions everything.
7. Character Subtext: Afraid to believe Calvin is crazy and to lose her husband
8. Character Intrigue: Secretly plotting to destroy Cora’s hold on Calvin
9. Flaw: says the wrong things
10. Values: Love, honesty, loyalty
11. Character Dilemma: Does she stay polite or does she dare to finally do & say something and possibly lose it all and lose Calvin?
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Adrienne Watkins – Characters Profile 2 Module 3 lesson 7
My Vision: I am going to work as hard as I reasonably am able to succeed at script writing to be recognized by multiple movie producers as a skilled script writer, and to have my scripts produced worldwide
What I have learned from this assignment is to get deep into each character’s mind, personality and motivation.
High Concept: Fransie An orphaned deaf woman, desiring to be loved, but afraid she will never find it, so she hides her fears through dancing and music.
Journey: Agrees to teach a divorced Roy, a jazz musician rhythm by touch. When she realizes she’s falling in love with him, believes he is showing her attention out of pity. His manager, Flavia, is jealous of Fransie, but when she discovers Fransie, and her sisters are separated at birth she helps to bring Roy and Fransie together.
Actor Attractor: body language and facial expression to express inability to hear, able laugh and cry to express her various mood.
HC: Roy, a divorced jazz musician who has promised never to marry again is mesmerized with Fransie but refuses to admit he’s falling in love with her as she teaches him rhythm by touch.
Journey: He accidentally meets Fransie, asks her to teach him her gift of rhythm by vibrations. He falls in love with her but agrees to go away on a concert tour without her because he doesn’t want to be hurt again. but realizes his performance suffers without her. Finally, he asks her to marry him.
Actor Attractor: Serious and moody to hide his emotional pain and hurt, deep thinker, tries to hide his caring affectionate feelings.
HC Flavia,Roy’s jealous scheming manager who is secretly in love with Roy, who only regards her as his business manager and buddy. She finds fault with Fransie, schedules a concert tout to keep Roy and Fransie apart, then realizes Fransie is her sister, they were separated at birth.
Journey: Goes from scheming manager to Fransie’s sister then to get Roy and Fransie married.
Actor Attractor: desperate, schemer, funny
Fransie
7-Hiding something, afraid to say, secret
8-unspoken wound, secret identity
9-can’t look at her fears, gives up easily
10-Honesty, industrious, intelligent
11-self-expression versus guilt
Roy:
7-Withholding, Being polite
8-unspoken wound, secrets
9-Can’t look at his fears,can’t take risks
10-Loyalty, family
11-love versus duty
Flavia
7-, secret,,potting,hiding something
8-competition, hidden agendas, secrets
9-can’t look at their fears
10-loyalty
11-winner versus loster
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Veronica Turowski’s Character Profiles Part 2
My Vision: I want to be a successful writer who writes several scripts yearly and then sells them to producers who create my vision for the big screen.
Protagonist: Eppsa Kestner
The High Concept: Eppsa is a ghost who must find and stop a serial killer, only to discover the serial killer is her son.
This character’s journey: Eppsa, who doesn’t know she is a ghost, goes from depressed and mourning to having the courage to hunt down a serial killer. In the end, she learns she is a ghost, her son is the serial killer, and she kills Hayden for justice.
The Actor Attractors for this character: Eppsa is a ghost but doesn’t know it. She goes from depressed, to anxious and determined, to angry. Eppsa doesn’t realize that when she gets mad, things around her move. Eppsa discovers her son is a serial killer, and she kills him for justice.
Role in the Story: Eppsa is determined to save her son from a serial killer. When she discovers he’s the serial killer, she kills him for the justice of his victims.
Age range and Description: Eppsa (40), a desperate woman who wears a lot of black.
Core Traits: A Ghost – Moody, Afraid, In Denial, Courageous
Motivation:
Wants: To find and save her son.
Needs: To kill him.
Wound: She was traumatized by her own death and doesn’t remember that she was murdered by her serial killer husband.
Likability: Eppsa is helpful and caring.
Relatability: She loves her family more than herself.
Empathy: She is a widow and is still looking for her son who ran away years ago.
