CHARACTER - DRAWING FROM LIFE

This session was split into two main parts: talking about the essay coming up, and talking about drawing from real people & experiences to create more believable characters.

With the essay, the point that the essay had to somehow relate to movement and visuals was reiterated. Since that left the questions we could tackle somewhat vague and challenging to think of, we were shown some examples. For example, we looked at a previous student's essay of "What makes Lola (Charlie and Lola) an endearing character?". Within that, the student related back to their question when talking about character design, walk cycles, and even delving as deep as the character's psychology as well. Comparison to other characters from the show was also vital as well. The essay was continually proof read, redrafted, and made sure that it's tone and bibliography were correct. We have to make sure we don't go informal with this essay; it's meant to be a professional document, not our personal feelings on a Tumblr fanblog.

When it comes to researching for our characters, we were told about the "2-Page Technique". On one page, we write everything we already know about the character; references where possible. On the other page, we put what we WANT and NEED to find out about them, along with methods of how to find out that information. As we keep researching, info from page 2 will move over to page 1.

The essay should be about 6-8 paragraphs long, which includes a brief introduction and conclusion. There should be a strategy to each paragraph as well, it can't just be come up with on the fly. I think in terms of what I'm confident in writing, I'll take the approach of making the point, backing it up, elaborating, and then relating back to the bigger picture within each paragraph. The essay needs a clear destination, which is another good reason to return to the point of the essay at the end of each paragraph.

We have to make sure not to write our opinion, as stated before. However, that doesn't completely exclude the 1st person from our essay. We can say "I believe" or "I interpret this", as well as other variations of phrases like that. Just so long as we're being impartial, it's fine.

Evidence HAS to be reliable and unbiased. Secondary sources, like reviews and commentaries, are usually less reliable than primary sources, due to sources like the two aforementioned formats usually having a more personal tone than a professional one. Our critical judgement should also be exercised, in terms of weighing up evidence and making our own judgement based on it.



Next, we moved onto our character studies. 

"When creating a new character, find out a lot about them before writing."           ~ Moore and Wells

That quote relates to characters needing to be fully realised before being able to put them in a scenario. And characters can draw inspiration from essentially anywhere; an outside source like a person, a place, a conversation... or from inside sources, like sensations, feelings, experiences.

When creating anything, we take something from the real world, and reimagine it. Breaking an idea down to it's most abstract and basic form, and building it back up whilst changing the context.

We spoke about how character and plot aren't two separate entities, but are in fact intertwined, and one can't exist without the other. This also holds true for character and actions. 

"True character is revealed in the choices a human being makes under pressure; the deeper the pressure, the truer the choice to the character's essential nature" ~ McKee

Who you are will affect the way you talk, move, act and behave. It's no different for characters; the make them believable, you need to know who they really are. Not just on a surface level, but you need to have some knowledge about their depth too. Once you realise a character, they begin to write themselves.

Even small moments and details can let us in on a big part of a character's personality; a technique known as synecdoche. 

"It's the scene where we meet the hero and the hero does something like saving a cat - and that defines who he is and makes us, the audience, like him"             ~ Snyder

As an example, we briefly went over a scene from the first act of Aladdin. After escaping the law due to stealing, Aladdin gives some poor street children some of the bread he'd just stolen. That is his defining moment as a hero that the audience should like.


After this session, it made me think more on what character, and corresponding question, I should use. Right now, my mind is on Emmet from The LEGO Movie, with a question along the lines of "How does Emmet personify the LEGO brand and it's beliefs?". I'll workshop it with the lecturer, but I think that'd be a good direction to head in.