The #1 Secret to Writing Iconic Characters

foreign you'll notice that while there is usually a main protagonist and a main antagonist the conflict is more dense than that other characters are present in the story to challenge the protagonist in different ways creating a simple protagonist versus antagonist story is why many stories end up feeling formulaic as if the story is just painted by numbers but there's a better way to flesh out the conflict within your story four corner opposition today I'm going to show you how to implement four corner opposition using a film example and a television example and if you want to fix your feature link screenplay with me click the link below to discuss working one-on-one to rewrite your script now let's begin in John truby's the anatomy of story he introduces a concept called four corner opposition truby writes in average or simple Stories the hero comes into conflict with only one opponent this standard opposition has the virtue of clarity but it doesn't let you develop a deep or powerful sequence of conflicts and it doesn't allow the audience to see a hero acting within a larger society that last piece is the most interesting part truby goes on to say four corner opposition has the added benefit of representing a complete society and miniature with each character personifying one of the basic pillars of that Society four corner opposition allows the hero to act inside this society and Society is not black and white there are pros and cons to every single Viewpoint and four corner opposition allows us to view story in this way so truby is saying rather than having a protagonist and one opponent your story is built around a protagonist and three opponents that challenge your hero in different ways here's how to create four corner opposition take your two competing philosophical viewpoints Viewpoint one versus Viewpoint two under each Viewpoint create a positive and a negative essentially a pro and a con now let's fill in the easiest one first your protagonist will usually be the pro of viewpoint one and many times but not all of the time your antagonist will be the con of viewpoint 2. it will look something like this now most writers stop here but this is where it can become interesting to fill in the last two points ask these questions under Viewpoint one the con what are the drawbacks of your protagonist's belief what's another darker version of this belief that your protagonist hasn't realized under Viewpoint 2 what are the benefits of your antagonist's belief what are the good elements of this belief that your protagonist will have to deal with as they struggle to figure out what to do when you fully fill this out now these characters create a web of thematic conflict in your story use this to your advantage in building scenes sequences character relationships and setups and payoffs this is a unique way to web your story together through a clear understanding of what your characters believe now on to our examples a very clear example of this is in whiplash first we need to understand the key viewpoints and conflict Viewpoint one greatness is more valuable than a normal life no matter the sacrifice and first we have our protagonist Andrew Andrew is the pro of pushing for greatness over a normal life he believes in pushing hard no matter the cost he sees examples like Charlie Parker and wants to push himself like he did and he wants to find someone who can push him to become his best next we have Fletcher in this story our main antagonist agrees with our protagonist Andrew and Fletcher both believe that pushing hard for greatness is worth it no matter the cost and Fletcher is here to force Andrew to his absolute limit to see if he is truly committed to this viewpoint Fletcher will show Andrew just how difficult it can be to become great and Andrew is not prepared for what's coming on the other side we have Viewpoint 2. a normal life is beautiful and worth living greatness is not worth it if it means you must suffer greatly first we have Andrew's Father Jim has lived a normal life and he is content he hasn't done anything spectacular but he enjoys his life and wants to see his son happy and healthy happiness and health are more important than greatness to gem however Jim is the con of viewpoint 2 because he represents the exact life that Andrew fears inheriting Jim is neither remarkable nor respected and Andrew fears living in a way that makes him normal like his father Andrew wants to be remembered and feels that his father will not be and finally we have Andrew's girlfriend Nicole Nicole is a normal girl and she represents a major Pro in the normal life Andrew could accept Nicole is genuinely interested in Andrew and she shows Andrew how good a normal life could be now that we have established these views in Conflict this is where it gets interesting you can Center your four acts around the battles that take place between the key four positions in your story and you can see the changes in relationships through the ax let's go back to whiplash act one in the beginning Andrew is pursuing greatness yet also holds on to his normal life The Story begins with Andrew he is a student at a music College trying extremely hard to succeed and Fletcher is here he is the intense Professor Andrew wants to impress after Fletcher is introduced we meet Nicole Nicole is a cute normal girl who works at the theater and Andrew is interested in her then we meet Jim Andrew's very normal father and as another theater attendee bumps into Jim Jim is the one who apologizes Andrew takes his first major leap towards his goal in this act when Fletcher chooses him to be a part of his band and right after this we return to Nicole with his Newfound confidence Andrew asks Nicole out connecting himself more to a normal life as he also goes further towards his goal things look like they're going Andrew's way but Andrew is not quite prepared for how intense Fletcher really is this is only the beginning now are you a rusher or are you a dragger or are you going to be on my [ __ ] time you're gonna be on your time in act two Andrew continues to try and reconcile both sides of the Dilemma Andrew practices and practices after being humiliated by Fletcher then he goes on his date with Nicole and here we get a sense of who Nicole is Andrew really likes her but she doesn't have the same kind of drive that he has but like what do you want to study