CREATING CHARACTER

Introduction to Character

Character Development

Character Development is a lesson that explores how to make audiences care about characters by putting them in difficult situations.��Highlights

• The Elevator Test is a helpful tool to understand characters and their reactions in a crisis.
• Characters should be deeply flawed yet entertaining, as flaws can be key to why audiences care about them.
• Characters will guide the audience through the story, sharing their lessons, challenges, and emotions.
• The lesson encourages experimenting with different exercises to create compelling characters.
• The helpful robotic woman is always available to provide guidance and support.

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Activity 1 - Understand character’s personality

1. Watch pixar short “BAO” directed by Domee Shi
2. Identify characters in the story and their roles in the story.
3. Describe the personality of each characters in the story, knowing how he/she reacted in difficult situations.

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External vs Internal Features

Character Development Process

• The goal of character development is to create fully developed characters that viewers can care about.
• Characters can be explored by considering their external features (design, clothes, appearance) and their internal features (insecurities, bravery, jealousy).
• Authentic human emotions and experiences are important in creating believable characters.
• Drawing inspiration from real-life people and situations can help in developing specific and unique characters.
• Understanding a character’s desires is crucial in driving their journey.

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Activity 2 - External and Internal Features

1. Return to the Pixar short ‘BAO’.
2. Describe the external features of the protagonis
3. Describe the internal features of the protagonis

Wants vs Needs

Wants and Needs

Understanding the difference between what a protagonist’s wants and what they need is crucial when developing a character. Wants drive a character’s actions, while needs are the things they must do or learn to grow and succeed in life.

Activity 3: Wants and Needs

1. Return to the Pixar short ‘BAO’.
2. Identify a want and a need for each character by making a statement based on this example:�In Monsters Inc. Sulley wants to be the best scarer but he needs to be a father figure.�
3. For each character, you should be able to answer these questions:�What do they want most?�Who do they want to become?�What might they need in order to succeed?

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Obstacles

Obstacles

• Obstacles are elements that stand in the way of a character getting what they want or need.
• Obstacles can be external or internal, such as a person, distance, or fear.
• Pixar story artists create obstacles to make their characters face challenges and grow.
• Obstacles force characters to confront their fears and lead to fight or flight scenarios.
• The best obstacles reflect the character’s flaws and shortcomings, making them think about their wants and needs.

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Activity 4: Obstacles

• Return to the Pixar short ‘BAO’.
• Identify External and Internal obstacles of the characters.

Character Arc

Character Arc

Summary

• Character arc refers to the choices a character makes in response to obstacles and how the character changes as a result.
• Obstacles are what shape a character and lead to their transformation.
• Without obstacles, the character’s arc would not exist.
• In movies like “The Incredibles” and “Inside Out,” the characters face obstacles that lead to their personal growth and transformation.
• Characters need to work for their achievements in order to truly value them.

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Activity 5: Character Arc

1. Identify the arc of the main character in the the short ‘BAO’
1. What do they want at the beginning?
2. What did they realize they need by the end?�
2. How have you changed as a result of overcoming an obstacle?

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Stakes

Stakes

Summary

Understanding and establishing stakes in a story is crucial to creating tension and engaging the audience. Stakes can be categorized as external, internal, or philosophical and help answer the question, “Why do we care?”

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Activity 6: Stake

Return to the main characters from your the short story ‘BAO’.

• What was one important choice they had to make where the stakes were high?
• What were the stakes?
• Can you identify them as internal, external or philosophical?

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Project 1: Progression 2 (Character Development)

To do: Develop character from the story ideas that you have generated from previous progression (Story Ideas) to character description statement.

1. Give character a name
2. Develop his/her personality traits, use ‘elevator test’ as a scenario.
3. Develop his/her internal and external features.
4. Develop his/her internal and external obstacles.
5. Develop character’s wants and needs.
6. Develop character’s change as a result from overcoming obstacles

Deliverables:�1. Character description that include all the information above.��Deadline:�- Week 4 (to propose and discuss with lecturer)

Glossary

Here's a list of definitions introduced during this lesson.

• External feature: the clothes, design or look of a character.
• Internal feature: the personality, beliefs or drive of a character.
• Want: something that drives a character to act.
• Need: something that a character must do or learn in order to succeed or grow.
• Obstacle: something that stands in the way of a character obtaining what they want.
• Character arc: the choices a character makes in order to overcome their obstacles and how they change as a result.
• Stakes: What is at risk if the character fails to achieve their goal (OR, what are the consequences of their choices?)
• External: what will physically happen to a character or the world
• Internal: what will happen to a character emotionally
• Philosophical: what will happen to the values or belief system of the world

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