Character Subtext:
Subtext Identity: Eppsa is afraid to remember she was killed by her husband and that her son didn’t run away, he moved on and is living his life.
Subtext Traits: Loving, Afraid, Angry, In Denial
Subtext Logline: Eppsa is tracking down a serial killer who ends up being her son.
Possible Areas of Subtext: She subconsciously knows she was murdered by her husband but is afraid to remember. She is apprehensive about talking to Lonnie since he’s a ghost. She wants to help Lonnie find his killer so he can pass over. She is worried her son will get murdered since his school friends are being targeted. She still grieves for her husband. She grieves for her missing son. She feels compelled to find the serial killer to help save them from being murdered.
Character Intrigue:
Unspoken Wound: She was traumatized by her own death and doesn’t remember that she was killed by her demon possessed husband.
Secret Identity: She is a ghost but doesn’t know it.
Eppsa is curious about ghosts and what’s it like on the other side. She is compelled to help Lonnie. She doesn’t like death. Life is to be cherished. She wonders why people don’t listen to her. She kills Hayden by making it look like he committed suicide in his old house where his father killed his mother.
Flaw: Self-deprecating.
Values: She loves her family.
Character Dilemma: She wants to believe her son is good but knows he is a serial killer.
Antagonist: Hayden Kestner
The High Concept: Hyden is a serial killer and doesn’t know he is being hunted by his ghostly mom.
This character’s journey: Hayden is a serial killer who drives an ice cream truck looking for his victims. He is killed by his mom who is a ghost.
The Actor Attractors for this character: Hayden dotes on his son and enjoys being the ice cream man. His greatest joy comes from killing his old high school friends. He will be killed by his ghostly mother.
Role in the Story: Hayden is an ice cream man who loves his son. He kills his old high school friends who betrayed him. He is being hunted by his ghost mother who will kill him in the end.
Age range and Description: Hayden (35) cheerful ice cream to his young, customers, but deep down lurks the demon inside him.
Core Traits: Serial Killer – Charming, Intellectual, Persuasive, Sadistic
Motivation:
Wants: To be a good role model for his son.
Needs: To kill his old classmates.
Wound: His dad killed his mother.
Likability: He loves his son. Hayden is great with children.
Relatability: Hayden loves making children happy.
Empathy: His parents died.
Character Subtext:
Subtext Identity: A demon possessed serial killer.
Subtext Traits: Charming, Intellectual, Persuasive, Sadistic
Subtext Logline: Hayden is murdering his old friends who betrayed him.
Possible Areas of Subtext: Hayden is a charming ice cream man. He helps at a homeless shelter to make himself look good but finds one of his future victims. He uses his ice cream truck to store and transport bodies (easy to get into neighborhoods without drawing attention like a burglar). He kills a food truck inspector who discovers a body. Hayden makes his victims look like they committed suicide.
Character Intrigue:
Hidden agendas: To kill his friends who turned from Satanism after one of their friends became possessed and killed himself and tried to convert him to Christianity.
Secret Identity: He’s a serial killer.
His son adores him, and the staff at the homeless shelter gives him an award. He uses the ice cream truck as a cover to drive through neighborhoods without suspicion. He’s murdered 4 friends and has 5 more to kill.
Flaw: Vindictive
Values: Family, Power, Loyalty
Character Dilemma: Cast out the demon inside him and stop killing or get vengeance. When he fights against his ghostly mom, he finally remembers feeling motherly love which forbidden as a teen by his dad.
Triangle: Lonnie Dowic
The High Concept: Lonnie, who is a ghost, manipulates another ghost into finding and stopping her demon possessed, serial killer son so they can pass over.
This character’s journey: Lonnie dies at the hands of Hayden. He helps Eppsa find Hayden and convinces her to kill him.
The Actor Attractors for this character: Lonnie is a ghost and knows that Eppsa is a ghost. He must find a way to manipulate Eppsa to kill her son.
Role in the Story: He’s ghost who helps another ghost find and kill her demon possessed, serial killer son.
Age range and Description: Lonnie (40) is a down to earth, jovial pastor.