I don't know yet back with Fletcher [Music] hurry the [ __ ] up Andrew moves closer to his goal when the core drummer loses his sheet music Andrew steps up to play in the band in a competition and Andrew gets what he wants he becomes the band's drummer Tanner what are you doing it's core only today I don't have time for alternates after this we return to gym and by extension Jim and Andrew's family Jim gets made fun of by his family and no one understands what Andrew is doing with his drumming neither Andrew nor his father are respected by the rest of their family but now that Andrew is tasting success he decides to stand up for himself so that's your idea of success huh I think being the greatest musician of the 20th century is anybody's idea of success however Jim counters him dying broke and drunk and full of heroin at the age of 34 is not exactly my idea of success Andrew and Jim's views are becoming more and more distant now that Andrew is succeeding in act 3 Andrew is pushed to his absolute limits Fletcher takes away Andrew's core position and now he has to double down even harder to get what he wants and now it comes at the cost of his relationship with Nicole I want to be one of the greats I would stop you from doing that yeah Andrew is now cutting off his connection to a normal life so that he can succeed under Fletcher and Fletcher brutalizes him but he earns his core position back however at the competition things go wrong Andrew misplaces his sticks and Fletcher says he's going to give his spot Away by the time you're done at Schaefer you're going to make going to play but he pushes himself too far and pays the price Andrew is kicked from the band and expelled from Schaefer Fletcher destroys Andrew's dream and in act four after spending some time in a normal life Andrew is reinvigorated and achieves the greatness he is looking for Andrew now returns to Jim's world Jim pushes for Andrew to use the car accident to get Fletcher fired from Schaefer do you think that I would let him put my son through hell and then just walk away scot-free and Andrew decides to do it he gets a new apartment watches movies with Jim and gets a normal job but Andrew meets back up with Fletcher and Fletcher has a moment to explain himself there are no two words in the English language more harmful than good job after this speech Andrew is reinvigorated with his desire to become great and Fletcher gives him an opportunity to drama in a professional competition Andrew invites Nicole to come watch his performance but Nicole has moved on and when Andrew goes to the performance Fletcher reveals the truth you think I'm [ __ ] stupid what I know it was you he has set Andrew up with the wrong music and he is going to embarrass him in front of everyone who would be able to make his career Andrew gets up to leave and his father the representation of the normal life is waiting to embrace him but then Andrew chooses to walk back on stage he takes over and finally becomes great now I've looked at this film on this channel before but the reason I'm taking a look at it now is because it is a great film to look at in simplifying your story rather than having an overabundance of characters focus on a few characters and how their relationships change over the course of the film how do the characters move against each other and how does your protagonist's relationships change as they move towards what they want now let's take a look at a TV show and talk about how it's different let's go to the last Kingdom season three let's take a look at our two viewpoints Viewpoint one it is most important to keep your freedom and follow after your own interests our protagonist is utrid utrid is our main character he was born a Saxon but was taken away by the Danes at a young age now he constantly feels in the middle of Two Worlds the Danish Customs ethics and religion that he grew up with and his sacks and blood utrud goes after what he wants first and foremost he does not fully align with the Saxon way of life yet he lives among them and fights for them against the Danes the Khan of this Viewpoint is ethelwald ethelwald is the son of the previous king of Wessex his uncle Alfred has been made King instead of him and he has hated this fact ever since it gives him a disdain for Alfred and for the way Wessex is currently being run on the other side we have Viewpoint 2. fulfilling your duty and being loyal to your community is the most important thing the pro of this view is King Alfred King Alfred places Wessex and his duty to it above all else even as he begins to die all of his time is focused on making sure Wessex survives utrid is Alfred's sword Alfred has made sure that utrud remains loyal to him because utrid is an extremely valuable leader and Warrior on the con we have Ragnar Ragnar is utrid's Danish brother when Nutri was captured and made part of a Danish family Ragnar became his closest friend but Ragnar is completely inside his community and culture and the most important thing to him is utrud coming and joining him as a Dane just like in Whiplash the show centers the core conflict between this web of characters now there will be some spoilers here but I am not going to go through the entire season I recommend you give it a watch in season 3 episode 1 utrid is a lord of Wessex Alfred's Kingdom the Danes including utrid's brother Ragnar are North waiting for Alfred to die so they can attack Wessex and take it for themselves and ethelwald is living under Alfred's rule utread fights a great battle for Alfred showing just how valuable utrid is for Alfred and for Wessex this episode sets up the current relationship between our characters and we are in a state of relatively low conflict as The Season's inciting incident has not happened yet but in episode 2 all of this changes when utrid kills a priest who is speaking terribly about utrad's deceased wife Alfred now demands utrid swear an oath to Alfred's son but utread is tired of being bound by duty to Alfred's Kingdom I cannot swear notha will not keep you know this enough to protect Edward is an oath for the remainder of my life there is no negotiation to be had it's none utrid feeling he has no other choice but Trey's Alfred and escapes Wessex this creates a massive shift in the world utread was one of the biggest reasons Alfred's Kingdom remains strong now with him gone who knows what's next now that he's no longer Alfred's sword