as opposed to the adult characters who are unaware of its significance.
Shrek
Shrek is a huge, green, ugly ogre; Donkey is a stubborn mule that talks.
Finding Nemo
Nemo is a small clown fish with a damaged fin. Marlin is a nervous overprotective father. Dory is a blue fish with short-term memory problems.
Monsters Inc
Sulley is a big furry turquoise bear-like beast. Mikey is a short, green, one-eyed monster.
Pirates of the Caribbean
Captain Jack Sparrow is either "the worst pirate" or "the best pirate" that the British sailors have ever seen. His ineptness enables him to excel beyond all reasonable expectations. To show his contempt for Capt. Jack Sparrow, the pirate Barbossa mockingly names his monkey "Jack."
Avatar
Neytiri and the other Na’vi have distinct physical traits that make them visually and biologically different from humans.
Writing Assignment: Write a few sentence description of the personalities and idiosyncrasies for each of the three main characters in your story: protagonist, antagonist, and love interest.
SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
Supporting characters interact with the primary characters and help to define them. Some are supportive of either the protagonist or the antagonist. The main characters collect the key minor characters that they need to accomplish their goals. These minor characters force the protagonist to reveal their true nature and values. They also usually have qualities that are radically different from the protagonist and the antagonist.
The minor character is often used as someone with whom the protagonist or antagonist can talk in confidence, thereby, expressing his plans to the audience. This also allows him to convey his feelings about situations to the audience.
A solely one-on-one conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist is usually too limiting for the audience and can quickly become boring. Most of the popular films involve several minor characters: supporters that hinder their opponents by creating obstacles and minor villains that support the antagonist. The villain's supporters are usually more nasty and vicious than the antagonist.
The minimal number of characters usually found in these films is five: the protagonist, the antagonist, the love interest, a minor character that supports the protagonist, and a minor character who supports the antagonist. The protagonist supporter may have objectives that are different from the protagonist, but they work together to achieve the protagonist's primary objective, which is also the primary objective of the story.
For example, in The Wizard of Oz, the Scarecrow's objective is to get a brain, the Tin Man a heart, and the Lion courage, but they all work together to get to Oz and to help Dorothy obtain her primary objective, to get back home. The antagonist supporter usually does the vicious and dirty work for the antagonist, like the flying monkeys did for the Wicked Witch.
Although their parts are small, minor characters still should be three-dimensional so that the story won't lose credibility for the audience. This is accomplished by having these minor characters go through changes as they attempt to resolve personal conflicts. One common way of introducing minor characters is to show them at work. In this way, the audience immediately learns their profession. You could introduce them while they are having a conflict with a co-worker or with another character with whom they have a personal relationship.
Another technique used to create memorable characters is to exaggerate them as obsessive or eccentric. The easiest way to do this is to make them atypical to their profession's stereotype. As the minor characters become more involved in the scene, their personality will set a mood or make the situation more emotionally engrossing. The protagonist supporter, with a good sense of humor, will make the audience laugh and emotionally feel good about him and the protagonist. The antagonist supporter will be mean and vicious, do something terrible to another character in the story, and cause the audience to feel anger and hatred toward the antagonist and his supporters.
Spielberg often uses minor characters to manipulate the audience's emotional reactions to either the scene or the main character. The emotions that the minor character expresses are those that Spielberg wants the audience to feel. Every crowd has a personality. He often displays the emotional reactions of one or two specific members of the crowd to the characters in the scene. Crowds are often used during celebration scenes in movies, with the hope that the joy and happiness these crowds express for the protagonist will also become the audience's feelings.
Finding Nemo
Dory helps Marlin find Nemo. Gill helps Nemo escape from the fish tank.
Matrix Trilogy
Morpheus, Trinity, and the Oracle help Neo while the Agent Smiths try to destroy him.
Harry Potter: The Sorcerer s Stone
Ron and Hermione help Harry.
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Gandalf, Sam, Aragorn, Elrond, Theoden, Legolas, Gimli, Pippin, Merry, and the good people of Middle Earth help Frodo while Saruman, Orcs, Uruk-hai, the Witch-King, and Ringwraiths help the Dark Lord Sauron.
Pirates of the Caribbean
The good pirates (like Gibbs) help Will, Liz, and Jack while the cursed pirates help Barbossa.
Avatar
Trudy, Norm, and Max help Jake fight the Colonel to save the Na’vi Tree of Souls.
Writing Assignment: Write a few sentences of description about the supporting characters for the protagonist and antagonist.
