Monday, December 31, 2012

Connecting With Characters

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.

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