Lost Art of Storytelling: Character Development

[akkushisu]

This is companion thread to Solium's Lost Art of Storytelling: Anticipation thread.

Another thing that really irks me about new films is the blatant lack of good character development. Now, I'm not saying that characters in films are completely undeveloped, but there's a lot of stagnation when it comes to how certain characters grow and change as films progress.

Protagonists: The good guys seem to be where all the development goes to nowadays, which is good, but you can't neglect your other characters. The main character(s) of a work should receive the most development with the only exception being the main antagonist if the story calls for it. To me, a hero character who undergoes some sort of emotional growth as the film progresses makes for a far more endearing one than a character who runs the length of the story and remains unchanged.

Antagonists: Good villains can make for some awesome storytelling! But a villain with great screen presence or charisma isn't always enough. Just like with the good guys, films really need to developing their bad guys more. Don't just make them evil for the sake of being evil! Give them a motive and a backstory that explains why they feel the need to go out and make life for the good guys miserable. My favorite villains are always the ones where they're driven to become evil. Like, at one time they were good, but events happened in their lives that drove them to madness and cruelty. Doing this endears your audience to your villains and also makes for a much deeper story, more meaningful conflict, and a more involved audience.

Supporting Characters: Developing supporting characters isn't always easy, but the payoff can be quite beneficial to a story. This one is really tricky because if you give a supporting character too much development they tend to steal the show, give them too little and they're flat and uninteresting.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on the matter.

[Solium]

I love this thread. Glad we are discussing story. I totally agree with everything you wrote. Even when we know the "basics" its good to be reminded of them. If we don't apply what we learn we loose those skills.

[danparkerstudios]

Well, thanks for this information.

I am working on developing my own characters.

Well, I must thank my last class' teacher for sending me helpful information on character development.

You should look at the characters problems that the new Thomas And Friends series suffers.

[jeremyhopkins]

The Coen Brothers are excellent modern character directors. Lots of other films by various directors/writers like Little Miss Sunshine, Shawshank Redemption, Memento, Amelie.. etc

[AnimatorX]

Character development can be a tricky thing. I'll give you an example from one of my own scripts. I have a main character who was constantly overshadowed by the secondary characters, enough for me to ask myself "Why isn't he more interesting to the reader?"

As it turns out I simply hadn't defined his "need" very well. That essential "What I want" that was so well defined in characters like say...Luke Skywalker from the first Star Wars ( Episode IV, not that Phantom menace travesty ) is perhaps the best example I can give of a character that has clear goals, and is proactive enough to reach them. It's an example of a character-driven story. He actually DOES something. He doesn't just react to things happening around him. The WORST movies ever made all feature characters who stand around and REACT to things happening around them. If you can avoid that, then you have an interesting and likable character.

If all else fails, just remember that other quote "The best characters are the ones you'd want to be, or BE WITH"

[Solium]

He actually DOES something. He doesn't just react to things happening around him. The WORST movies ever made all feature characters who stand around and REACT to things happening around them. If you can avoid that, then you have an interesting and likable character.

Very true. This also applies to character animation. Have your character "doing something" when they talk. It makes the moment far more interesting. For example, lets say a princess is talking to someone. Just sitting in a chair and saying "what ever" to a friend. Boring. Instead, have the princess say the same lines while brushing her hair. Maybe the brush gets tangled in her locks as she speaks. You can imagine the look on her face as she tries to communicate some thought while trying to untangle her hair brush.

[Pecaul]

I once read that for a character to be really compelling, they usually have to lose something. To get from point A to point B they should struggle and work to try and attain what they've lost or yearn for. Sometimes they lose that one thing in return for another once they work for it.
It dosn't have to be physical, but it has to really be extremely difficult for them to let go. I can't think of examples to suppourt this easily however. Most characters are pretty passive and just let the story take them around.
Also we sort of have to understand why they are fighting for what they want. The characters should show, not tell, why that person, object, trait, whatever is so important to them early on.

Speaking of passive, If you look at Pinochio he gives up his mischief that's been with him through out the story. However, it has caused nothing but harm to him so it's nothing that really great to lose. Heck the only time he really lost something he pursued was his father in the belly of a whale. And while it was great her went after him I've never really felt very attatched to either.
I mean, Gepetto finally gets a son and then just shoves him out the door and to school really fast. For the rest of the movie neither of these characters really interact. Sure we see bits of gepetto and Pinochio worrying about eachother, but I never felt like there was too much connecting them.
Perhaps I just felt sort of disjointed from the plot. Maybe a few minutes is enough to understand a bond, but these two only knew each other for one night! I don't remember if there was too much really making me feel that Gepetto's concern early on was really great to keeping the characters together. It's only in the belly of the whale do we get a bit more from both of them, but it sort of rang a little hollow to me.
The rest of the arcs with the characters I felt more strongly for, as we got to see Pinochio react much more strongly to clashing personalities. When he is thrown in a cage we can understand why he wants to get out by how Stromboli treats him.

I might've gone off track a bit. It's been a while since 've seen Pinochio so it might just be me.

[OriginalGagBonkers]

If TV animation can count there are some character development in TV animation. Ed edd n eddy has this, and including the internet web series Neurotically Yours

[Rodney]

Both of these 'Lost Art of Storytelling' topics are wonderful discussions. I'm always learning aspects of what I don't yet know.

AnimatorX added:

If all else fails, just remember that other quote "The best characters are the ones you'd want to be, or BE WITH"

Well said.

When thinking back to most films I almost always enter the memory at a point of conflict between the characters I empathize with and the antagonist.

Case in point: As a kid I recall being scared out of my pants by the villian in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". If you watched that film in your youth I expect you'll recall the exact scene I'm remembering. The creators of the film expertly had us believing we were these two kids (or at least were along for the ride with them) and when the bad guy came searching for us... trying to lure us out the safety of our hiding place... we were there!

My version of Matt's quote would be thusly extended:
"The best characters are those you want to be, be with or escape from altogether."

This invites the question, What makes a character memorable? Is it enough to see ourselves or our mirror image in a character?

There appears to be an ever present element of roleplaying going on here where we continually probe all characters to see what they have in common with us. We usually have a lot in common one or two, a little in common with others and usually a repulsion or dislike for at least one. If we can make that connection with the character perhaps we we can also roleplay with them?

[akkushisu]

Well said, Rodney.

What makes a character memorable tends to vary from person to person, but more often than not its due to the character sharing similar traits or living through similar circumstances as the person admiring them. In some cases, we're drawn in by a character we wish to be or be more like, or maybe it's a character that reminds us of someone we like or exhibits traits of an ideal friend or even lover. Still, sometimes it can be simply how the character looks that drives us to endearment.

How can we, as artists and animators create and develop more endearing characters? Well, that's really a matter of preference. For me, I try to make their personalities as real as can be, even if all I tend to create are dragons and other animal characters. I like my characters to have depth and richness, hopes and dreams, a history and ambitions for their own futures, and the real kicker, the possibility for growth and change.

I never ask myself "Will someone be endeared to this character?" when making one up though. Your goal is to make a lovable or memorable character, yes, but you shouldn't make that your sole reason for creating them. Make characters that are relevant to your tale. Put all your heart and soul into creating them and let your audience decide whether or not they'll like them.