Section 4: Section Diagnostic

Using the Movie Character Tools we developed for a central character in our proposed movie, we will write and present a character sketch that tells the character’s story (backstory and character arc) and also includes descriptions of the character’s traits, wants and needs, obstacles and conflicts.

Write, and be prepared to read dramatically, a detailed character sketch of your movie’s protagonist, including his or her relationship to the antagonist in the movie.

In developing your character sketch, be sure to do the following:

• Briefly introduce your character, including a sentence or two about their role in your movie’s story.

• Describe your character’s external and internal traits, as if you are showing an introductory picture of who they are.

• Analyze what your character wants and needs, explaining how these characteristics take them somewhere within the movie’s story.

• Tell your character’s backstory, indicating how a movie audience might learn about these details.

• Present a narrative character arc that describes what happens to the character within your movie’s three-act story spine; include obstacles and conflicts faced by your character and how they are resolved.

• Write the descriptions of your character and the events of their arc in the present tense.

• Form a claim about how and why your character is central to your movie’s concept, theme, and message.

• Be prepared to do a dramatic reading of your character sketch for other members of the class.