how to make your audience fall in love
With Brian Bird
{
how to make your audience fall in love
P.S. It’s all about… ACT ONE
1.{introduction}
what are your favorite movies?
why are they your favorite movies?
is it the explosions?
is it babes in bikinis?
is it the cool plot twists?
is it the cool plot twists?
the right answer:
the right answer:real, living, breathing3-dimensional
characters who we care deeply about…
who we… fall in love with
what movie characters have you fallen in love with?
Melvin Udall AS GOOD AS IT GETS
Melvin Udall AS GOOD AS IT GETS
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Anti-semite
• Homo-phobe
• Anger-management issues
• World’s best romance novelist
Rodrigo Mendoza THE MISSION
Rodrigo Mendoza THE MISSION
• Slave-trader
• Adulterer
• Kills brother in fit of passion
• Could not forgive himself
• Forgiven by tribe he enslaved
• Becomes a priest
Marge Gunderson FARGO
Marge Gunderson FARGO
• Nicest police officer ever on film
• 7 months pregnant and on the job in -40 weather
• Doesn’t let pregnancy or cold stop her from solving grisly murders
• Solves crime, shoots murderer in leg even though he deserves to die… because it’s the right thing to do
2.{why ACT ONE is
everything}
Basic screenplay structure: Act One – WHO is story about?
Basic screenplay structure: Act One – WHO is story about? Act Two – WHAT problem does WHO have to solve?
Basic screenplay structure: Act One – WHO is story about? Act Two – WHAT problem does WHO have to solve?
Act Three – How will WHO solve his WHAT?
Act One = WHO
Act One = WHONo WHO = no movie (story)
Act One = WHONo WHO = no movie (story)
WHO = everything
Act
3.{the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters}
1. PHYSIOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
1. PHYSIOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
1. PHYSIOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
1. PHYSIOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
1. PHYSIOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
1. PHYSIOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
1. PHISIOLOGY
Act
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
• SEX, GENDER
• AGE
• HEIGHT, WIDTH
• HAIR, EYE, SKIN COLOR
• APPEARANCE: OVERWEIGHT, SKINNY,. HANDSOME, UGLY?
• DEFECTS, DEFORMITIES, BIRTHMARKS, DISEASES?
• HEREDITY
2. SOCIOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
2. SOCIOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
2. SOCIOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
2. SOCIOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
2. SOCIOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
2. SOCIOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
2. SOCIOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
2. SOCIOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
2. SOCIOLOGY
Act
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
• CLASS… UPPER, MIDDLE, LOWER?
• RACE, ETHNICITY, NATIONALITY?
• OCCUPATION, TYPE OF WORK?
• EDUCATION? HOW MUCH? HOW LITTLE?
• HOME LIFE, MARITAL STATUS? FAMILY STATUS?
• VICES, AMUSEMENTS, HOBBIES?
3. PSYCHOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
3. PSYCHOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
3. PSYCHOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
3. PSYCHOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
3. PSYCHOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
3. PSYCHOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
3. PSYCHOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
3. PSYCHOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
3. PSYCHOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
3. PSYCHOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
3. PSYCHOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
3. PSYCHOLOGYAct
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
3. PSYCHOLOGY
Act
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
• SEX LIFE, MORAL STANDARDS?
• PERSONAL PREMISE, PASSIONS, AMIBTIONS?
• FRUSTRATIONS, DISAPPOINTMENTS?
• TEMPERAMENT: PESSIMISTIC? OPTIMISTIC?
• OBSSESSIONS? INHIBITIONS? SUPERSTITIONS?
• EXTROVERT? INTROVERT?
• ABILITIES, IQ, TALENTS, SKILLS, IMAGINATION?
Act
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
1. PHYSIOLOGY2. SOCIOLOGY
3. PSYCHOLOGY
Act
the BONE STRUCTURE of good characters
1. PHYSIOLOGY2. SOCIOLOGY
3. PSYCHOLOGY4. SPIRITUALITY
4.{characters we love…
4.{characters we love…
always GROW}
The Hero With a Thousand Faces
By Joseph Campbell
The Writer’s JourneyBy Christopher Vogler
characters we love…always
GROW
characters we love… always GROW
The only predictable thing about human beings
is that they are always trying to change. Well-drawn characters must go on
personal quests or journeys.
characters we love… always go on
journeys
• It is a journey of growth:• From despair to hope• From uncertainty to conviction• From animosity to love• From hope to despair
characters we love… always go on
journeys
• It does not have to be a journey from
one pole to another:
characters we love… always go on
journeys
• It does not have to be a journey from one pole to another:
• From poverty to crime• From longing for a dream…
to an awakening to a new reality
characters we love… always go on
journeys
• Only one possible scenario in which character doesn’t go on a
journey:
characters we love… always go on
journeys
• Only one possible scenario in which character doesn’t go on a
journey:
REALLY BAD WRITING!!!!!
TEACHING POINT!
characters we love… always GROW
• Without character growth, there is no…
characters we love… always GROW
• Without character growth, there is no…
CONFLICT
CONFLICT is the fuel of growth… … growth is the reaction to
CONFLICT
TEACHING POINT NO. 2!
characters we love… always GROW
• Character growth must be ORGANIC…
characters we love… always GROW
• Character growth must be ORGANIC…• No change just for change sake• Character’s growth journey must
be organic to his bone structure
what movie character growth journeys have
you fallen in love with?
Guido Orefice LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
Michael Clayton MICHAEL
CLAYTON
Alvin Straight THE STRAIGHT STORY
Micah Mangena BOPHA!
5.{characters we love…
5.{characters we love…
are always CONTRADICTORY}
internal contradictions are dialectical
internal contradictions are dialectical
original proposition =
internal contradictions are dialectical
original proposition = thesis
original proposition = thesis contradiction =
original proposition = thesis contradiction = antithesis
original proposition = thesis contradiction = antithesisresolution =
original proposition = thesis contradiction = antithesisresolution = synthesis
synthesis =
synthesis = TRUTH
we love contradictory characters…
we love contradictory characters…
• A bundle of paradoxes• Full of flaws• Labyrinths of inconsistency• Plan one thing and do another• Remind us of ourselves
CONTRAST
what contradictory movie characters have you fallen in love with?
Bruce Wayne
THE DARK KNIGHT
Oskar SchindlerSCHINDLER’S LIST
Fantine LES
MISERABLES
Walter White BREAKING BAD
6.{characters we love…
6.{characters we love…
are NEVER WIMPS}
strength of will
strength of will
• Fight for their convictions
• Be able to bear humiliation
• Not run from the journey
• Carry burden of prolonged conflict
we love characters who arenever wimps…
we love characters who arenever wimps…
• Stubborn and full of spit and vinegar• Will fight to the last drop of blood• Hate bullies and injustice• Refuse to take “no” for an answer• We want to be like them (wish-
fulfillment)
what strong (non-wimpy) movie characters have you fallen in love with?
William Wallace BRAVEHEART
Ray Kinsella
FIELD OF DREAMS
Chuck Tatum
ACE IN THE HOLE
7.{which comes first…
7.{which comes first… plot or character?}
the answer to this age-old question is…
the answer to this age-old question is…
YES!!!
Simple screenplay math: plot
+ dialogue
+ genre
+ conflict
Simple screenplay math: plot
+ dialogue
+ genre
+ conflict
= CHARACTER 2
a cord of three strands is not easily broken
Ecclesiastes 4:12
Scene test: Character
+ want/desire
+ plot point
=
Scene test: Character
+ want/desire
+ plot point
=
2
@brbird
www.brianbird.net
www.brianbird.net
www.bestsellersociety.com
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