Lesson 8

[Pam Ewing]

Pam Ewing’s Supporting Characters

My Vision: Professional. Produced. Prolific. Popular.

What I learned: I hadn’t even thought about these guys yet

2. Tell us your supporting and background characters.

Supporting Characters: Natalie’s
Mother, Natalie’s Attorney, Fortune Teller, Lead Henchman
Background Characters: Attorney’s
Assistant, Other Henchmen, Transylvanian bureaucrats

3. Focusing on those supporting characters, fill in the basic profile for each.

· Support 1:

Name: Elvira aka Elvie
Role: Natalie’s Mother, Backstory – Name means ‘the one
who protects everyone’, raised Natalie in privilege but not very
compassionate/taskmaster
Main purpose: To propel journey to claim inheritance, to
provide insight into Natalie’s legacy
Value: Surprise – she is really the nanny who smuggled
Natalie out of the country, she had wealth because she stole from Vlad’s
family

· Support 2:

o Name: Bertram

o Role: Attorney of the will – Explains things and adds legitimacy

o Main purpose: Keep the pressure up to claim the inheritance, confuse the issue because of secrets keeping at Elvie’s request

o Value: He is the stateside touchstone if additional information/pressure needed

· Support 3:

Name: Fane
Role: Head Henchmen – Does the
dirty work for Vlad
Main purpose: Sounding board,
chief adorer/profaner, carries out Vlad’s daytime biddings
Value: Daytime entity, learns
secrets about Natalie, torn loyalties, echoes Vlad’s vicious nature

· Support 4:

Name: Minodora – Mino the Mystic
or maybe Luminita
Role: Fortune teller
Main purpose: Shows how hard to
live in the Transylvania shadows, plays like a tourist favorite
Value: May have actually been
able to identify Natalie’s secret identity, becomes a local confidant

[Heather Hood]

Heather’s Supporting Characters

Vision statement: I want to see my scripts optioned this year and turned into movies that the audience will remember long after they leave the theatre.

What I learned from doing this assignment is: the value the supporting actors play in Supporting the Main characters. And…. How I have to stop making my supporting actors into main characters…. I could just write them their own movie. And this is how I will never run out of stories to write : )

2. Tell us your supporting and background characters.

Supporting Characters:

Sarah’s Daughters:

Joe’s Father

Background Characters:

Harper’s Commanding Officer

Sarah’s Husband

Sarah’s Judgmental neighbors

Townsfolks (extras)

3. Focusing on those supporting characters, fill in the basic profile for each.

Support 1:

Name: Becky <div>

Role: Sarah’s 6-year-old daughter
Main purpose: responsible for the
inciting incident (getting her younger sister abducted)
Value: Establishes Sarah’s wounds
and flaws.

Support 2:

Name: Lila</div><div>

Role: Sarah’s 3-year-old daughter
who gets abducted.

Main purpose: the story is built around
her disappearance and illness.

Value: she will die if not found.
Heightens the need to move the story forward.

Support 3:

· Name: Black Storm – The Shadow Man

· Role: Evil monster terrorizing the town.

· Main purpose: to scare the townfolk away from Tribal territory.

· Value: abducts Sarah’s daughter, starts the problem.

Background Characters

Harper’s Commanding Officer – there to let us know he doesn’t get his promotion and to establish Harper’s character. Gives us insight into why Harper acts the way he does.

Sarah’s Husband – solidifies that Sarah is on her own as far as the kids are concerned. He works at a logging camp – it’s her job to take care of everything else.

Sarah’s judgmental neighbors – good Christian folk who think she would do much better raising her children with a strong willow switch to the backside and a stern bible passage or two.

</div>

[Pam Ewing]

Hi Heather, Hope things we well. Just wanted to let you know that I am only about half way through Mod 4 and only 2-3 guys are ahead of me – so you can catch up if you want. Girl Power!! Pam

[Cameron Martin]

Cameron Martin’s Supporting Characters

Vision: Write a movie that connects with audiences on a deep, spiritual level, regardless of background, while prioritizing quality time with my family.

