1. Courage
2. Unfair Injury
3. Just Plain Nice
4. Skill
5. Hard Working
6. In Danger
7. Funny
8. Obsessed
9. Loved by other Characters
These 9 things help create immediate connection with characters in films. According to Eric Edson, Screen Writer, a character generally must have 5 out of 9 for people to connect more. People might not connect with the character/s if there's less than 5.
Michael Hauge, Screen Writer, says: A short film or movie is like a Roller Coaster. You have to buckle up before enjoying the ride. These 9 sympathy tools is a way for us to buckle up. Unlike a Roller Coaster where there is an actual seat belt, our seat belt in a film is through sympathy/empathy, before experiencing the journey the character goes through. Below is a sequence for us to buckle up for The Dark Knight using all of the 9.
Up:
References
"The Story Solution" by Eric Edson
"Writing Screenplays that Sell" by Michael Hauge
"The Essentials of Screen Writing" by Richard Walter.