Core Traits: (Pastor) A Ghost – Witty, Moralistic, Hopeful, Sneaky
Motivation:
Wants: To pass over.
Needs: To convince Eppsa to kill Hayden so he and Eppsa can pass over.
Wound: His teenage brother committed suicide after getting into a Satanic cult.
Likability: He’s a minister.
Relatability: Even though he’s a ghost, he still wants to help people.
Empathy: He was murdered.
Character Subtext:
Subtext Identity: Lonnie must stop Hayden from killing so he can pass over.
Subtext Traits: Witty, Moralistic, Hopeful, Sneaky
Subtext Logline: Lonnie is a serial killer victim who must convince the serial killers ghostly mom to find and stop him.
Possible Areas of Subtext: Lonnie was a preacher. Lonnie lightens the mood around Eppsa to keep her from being depressed. He manipulates Eppsa into finding and killing Hayden.
Character Intrigue:
Hidden agenda: He must help Eppsa stop Hayden before revealing to her she’s a ghost.
Secrets: When Lonnie discovers Hayden is the serial killer, he can’t reveal it to Eppsa because it could traumatize her, and she would never be able to pass over.
Lonnie can’t see into the future, so he tells Eppsa the name of each person Hayden will murder as soon as he learns who Hayden is going to kill. Lonnie is only able to know the next victim when Hayden decides.
Flaw: Manipulative
Values: God and High moral standards
Character Dilemma: Go against God’s will and have Eppsa kill Hayden.
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SHIRAMARIN’S Character Profiles 2
WIM-MOD 3––L7 Part 2
MY VISION: I commit to doing everything from my strongest, most creative writer self to learn the course material as thoroughly as possible, then revise and sell my screenplay to a producer who can’t wait to make it into an unforgettable film that everyone, everywhere can’t wait to see, be inspired by, and fulfill their best, most creative selves.
WHAT I LEARNED FROM THIS LESSON IS: How to enflesh my characters’ selves with important information and subtext. To create more immediacy and interest in the story and in the character arcs.
Kara Cavalli, Protagonist
A. The High Concept: Kara, a grad student/teaching assistant at a conservative university, is overtaken by an ancient goddess who wants Kara to help her save humankind and planet Earth from self-destructing.
B. This Character’s Journey: Kara moves from self-doubting trauma victim to healed, empowered global change influencer and change agent
C. The Actor Attractors for this Character: Kara has a very complex emotional range. She is driven, sometimes overwrought, sometimes subtle and quiet. Her interactions with other characters are interesting, dynamic, and unexpected.
Grayson Benoit, Antagonist
A. The High Concept: Grayson, Academic Dean, beleaguered by family secrets, bucks for the university Chancellor, and there’s hell to pay for anyone who gets in his way.<div>
B. This Character’s Journey: Grayson transforms from a stuffy, ruthless, and cunning academician to a self-reflective, forgiving, and authentic human who also achieves his desired goal.
C. The Actor Attractors for this Character: Grayswon has a strong villain mindset and is more than willing to betray his commitment to students for the sake of obtaining his coveting position.
Hekate, an Ancient Goddess (Kara’s alter ego)
A. The High Concept: Hekate is bent on saving humankind and the planet from self-destruction</div><div>
B. This Character’s Journey: Coming to Earth and embodying herself in a human female doc student to accomplish her mission
C. The Actor Attractors for this Character: It’s hard to imagine anyone not wanting to inhabit an ancient triple-powered goddess in the modern world to affect such a monumental feat. It’s a role of enormous magnitude and depth. Hekate is at once a mythological giant, a magical conjuring presence, and fierce in her actions to reintegrate the Feminine Harmonic into the human psyche.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Brainstorm these profile components for each character.
Kara Cavalli
- Character Subtext: trying to overcome her past through overachievement
- Character Intrigue: has a secret relationship with an ancient goddess
- Flaw: unconscious about her past abuse trauma; mistrust of men, impatience
- Values: high intelligence, reverence for feminine solutions in her research
- Character Dilemma: While constantly distracted by a relentless goddess on a mission, how is she ever going to complete her dissertation?
Grayson Benoit (Ben-wah)
- Character Subtext: lives in dread of being found out
- Character Intrigue: hiding his true identity to pave the way to power.
