How to Create A TV Character and Develop Their Arc

00:06:41
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYgw0i0HvMI

Summary

TLDRThe video by StudioBinder explores the importance of developing great characters for a successful TV show, emphasizing that while inspiration and a story are crucial, it's the characters that keep audiences engaged. It introduces a framework based on three questions: Who, What, and Where—to help in crafting detailed character dynamics. The video uses 'Mad Men,' particularly Don Draper, as an example to illustrate how understanding a character's identity, experiences, and environment results in a deeper storyline. It advises using tools like a character dynamic worksheet to refine the relationships between characters, focusing on motivations such as 'wants' which drive interactions. Location is highlighted as a critical element in shaping character dynamics, as seen in classic shows like 'Cheers' and 'The Sopranos.' The discussion also includes insights into making characters relatable by drawing from less favorable personal traits, ensuring they are realistic and compelling.

Takeaways

  • 📝 Characters are the key to engaging TV shows.
  • ❓ Use 'Who', 'What', 'Where' to craft characters.
  • 🎭 Great characters face constant challenges.
  • 📍 Location shapes character interactions.
  • 🕵️‍♂️ 'Mad Men' serves as a key example.
  • 🤔 Explore character backstories for depth.
  • 👪 Family dynamics add layers to identity.
  • 💥 Conflict emerges from character desires.
  • 📚 Use dynamic worksheets for structure.
  • 🌍 Characters are influenced by their settings.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:06:41

    The video discusses essential components needed to create great characters for a TV show, with a focus on the importance of character dynamics. Before writing a pilot, it's crucial to have fully fleshed out characters, not just good ones but great ones, as these characters will keep audiences engaged. The video suggests examining Who the character is, What events define them, and Where they interact to build depth and dynamics. Example used is Don Draper from Mad Men, illustrating the integration of character backstory and location dynamics. A character dynamic worksheet is introduced to help in planning.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What is the main focus of the video?

    The video focuses on how to create great character dynamics for a TV show.

  • What are the three questions to ask when creating characters?

    The three questions are: Who, What, and Where.

  • Why are characters important in a TV show?

    Characters are important because they are the reason audiences stay engaged and keep coming back to watch more episodes.

  • What does the 'Who' question emphasize in character creation?

    The 'Who' question focuses on identifying who the story is about and understanding their core persona.

  • What is the significance of the 'What' question in character development?

    The 'What' question explores what events define the character's past, present, and future.

  • How does the 'Where' question help in building characters?

    The 'Where' question helps understand the setting and how characters within those settings interact, giving depth to their dynamics.

  • What example is used to demonstrate great character writing?

    The video uses 'Mad Men' and its main character, Don Draper, to demonstrate great character writing.

  • What is a key takeaway regarding character flaws based on the video?

    Integrating less favorable aspects of oneself can create more realistic and relatable characters.

  • Is location significant in creating character dynamics? Why?

    Yes, location is significant because it dictates some of the characters that populate the story, shaping interactions and dynamics.

  • Who produced the video?

    The video is produced by StudioBinder.

