In order to help create.... Or better yet to help generate a fictional dramatic situation we were given the assignment of picking an unsuspected member of the public and analysing their characteristics in order to help use that as the stem to build a fictional life for them answering a range of questions. Questions as trivial as what there name was and how old they were to more probing questions like why they were unhappy in life and what they intended to do to help them get out of such a situation they were in if any.
The purpose of the exercise was to help you realise that when you create a character it's important to think of the nitty gritty questions about their life whether or not that would be shown on film as it helps the character to have some kind of depth as without knowing these things then they may come across as hollow, whether this is on paper or if they are being played out by an Actor or actress on screen.
The basis of my character: He was stuck in a job he disliked with a fiancé he no longer loved, but stayed in his situation because of the promise her made to his mother before she died. He is having an affair with a woman he loves. During their meet up, as she talks he's thinking about leaving his life behind once and for all.
A few of the characters that stood out to me based on what the class had said....
-A drug runner who knows that the only way to escape the life is to ride the waves to the top of the business.
-A grandson who has to deal with how is grandfather can't remember anything after his wife died, and sadly that includes the birth of his grandson.
-A regular looking guy, who is sweating. The slight tarnish/abnormality shows that he is hiding something that at first you wouldn't notice.
This was a good exercise that allows you mind to wonder to almost any situation for a character that you can then tweak and come up with a enticing and interesting character that you then create a story-world around.
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