Screen characters must reveal themselves through action, the outward

manifestation of that which is within. They come to life not when they feel and
think, but when they act when they say and do things that reveal their thoughts
and feelings.
But action alone is not enough to create a gripping story: it must have a goal, and it
must encounter opposition. In other words, it must be dramatic action. There must
be conflict and important stakes hanging on its outcome.
Dramatic action, then, occurs when a character decides to do something either
because of or in spite of the consequences.
Screen characters shouldnt necessarily feel like real people, but rather they should
feel real within the context of the world, the theme, the goals and the conflicts
youve created for them.
Its not enough to ask, Who are your characters? You must also ask why theyre in
the story at all. How do they who they are, what they are reflect and express the
central theme? What drives them? What are the sources of conflict between them?
How much do we really need to know about them? Most importantly, are they
essential to the story? Why are these the best, indeed the only, characters with
which to populate this particular story? A character without a function does not
belong in your screenplay. Each must serve a unique purpose, and have a unique
temperament and focus, a reason why the story would be less effective, or even
collapse, without him or her.
Its often said, inaccurately, that the protagonist has to drive the conflict from the
start. This is occasionally true, but more often the protagonist needs to be forced
into reacting, may (often does) have second thoughts about getting involved, and
then eventually drives the conflict.
What you do not want is a protagonist who remains passive or reactive throughout.
But the whole point of the story is for the protagonist to eventually be willing to
fight back, seek revenge or move toward a definite goal, so that the audience is
empowered by vicariously participating in the protagonists action. Lastly, the
audience must be able either to identify, or at least empathize with or relate to, the
protagonist. You want them to root for the protagonist. If the protagonist is too
headstrong, aggressive, powerful or self-absorbed, the audience will lose interest
unless you give them a reason to remain engaged, some deeper merit to the
character that shines through.
Your protagonist should have more to lose or to gain than anyone else in the
screenplay, except for those who depend on him or perhaps the antagonist.
The protagonist should also fight on behalf of others whose lives or well-being will
suffer without his taking action. Obviously, these others have as much to lose as the

protagonist, but the responsibility is the protagonists alone, and his or her success
or failure is proportionately increased by the stakes that the other characters
represent.

The antagonist is the person, place or thing standing in opposition to the

protagonist, in the way of his or her achieving the goal. The antagonist can be a
human, animal, an act of nature or can even be something supernatural . It can also
be the protagonists inner conflict or character flaw, such as alcoholism or selfdoubt.
The screenwriter must find the antagonists character arcs, dominant emotions,
history, traits and positive motivations (the rationale by which he or she justifies
his or her actions), or else fully define the circumstances that create the conflict for
your protagonist. The antagonist is most effective when he is the dark doppelgnger
of the protagonist, his shadow self, and whom he is necessarily forced to confront
because of his own nature.
However, even though supporting characters are not the main focus , considerable
time should still be spent in developing them. The same steps taken to develop a
protagonist or antagonist must be taken with the main supporting roles, although
their motivations and actions can be less complex. Supporting roles take action to
support the protagonist or antagonist, or act within a subplot that supports or
contradicts the main plot.
Whatever their function, in order for characters to take dramatic action, they must
be in a situation (story) in which something is at stake, and also in which there is
more than one option for them, so they can make decisions. Dramatic action can
only happen when the characters have choices and are willing to make those
choices. The more important the choices, the higher the stakes, and the more
important and interesting the character.
While most characters, even the protagonist, may start out by reacting to whats
going on around them, strong characters at some point will instigate their own
courses of action to change their world; weak characters will remain merely reactive
to changes caused by others .
Action causing action (as opposed to reaction) is at the heart of all stories. Yet, an
action will not be credible unless there is a deep, personal and understood
motivation behind it.
Everything in a movie is present tense: the action, the narrative, even flashbacks
are told as if they are happening now.
In order to gain an understanding of characters, a screenwriter can make a list of
the characters traits by asking a series of questions about the general qualities of

the character: physical, sociological and psychological. The list creates a thumbnail
sketch of the character.
The key to understanding motivation is to look at it from the characters point of
view and not the writers. A strong character is always attempting to change a
negative into a positive from his or her perspective. In other words, the character is
energized by certain specific needs and desires, which motivate him or her to try
and find a positive action to counter a negative situation. Whether
Aristotle speaks of a character flaw as being an error, a defect in judgment or
shortcoming in conduct, especially in the greatest (i.e., tragic) characters .
Similarly, screenplays are not about well-rounded people who have perfect 20/ 20
vision concerning their lives, the lives of others or their situations. The characters
point of view, like that of the camera angle, is always limited and clouded by
personal prejudice , fears, hopes and desires. The characters are flawed, and too
immersed in their own life to have any objective perception. Characters must feel
their way, learn, adjust, fail and grow.
These mistakes are caused by a lack of self-knowledge, overcoming which is at the
heart of the story. The key is to find the most critical, appropriate and characteristic
flaw or blindness.
Along with determining your characters internal conflicts, positive motivations and
self-knowledge issues, you must define a dominant trait and emotion.
The dominant emotion is the overall mental state of the character. All characters
have a wide range of emotions, but there is usually one strong feeling that defines
each character.
One technique is to have your character like dogs and/ or children. Other unusual
animals will do, such as apes, elephants, even iguanas. Even better, have a dog or
other animal like your protagonist,
Desire + Obstacle Lack of Compromise = Conflict Here are some examples: 1.
DesireShe wants money for new textbooks. 2. ObstacleHe wants to balance the
schools budget. 3. Reason Compromise Is Not an OptionThe student test scores
are the lowest in the state.
A list of questions might look something like this: GENERAL What are the characters
hobbies? What are the characters mannerisms? What are the characters tastes?
What are the characters political views? What is the characters career? What is the
characters education? What is the characters occupation? What is the characters
financial situation? PHYSICAL What are the characters medical problems? What
does the character wear? What are the characters age and sex? What is the
characters appearance? What is the characters health? SOCIOLOGY What are the
characters hopes, ambitions, fears? What are the characters morals? What is the

characters class or status? What are the characters family relationships? What is
the characters nationality? What is the characters religion? PSYCHOLOGY What are
the characters ambitions? What are the characters disappointments? What are the
characters obsessions? What are the characters phobias? What are the characters
superstitions? What are the characters talents? What is the characters philosophy?
What is the characters temperament? What was the characters childhood like?
Russin, Robin U.; Downs, William Missouri (2012-06-25). Screenplay: Writing the
Picture, 2nd Edition (Kindle Location 1680). Silman-James Press. Kindle Edition.
Russin, Robin U.; Downs, William Missouri (2012-06-25). Screenplay: Writing the
Picture, 2nd Edition (Kindle Locations 1463-1465). Silman-James Press. Kindle
Edition.