SUBGOALS and PLOT TWISTS
Creating Unpredictability
Story Objective
Concrete Objects
Personal Values
Subgoals and Subtasks
Strategies and Plans
STORY OBJECTIVES
The concepts of story objective, concrete object, personal value, and subgoal can be separated in analysis, but are closely connected in any story. These concepts essentially contribute to the theme of the story. The primary objective of the protagonist is identical to the story objective.
Each character has a primary objective, something that he desperately desires that is the focus of most of his actions. The dramatic objective of the story is the primary objective that is sought by both the protagonist and the antagonist. In the megahit movies, this is very often a unique concrete object which only one of the characters can possess. It is "concrete" in the sense that it can be physically held by the characters and can be visually seen on the screen by members of the audience. Obtaining this unique object is of extreme importance and urgency to all the characters involved. It becomes an issue of life or death, not only for the protagonist, but very often for the community as well.
CONCRETE OBJECTS
Concrete objects are the tangible things that the characters pursue in the hope of obtaining their primary objectives. Because film is a visual medium, the audience must see those things for which the characters are fighting; they must be tangible, visible, and objects that the audience believes are valuable. Some objectives, like status and control, are more symbolic, but they do bring power to those who possess them. Unobtanium is the unique power object desired in Avatar.
PERSONAL VALUES
The primary objective usually involves a concrete object that also often represents a personal value or some code of interpersonal behavior that the characters reveal while in pursuit of the objective. This is directly connected to the character's motivation. The character believes that possessing this object will satisfy an emotional need. These stories examine the question of whether the ends (primary objective) justify the means (interpersonal values) and the personal sacrifice the conflicts entail for the characters.
It is important to restate that drama is not concerned with the accidental events that happen in the lives of individuals. It is about characters making decisions under conflict, while in pursuit of objectives that represent fundamental human values, and that satisfy core emotional needs. Personal growth often is achieved once these characters underst
and the real significance of what is at stake and "do the right thing," even if it results in self-sacrifice.
Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Ring (To save the people of Middle-Earth from destruction)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Aztec Coin (To be saved from being a cursed ghost who can never die)
Avatar
Unobtanium is the source of energy needed for survival by the humans, yet it is under the Hometree of the Na’vi clan.
Writing Assignment: Write a one sentence description of the personal values for each of the three main characters in your story: protagonist, antagonist, and love interest. What concrete object does each of these characters value more than anything else in the world? What does this object mean to them?
SUBGOALS
Subgoals (or subtasks) are minor objectives that a character must achieve in order to obtain his primary objective. The concepts of subgoals and plot twists are closely related. The audience is made aware of the relationship of subgoals to primary objectives when the characters discuss their plans and strategies.
Plot twists occur when the accomplishment of a sub- goal does not cause the expected result of helping a character achieve his primary objective. This technique creates surprise and unpredictability and is found in many of the popular films.
In order to achieve their primary objective, the characters in the story must also achieve subgoals. Each of these subgoals has an object or objective that must be obtained. These subgoal objectives are often needed to obtain the primary object; the subtasks that must first be completed.
Raiders of the Lost Ark uses this structure. Jones' primary objective is to find the Ark of the Covenant, a concrete object. To accomplish this, he has the subgoal of finding the Headpiece to the Staff of Ra. Once he finds this, he must use the Headpiece to accomplish another subgoal, to locate the Well of Souls. Once that is found, he must next retrieve the Ark of the Covenant and get it to Cairo before the Nazis can possess it. These are all connected to the unique primary objective: the Ark of the Covenant.
The Wizard of Oz: Dorothy's primary objective is to find a place where she will never have any problems. In order to achieve this, she attempts to accomplish several subgoals. Dorothy runs away from home in order to save Toto from Elmira Gulch. Dorothy returns home to help her "sick" Aunt Em, but a tornado takes her to Oz. This is a plot twist. Dorothy goes to Oz to get help from the Wizard to get her back to Kansas. This is her first major subgoal in the Land of Oz. The Wizard will not help her until she gets the broom of the Wicked Witch. This unexpected result produces a plot twist. Dorothy gets the broom, but still the Wizard fails to help her get home. This is another plot twist that is generated from an unexpected consequence of successfully accomplishing a subgoal. Dorothy's next subgoal is to fly back to Kansas in the balloon with the Wizard. But this fails because the balloon takes off without her. This is another plot twist. The final subgoal is to click the heels of the ruby slippers and to wish she is back home. She then finds herself back in the bed on her Kansas farm.
Antagonists also have subgoals. This can clearly be seen in Star Wars. The villains want to make the Death Star operational, secure the Death Star by retrieving the plans stolen by the rebels, and destroy the rebellion military base.