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  • 00:00:00
    Inspiration? Check.
  • 00:00:02
    A story with legs? Check.
  • 00:00:04
    Think it's time to write the pilot, now?
  • 00:00:07
    Not so fast.
  • 00:00:09
    There is one more key ingredient your show is missing.
  • 00:00:12
    And it's an important one.
  • 00:00:14
    "- So what have you two come up with?
  • 00:00:15
    - Nothing?
  • 00:00:18
    - What does that mean?
  • 00:00:19
    - The show is about nothing."
  • 00:00:23
    [Laughing]
  • 00:00:25
    The place writers turn for every future episode
  • 00:00:28
    will be the reason audiences keep coming back.
  • 00:00:31
    "It's actually like another 26 seasons."
  • 00:00:33
    Will decide to stay up a little bit later to watch "one more episode."
  • 00:00:37
    It is.
  • 00:00:39
    Your characters.
  • 00:00:41
    And they can't just be good characters.
  • 00:00:42
    They have to be great.
  • 00:00:44
    "Got another character named Ching-Chong.
  • 00:00:46
    Who loves to play ping-pong."
  • 00:00:48
    Hi, we're StudioBinder,
  • 00:00:50
    and in this video,
  • 00:00:51
    we'll show you how to create great character dynamics
  • 00:00:53
    by asking yourself three questions.
  • 00:00:55
    Who?
  • 00:00:56
    What?
  • 00:00:58
    Where?
  • 00:00:59
    This is Jason Hellerman.
  • 00:01:01
    "I worked as a story editor
  • 00:01:02
    for producer named Michael Costigan for a few years.
  • 00:01:05
    We did "Ghost in the Shell" and "A Bigger Splash" among others."
  • 00:01:08
    His screenplay "Shovel Buddies" made the top 10 of the blacklist.
  • 00:01:11
    "It`s purchased by AwesomenessTV and debuted at south by southwest in 2016."
  • 00:01:15
    What makes great characters?
  • 00:01:17
    "The best characters people that have to constantly deal with things
  • 00:01:20
    and that's how we see who they really are."
  • 00:01:23
    To demonstrate,
  • 00:01:24
    we'll use a show that's considered a true character study.
  • 00:01:27
    Before we get started,
  • 00:01:28
    let's take a look it up, character dynamic worksheet.
  • 00:01:31
    The first question we need to ask ourselves in this process is.
  • 00:01:35
    Who?
  • 00:01:36
    Who is the story about?
  • 00:01:37
    In the case of "Mad Men",
  • 00:01:39
    we focus on one particular Mad Man.
  • 00:01:41
    Don Draper.
  • 00:01:43
    Don is an ad exec.
  • 00:01:45
    He's a heavy drinker.
  • 00:01:47
    He's a womanizer.
  • 00:01:48
    He's a really heavy drinker.
  • 00:01:53
    And once in a while, he's Dick Whitman.
  • 00:01:55
    "We meet Don Draper.
  • 00:01:57
    He's sitting, smoking Lucky Strike cigarettes.
  • 00:02:00
    And Don is writing notes on napkin.
  • 00:02:02
    Now, one of the first things you learn about Don Draper is he'll talk to anyone."
  • 00:02:06
    "- Can I ask you a question? Why do you smoke Old Gold?
  • 00:02:09
    - They`re a habit.
  • 00:02:10
    - I could never get you to try another brand --
  • 00:02:12
    say, my Luckies?
  • 00:02:15
    - I love my Old Golds."
  • 00:02:16
    "For a show that winds up being essentially about advertising,
  • 00:02:19
    it's this beautiful entryway into his thought process and who he is."
  • 00:02:22
    But that's not all there is to the question Who.
  • 00:02:25
    For more dynamic qualities, we need the next question.
  • 00:02:29
    What?
  • 00:02:32
    What has happened to Don that defines him?
  • 00:02:35
    "Just go.
  • 00:02:38
    I can`t."
  • 00:02:39
    What is happening to Don, now?
  • 00:02:42
    "- $2,500.
  • 00:02:43
    - By that I mean, you are a productive and reasonable man,
  • 00:02:47
    and in the end completely self-interested."
  • 00:02:51
    What will happen to Don later in the show?
  • 00:02:53
    "I want to keep things as normal as possible,
  • 00:02:56
    and you not being here as part of that."
  • 00:03:00
    By asking yourself these questions
  • 00:03:02
    you start to flesh out your character.
  • 00:03:05
    What happened to Don?
  • 00:03:07
    Well, for starters,
  • 00:03:08
    he stole a dead man's identity.
  • 00:03:10
    "Lieutenant Draper, Private Whitman.
  • 00:03:12
    You were the last person who knew him in his chain of command.
  • 00:03:15
    We'd like you to take him home."
  • 00:03:17
    But there's more to What than a buried backstory.
  • 00:03:19
    He's also a family man.
  • 00:03:21
    "At the end of the pilot that`s great hook,
  • 00:03:23
    right when he walks in this house and be like,
  • 00:03:24
    oh, I guess he's going to bed, but really you find out he's a family,
  • 00:03:27
    and he's been cheating on his wife the whole time,
  • 00:03:29
    and, you know, like maybe he's not the greatest dad,
