{"id":16228,"date":"2019-03-07T19:46:24","date_gmt":"2019-03-08T00:46:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/?p=16228"},"modified":"2023-09-22T00:16:20","modified_gmt":"2023-09-22T05:16:20","slug":"how-to-create-original-characters-for-your-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.videoproductiontips.com\/how-to-create-original-characters-for-your-movie\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create Original Characters for Your Movie"},"content":{"rendered":"
BUILDING CHARACTERS FOR AN ORIGINAL MOVIE OR TV SHOW<\/strong><\/p>\n Interesting and unforgettable characters are probably the single most important element for any audience to enjoy a movie.\u00a0 People like stories about other people, so any good movie or TV show needs to start with fascinating, well-rounded characters audiences will relate to and enjoy watching.<\/p>\n How do you do this?\u00a0 First, start by deciding what kind of character traits<\/a> your characters have.\u00a0 \u00a0 That might sound obvious, but doing a good job requires some knowledge of how humans behave and why.\u00a0 \u00a0The term “character trait” essentially refers to the attributes, attitudes, and behaviors that mix together to comprise one’s personality.\u00a0 There is a long list below.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Charlie Chaplin<\/a> was an actor and commedian from the early, silent era of film.\u00a0 He was well-known for the many colorful characters he created.<\/p>\n When creating characters for a movie, consider the many different ways people behave, look and speak. Get in the habit of studying people and being observant in your everyday life.\u00a0 Do you know anyone like this character in real life? It always helps to follow the writer\u2019s adage: \u201cwrite what you know.\u201d You can also learn by imitating what has been done to create popular characters in successful TV shows and movies.\u00a0 So always pay close attention when watching any movie or TV, think about the traits of the characters and how they affect the story.<\/p>\n The obvious characteristics of a character are things like:<\/p>\n Emotional characteristics and personality traits are much more relevant to the creative process than superficial, physical attributes when building characters. However, in a visual medium such as film, what the character looks like has an immediate and lasting effect on the viewer, so they must be mapped out during creation.<\/p>\n Much is accomplished with wardrobe, make-up and acting, which is very obvious with these two pictures of Mayim Bialik (left) who plays Amy on the Big Bang Theory.\u00a0<\/a> Her character, Amy on right, looks like a significantly different person than the actress herself.\u00a0 This is due to hair, make-up and glasses as well as clothes, body language and facial expressions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here are some important terms to know when creating fictional characters.<\/p>\n Well-rounded characters:\u00a0 <\/b>This is a character who displays many character traits and comes across like a fully developed, nuanced, and complicated person, which is how real people are.\u00a0 The main characters of any story need to be well-rounded characters for a quality movie.<\/p>\n Cardboard characters: <\/b> Flat, one-dimensional characters who display only one or two characteristics. Real people are not this way, so a cardboard character will not be deep and rich.\u00a0 \u00a0Sometimes, a few cardboard characters can make it easier for a writer to tell the story, but they should never be a main character.<\/p>\n The more well-rounded characters a movie has, the more engaging of a story you will have. A children\u2019s movie is much more likely to have lots of cardboard characters.<\/p>\n To develop full, well-rounded characters audiences will enjoy, you need to put a lot of thought into it. The more real-life experience you gain, the easier this will be!\u00a0 You can always use people and circumstances you know for inspiration.<\/p>\n Write what you know but change it enough, so you don\u2019t get sued.\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n Quality movie characters should be realistic and lifelike enough to be believable for an audience.<\/strong> At the same time, a quality movie character will be in a circumstance larger than life, so that can be a fine line for the movie creator.<\/p>\n Suspension of belief<\/strong> is a phrase that means the audience knows it is just a movie, so will forgive characters and situations not being totally realistic.\u00a0 Think of a movie like Iron Man.<\/p>\n Target market<\/b>: A terms that describes what kind of audience the movie is intended for. Is it for kids? Teens? Older adults? This makes a big difference when creating characters.\u00a0 You want your characters to appeal to your target market.\u00a0 Children are not as savvy as adults when it comes to human nature, so it naturally follows the characters in movies aimed at kids will have simpler personality profiles.<\/p>\n Character driven<\/b>: When creating the story, the writer imagines what such a person would do in that specific situation, and then the story writes itself.\u00a0 (Or so they say) Most writers feel this is the best way to do it.<\/p>\n Plot driven: <\/b>When creating the story, the creator is motivated creatively by what things need to happen for a good story.\u00a0 i.e. adding a love element.\u00a0 In general, it is thought this is an inferior way to develop a story compared to character driven, but I don’t think that is always true.\u00a0 Most finished stories are a combination of both methods.<\/p>\n To create deep, well-rounded characters, you must KNOW THE EMOTIONAL Make-up OF YOUR CHARACTERS.<\/p>\n Characters in any story also evolve over time.\u00a0 They change during the story due to whatever they experience in the story.\u00a0 Usually, the end of the story comes when the main character has reached some sort of goal or milestone.<\/p>\n One interesting trend with character development in serial TV shows<\/a> has been termed Flanderization.<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 This term describes the evolution of a character where one oversimplified trait becomes the crux of the character. It’s a technique that originated with The Simpsons<\/a> and is mainly used in comedy shows,<\/p>\n CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF POPULAR CHARACTERS\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
Key Terms Defined<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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