- Flaw: massive fear and insecurity that leads to
- Values: tradition, hierarchical power, authoritarian
- Character Dilemma: How can he possibly live in the world as he truly is
Hekate:
- Character Subtext: humiliation because she has been forgotten and wants to take her rightful place in the human psyche, which would lead to humankind’s and the planet’s salvation.
- Character Intrigue: How Hekate accomplishes her goal: inhabiting a human being to accomplish her goals
- Flaw: ??? She will not use the power of the masculine to engage with and ultimately embody herself in Kara’s psyche and body.
- Values: Her divine authority, compassion, kindness, and humor.
- Character Dilemma: How will Hekate use her feminine power to convince a student in a toxic masculine situation to grasp her authentic personal power, which is imperative to accomplishing her mission?
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BENT’S CHARACTER PROFILES 2
MY VISION……… I WANT TO BE A RESPECTED TELEVISION WRITER AND SELL THIS FEATURE I AM WRITING.
WHAT I LEARNED DOING THIS ASSIGNMENT IS THIS ……… I AM FINDING OUT MORE ABOUT THESE CHARACTERS THAT DIDN’T COME TO ME AT THE VERY BEGINNING.
INDIGO THE ELF
- A. The High Concept. A YOUNG ELF BOY WITH A FEAR OF THE OUTSIDE WORLD IS FORCED TO OVERCOME HIS ANXIETY WHEN HE ACCIDENTALLY STOWS ON A SLEIGH AND HAS TO SAVE SANTA FROM KRAMPUS.
- B. This Character’s Journey. – HE BEGINS EXPRESSING FEAR OF THE OUTSIDE WORLD, THE LEGEND OF KRAMPUS, AND HIS FAMILY SEPARATED.
- C. The Actor Attractors for this Character. – HE OVERCOMES HIS FEARS AND SAVES SANTA IN THE END.
- 7. Character Subtext: DOESN’T WANT ANYONE TO KNOW HE’S AFRAID OF KRAMPUS AND THE WORLD IN GENERAL.
- 8. Character Intrigue: HE IS ALWAYS IN THE RIGHT PLACE TO SEE SANTA AND THE GENERAL IN THE MOMENTS THAT FURTHER THE STORY.
- 9. Flaw: ANXIETY AND NO INTEREST IN THE JOB OF AN ELF WHICH IS DELIVER PRESENTS.
- 10. Values: LOVES HIS FAMILY SO MUCH.
- 11. Character Dilemma: HE IS STUCK ON A SLEIGH AS IT HEADS TO NORTH AMERICA, HE HAS TO FIGHT HIS FEAR OF HEIGHTS AND THE UNKNOWN WORLD.
THE GENERAL
- A. The High Concept. – THE NORTH POLE’S SECOND IN COMMAND WANTS TO TURN SANTA’S VILLAGE INTO A COMPETING CONTINENT AGAINST OTHER COUNTRIES BY SELLING MORE OIL. HIS PROBLEM IS SANTA OBJECTS.
- B. This Character’s Journey. – IN THE BEGINNING, HIS DEMANDS TO SANTA ALL FAIL. IN THE END HE ALLOWS KRAMPUS TO ATTEMPT THE KILL.
- C. The Actor Attractors for this Character. – THIS IS A RICH CHARACTER WHO TURNS ON HIS PEOPLE TO PUSH HIS AGENDA IN THE END. NO ONE TURNS ON SANTA BUT HE WILL.
3. Brainstorm these profile components for each character.
- 7. Character Subtext: -WANTS TO TAKE OVER LEADERSHIP OF NORTH POLE
- 8. Character Intrigue: WHY DOES HE HAVE CONTACT WITH RUSSIA AND CANADA
- 9. Flaw: – OVERLY CONFIDENT.
- 10. Values: HE IS MILITARY ORIENTED.
- 11. Character Dilemma: HE WANTS THE NORTH POLE TO PROGRESS AND PROFIT FROM THE RICH OIL RESERVES UNDERNEATH. HIS VALUES DO NOT REFLECT SANTA’S.
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