utrad goes to his brother Ragnar in the North he ordained for life now say it I am a Dane for life from this day onwards it's everything to me when utrud runs to his brother ethelwald takes this as an opportunity to build an alliance against Alfred believing he might be able to take his throne back ethelwald betrays his people for his own personal gain and goes to the Danes to make an alliance with them this action by utrid affects every single character in the show and now each of them act according to their own desires Alfred must save his country without utread Ragnar will now attack Alfred and attack hard and with the help of ethelwald in episode 3 with utread gone from Wessex the Danes including Ragnar want to take Wessex utread now feels trapped in the middle between his desire not to live under Alfred's rule but at the same time not wanting to see Wessex fall to the Danes two Danish Warriors Bloodhound Heston show up to join Ragnar they are ready for a war with Wessex and as they enter utrad notices that Ethel fled is with them utra despises Ethel fled but Ethel fled believes they are the same you do not belong here my crown was stolen and thanks to you I now have the opportunity to take it back make no mistake we are the same you and I we are not the same and never shall be both men are serving their own purposes but utrid believes he is still honorable while Ethel fled is not utra does not want to attack Alfred but Ragnar tells him that his actions have caused everything to change you have made this possible by abandoning Alfred by leaving Wessex you have made this possible and sure enough the Danes decide to attack Wessex but utrid cannot be a part of the destruction of Wessex even though he is no longer Alfred's man he loves Wessex and the people there so utrid abandons his brother do you stand with us with each of us or not I will be leaving now utread is in full conflict with every single pivotal character how does this resolve watch the show yourself and keep a close eye on how this major Dynamic shapes the show but this is only the tip of the iceberg in a TV show and also in some more dense films like The Godfather each main character is surrounded by their own smaller character webs think of it like this just like a story Circle can be used for an entire screenplay acts and scenes you can have smaller character webs inside of larger webs and many TV shows do this best let's return to the last Kingdom to explain utrid wants to be free and follow his own path and each of his men have their own views on how that path should be followed finnen is an Irishman and utrid's right-hand man he is a warrior like utrid and when utrid is banished he still doesn't believe they should betray Wessex citric is a Dane he represents the part of utrid that still holds on to his Danish upbringing osfith is the representation of Christianity in utrid's life he doesn't believe in fighting and he values his connection to the Christian God he is also loyal to Wessex and when utrid flees Wessex he is completely against allying with the Danes to attack Wessex Alfred also has his own web he wants to keep Wessex alive and is entirely devoted to his people and his country Edward is Alfred's son and Heir Alfred's entire Legacy rests on his ability to place Edward on the throne of Wessex but Edward doesn't understand his father's dedication to being King Queen Elizabeth believes in Alfred's Mission and she wants to do it without utrid she sees utrid as a pagan infection in Alfred's Kingdom and she doesn't want utra near Edward father bayoka is the direct tie between utrid and King Alfred he follows Alfred wholeheartedly but he believes utrid is necessary for wessex's survival and he knows utrid is Honorable Ragnar wants to lead the Danes to glory and take Wessex as is the Viking Way Rita is Ragnar's woman in a close childhood friend of utrez she supports Ragnar fully and wants to see utrid and Ragnar come together knut is Ragnar's cousin and he has ambition he wants Ragnar's place at the front of the army and he wants Brita he drips poison in the years of ethelwald and Brita to create Division and take Ragnar down Bloodhound Heston both are allies and potential enemies to Ragnar Ragnar is surrounded by men who are half loyal and half looking for their own chance to lead ethelwald wants to become king of Wessex by any means necessary even if it means allying with the Danes and betraying his community ethelworld makes an alliance with Heston and bloodhair as he tries to take Alfred's throne but they see him as nothing more than a joke and a traitor his most important Ally becomes canoed both ethelwald and knut believe Ragnar is not fit to lead and both of them are willing to do what it takes to undermine Ragnar the denser your character web the denser your plot and the easier it is to see the conflicts between your characters you can essentially build an entire Society by simply giving each main character a small group of characters that challenge them in specific ways now let's review remember that great storytelling isn't just conflict between characters it's a conflict between characters and their values you want to build four distinct characters one protagonist and three opponents who represent the key philosophical dilemma of the story in different ways you build your two viewpoints Viewpoint one and Viewpoint two you then have a pro and a con for each viewpoint for Viewpoint 1 the con ask yourself what are the drawbacks of your protagonist's belief what is another darker version of this belief that your protagonist hasn't realized what is another darker version of this belief that could be used to challenge your protagonist and on the other side what are the benefits of your antagonist belief what are the good elements of this belief that your protagonist will have to deal with as they decide what they believe and if you're interested in fixing your screenplay with me click the link below this video to discuss working together one-on-one thanks for watching [Music] foreign

Channel: Tyler Mowery

Views: 109,701

Keywords: film analysis, movie review, tyler mowery, nerdwriter, lessons from the screenplay, every frame a painting, screenwriting, script breakdown, writing, workshop, writing course, teach screenwriting, oscar best screenplay, film school

Id: YyHKZ5GdThM

Length: 23min 21sec (1401 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 15 2022