  • 00:03:31
    and right from there you're hooked."
  • 00:03:32
    So now we have a main character with depth.
  • 00:03:35
    By answering the Who and the What,
  • 00:03:37
    we've decided some things that inform our writing.
  • 00:03:39
    "As I layer my characters, I think a lot about
  • 00:03:42
    what would I do in that situation?"
  • 00:03:43
    "Lung cancer?
  • 00:03:44
    Inoperable?"
  • 00:03:45
    "Sometimes it's picking the not-so-great parts of yourself.
  • 00:03:49
    It's like what's the most desperate version of me doing?
  • 00:03:51
    What's the saddest version of me doing?"
  • 00:03:53
    But what about the rest of the characters?
  • 00:03:55
    We need them to create great character dynamics.
  • 00:03:58
    Time for our third question.
  • 00:04:00
    Where?
  • 00:04:01
    Most shows build their ensembles around location.
  • 00:04:04
    Seems weird, but it makes sense when you consider it.
  • 00:04:07
    All the characters in "Cheers" are the people you'd find in a bar.
  • 00:04:10
    The characters in "The Sopranos" are Tony's family
  • 00:04:13
    and Tony's family.
  • 00:04:16
    "I think that location is one of the most important parts
  • 00:04:18
    to going into any character.
  • 00:04:20
    You let the location dictate some of the people that might be in your world,
  • 00:04:22
    and then you can build who they are outside of that."
  • 00:04:25
    I mean, "Superstore" pretty spot-on
  • 00:04:27
    with his portrayal of workers and customers inside a mega store.
  • 00:04:30
    "- Hi, I`m work here.
  • 00:04:31
    It`s like my job to help customers.
  • 00:04:33
    - Yeah. That's why I was so surprised.
  • 00:04:35
    I was like what?
  • 00:04:38
    - Why is he doing cleaning up toilet paper?"
  • 00:04:40
    So where does "Mad Man" take place?
  • 00:04:42
    New York.
  • 00:04:43
    In an ad agency.
  • 00:04:44
    In the 1960s.
  • 00:04:45
    Takes us back to the hoop.
  • 00:04:47
    "You're looking at the finest dead man in New York."
  • 00:04:50
    Who would we find in these places?
  • 00:04:51
    "Probably a lot of macho guys, a lot of women.
  • 00:04:53
    It's the 1960s,
  • 00:04:54
    so you have to color your show that way,
  • 00:04:57
    terms of like, oh, the limon one were the secretary's,
  • 00:04:59
    but maybe there's someone with gumption there
  • 00:05:00
    like a Peggy who`s going to take over.
  • 00:05:02
    And maybe someone like Joan their,
  • 00:05:04
    who really secretly runs the office and is secretly in charge,
  • 00:05:06
    but whose voice still doesn't get heard."
  • 00:05:09
    Donaldson`s lives in the suburbs
  • 00:05:10
    with his mid-century nuclear family.
  • 00:05:12
    So there, we have Betty and the kids.
  • 00:05:14
    And each of these new characters all have their own What`s?
  • 00:05:17
    What happens to Peggy after she gets pregnant?
  • 00:05:20
    What will Roger do after his heart attack?
  • 00:05:22
    What will Joan do with that guy from Jaguar?
  • 00:05:26
    Oh man, this show got dark.
  • 00:05:27
    Let's look at this clip of Pete getting punched in the face
  • 00:05:29
    to lighten the mood.
  • 00:05:34
    Once filled out all your Who, What and Where's,
  • 00:05:37
    you're ready to fill out the most important element of the worksheet.
  • 00:05:40
    How these characters relate to create dynamic?
  • 00:05:43
    And to keep the theme running,
  • 00:05:44
    will call this final step the Want.
  • 00:05:46
    What does Roger want from Don?
  • 00:05:48
    "And now let me introduce the man
  • 00:05:50
    who will stand alongside me for the next 40 years.
  • 00:05:53
    Donald Draper."
  • 00:05:54
    What does Betty want from Don?
  • 00:05:56
    "- Bets, don't worry about my job.
  • 00:05:58
    - Why would I?
  • 00:06:00
    I don't know anything about it.
  • 00:06:02
    They offered you a contract, you didn't need say a damn thing to me.
  • 00:06:05
    What's the matter?
  • 00:06:07
    You don't know where you're going to be in three years?"
  • 00:06:09
    You can go on and on between all the characters.
  • 00:06:11
    So before you start writing your pilot
  • 00:06:13
    which we'll get into more detail on in the next video.
  • 00:06:16
    Make sure you download and fill out our character dynamic worksheet.
  • 00:06:20
    So ask yourself.
  • 00:06:22
    Who?
  • 00:06:22
    What?
  • 00:06:23
    And Where?
  • 00:06:24
    Definitely remember to ask yourself.
  • 00:06:26
    "What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What?
  • 00:06:34
    What?"
Tags
  • character development
  • TV shows
  • Mad Men
  • scriptwriting
  • character dynamics
  • StudioBinder
  • writing tips
  • Don Draper
  • storytelling
  • screenwriting