What I learned doing this assignment is…I really like this set up in that it gets right to the point of your supporting cast, and listing them out this way helps you find redundancies and whether the characters truly mesh or feel like they’re part of the same story. I’ll keep coming back to this throughout the outlining process to ensure everything fits into the place to create the most compelling story through a truly engaging cast of characters.

…

Supporting Characters: Calvex, The Assailant (Rob)

Background Characters: Robots and machines of the purgatory, the assailant’s fellow gang members, Janice’s family and friends

Support 1:

Name: Calvex

Role: AI in charge of the futuristic “Afterlife Protocol”

Main purpose: Tests Janice and Null to ensure the “best version” of Janice escapes to live in the real world

Value: His tests manufacture opposition for the two copies. He is both their only friend, shepherding them into a new life, but also the orchestrator of all Janice’s and Null’s tension.

Support 2:

Name: I don’t know…Rob.

Role: Gang member or Spec. Ops soldier that assaulted Janice

Main purpose: Send Janice on her revenge quest against him.

Value: Serves as Janice’s primary “wound.” Set up a final act where Janice and Null are put to the final test, outside of Calvex’s influence

[jeffrey jeff glatz glatz]

My Vision: To create commercial studio size films that move people. To create characters that can live forever and bring electrifying memories to those that have watched one of my films.

What I learned from doing this assignment – Don’t forget importance of supporting characters to help main characters with their arc.

Supporting Characters: See below.

Background Characters: Warriors, Students, Monks, Teachers, etc.

Support 1:

Name: James

Role:

• Protector/Guardian and companion to Chris as she discovers who she is and begins her journey.
• Possible love interest.

Main purpose: To help transform Chris into the leader and Descendant she can be.

Value: Sounding board for her apprehension throughout her story. His death (about midway) pushes her to embrace the high stakes.

Support 2:

Name: Diana

Role:

• Chris’ true mother’s (Amazon Queen) Guard.
• Helped raised Chris
• Killed in Act 1

Main Purpose: To show Chris cared for and being trained for her future (without her knowledge)

Value: Empathy for Chris when she is killed. Credibility for some of Chris’ talents at beginning of story.

Support 3:

Name: Akio

Role:

• Japanese Master who tells Chris who she is.
• Conduit to her new life.
• Gave James the job to protect Chris in the first place.

Main Purpose: Furnish background on the Descendants and where and why they exist in our world.

Value: Demonstrates sacrifice to Chris when he places his life on the line so she can escape (he is killed).

Support 4:

Name: Franklin

Role: A “Librarian” or keeper of Descendants secrets.

Main Purpose: To expand on the Descendants role in our world and help her find clues to continue the quest.

Value: To show there is a network of very capable people whose life is in support of the Descendants (out of choice).

Support 5:

Name: Ando

Role:

• Son of Protagonist, Ronin.
• Ronin’s number one soldier.

Main Purpose: A descendant who is closer to Chris’ age and is evil. Chris’ first obstacle on her journey.

Value: To give Chris an immediate cause (call to action) when her adopted father and Diana are killed, her mother injured.

Support 6:

Name: Lexus Octavianus (Lexus means defender on Old Roman).

Role: Descendant of Poseidon. Leader in the Water Tribe

Main Purpose: To save Chris and James from an attack by Ando.

Value: Joins Chris against Ronin, demonstrating trust in Chris.

Support 7:

Name: Zainabu Akunyili (Zainabu means beautiful in Swahili)

Role: Descendant of Ra, Egyptian Sun God, leader in the Fire Tribe.

Main Purpose: To join Chris in the final battle against Ronin.

Value: Showing acceptance of Chris as the Descendants leader.

Support 8:

Name: Lupita Santander (Lupita means little wolf)

Role: Descendant of Coatlicue, Aztec Earth Goddess, creator and destroyer of earth. Leader in the Earth Tribe.

Main Purpose: To join Chris in the final battle against Ronin.

Value: Showing acceptance of Chris as the Descendants leader.