Spider-Man: Peter wants MJ. To win her, he wants a fancy car. This means he must get money. He decides to enter the wrestling contest to win $3,000. He designs a costume. He wins the wrestling match, but is only paid $100. (Plot Twist)
Shrek: Shrek wants to be home alone in his swamp. To accomplish this he must get rid of the Fairy Tale creatures. He goes to Lord Farquaard to persuade him to give them their land back. Before he will do this, Farquaard tells Shrek he must rescue Princess Fiona for him. (Plot Twist)
STRATEGIES AND PLANS
A plan or strategy is a series of actions a character intends to take to achieve an objective. He anticipates certain and possible obstacles, then devises tactics to overcome these obstacles. These plans are usually communicated to an audience in an exposition scene. The strategy and tactics are discussed by the characters with his supporters.
This exposition of a plan creates expectations about future events for the audience. A story is unpredictable when things do not occur as planned. This happens when new, unexpected obstacles occur, or the planned tactics fail to overcome an expected obstacle. Excitement is created if the characters become endangered by these unexpected developments. It is only through the exposition of plans and strategies that expectations about the future can be generated in the mind of the audience.
Star Wars
The Rebel strategists plan to destroy the Death Star.
Avatar
Jake outlines his plan to prevent the colonel from destroying the Na’vi Tree of Souls.
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Fellowship plans to destroy the Ring at Mount Doom.
Pirates of the Caribbean
Jack plans with Will to get a British ship. Jack plans with Norrington to capture the pirates. Jack plans with Barbossa to defeat the British.
Writing Assignment: Create three (3) major subgoals-subtasks that the protagonist must complete in order to achieve his primary objective. Describe the plans that he makes to achieve each of these subgoals.
CONFLICTS
Creating Excitement
Obstacles
Jeopardy
Self-Conflicts
Enemies
Relatives
Friends
Lovers
Physical Objects
Natural World
Supernatural World
OBSTACLES
The essence of story design consists of creating obstacles that prevent the hero from obtaining his objectives. These can be both "internal" and "external" obstacles. Unexpected obstacles defeat the best devised plans and create surprise and excitement in the audience. Internal obstacles fall under the category of self-conflicts. They can consist of ignorance, loss of memory, fear, lack of courage, lack of skills, or false belief. They are the result of a character's personality. These obstacles test whether the character really holds a certain code of beliefs while pursuing his objectives. External obstacles consist of actions of the antagonist and his allies, objects in the environment, and natural or supernatural events.
From the perspective of story design, to create obstacles, the writer should think of all the things that could possibly go wrong in a situation: how can the protagonist be blocked from achieving his goals? Invent ways for him to imaginatively overcome these obstacles. The more dangerous the obstacles in a story, the more exciting the story becomes. The antagonist and his supporters also have obstacles that they must overcome to obtain their objectives.
Granted there are many choices for any given situation, the writer should choose only those which will create the most obstacles for the characters to overcome. Try to construct conflicts that will involve the protagonist's primal relationships and that force him to choose between his moral code and his desired objective. Complicate his life, for "complications," in the traditional dramatic sense, are the result of conflicts and competition between characters. All chase scenes can be considered to involve obstacles that attempt to prevent the characters from obtaining their objectives. Such scenes keep the audience in suspense.
When constructing a series of obstacles, each one must be of greater intensity and danger to the protagonist than the previous one. Whenever he overcomes an obstacle he is confronted by another one more perilous. If the audience becomes bored, this usually indicates a lack of tension, danger, and conflict in the story. To remedy this, create new obstacles for the protagonist that will further test his ingenuity and values. It is not necessary to keep the obstacles within a realistic human perspective.
Actually, in many of the most successful films, the opposite is the case. Impossible situations prevent the protagonist from obtaining his objective. As long as the film is emotionally absorbing, the audience "suspends their beliefs" as they become em
otionally engrossed in the story. In these films, the protagonist must discover ingenuous and unexpected ways to overcome the obstacles in order to achieve the objectives.
JEOPARDY
When constructing conflict in a situation, using just any obstacle is not sufficient to create excitement. It must be an obstacle that creates jeopardy for the character in the scene. A character is in jeopardy when he is placed in danger. There must be a high probability he will be physically or emotionally harmed by the obstacle or, that in some way, the obstacle will cause him pain or loss.
The opening sequence of Raiders of the Lost Ark demonstrates the relationship between obstacles, jeopardy and excitement. Below are the jeopardy situations in the opening sequence:
1. The protagonist, Indiana Jones, with his back to the camera, stares at a large mountain in front of him. This appears to be an obstacle that he must overcome.
Story Design Page 5