Character Profiles | Research

Before starting to write all of the different character profiles, I decided to do some research on character profiles. This was also to aid me in the layout of them, and what should be included within them.

"The purpose of a character profile is twofold: to asset the writer in creating a character that is as lifelike as possible and to help with continuity issues in the story."

Character profiles are simply a tool for organising your thoughts about characters and keeping tracks of particular characteristics and relationships between different characters. They are also useful for keeping track of motivations the character may have - hurts and disappointments in the past that may not be included in the dialogue, but have had an effect on how the character thinks and feels.

This is an example, that I will be roughly following, of a character profile worksheet:

Before starting on the points, I will be adding a little character description to introduce the characters and their main traits.
Basic Statistics
Name: Instead of Name, this will be 'Nickname' as their name will be the heading of the page.
I will be adding two extra points - 'Character Type' & 'DOB' to give the character a clear identity in terms of writing the script.
Age:
Nationality:
Socioeconomic Level as a child: This will not be in our character profiles as it is not needed.
Socioeconomic Level as an adult: This will not be in our character profiles as it is not needed.
Hometown:
Current Residence:
Occupation:
Income: This will not be in our character profiles as it is not needed.
Talents/Skills:
Salary: This will not be in our character profiles as it is not needed.
Birth order: This will not be in our character profiles as it is not needed.
Siblings (describe relationship):
Spouse (describe relationship):
Children (describe relationship):
Grandparents (describe relationship): This will not be in our character profiles as it is not needed.
Grandchildren (describe relationship):
Significant Others (describe relationship): This will be changed to 'Friends' to create a sense of who the character's friends are.
Relationship skills: This will not be in our character profiles as it is not needed.

Physical Characteristics:
Height:
Weight:
Race: This will be changed to ethnicity to broaden the choices.
Eye Colour:
Hair Colour:
Glasses or contact lenses? This will not be in our character profiles as it is not needed.
Skin colour: This will not be in our character profiles as it is not needed.
Shape of Face: This will not be in our character profiles as it is not needed.
Distinguishing features:
How does he/she dress?
Mannerisms:
Habits (smoking, drinking etc):
Health:
Hobbies:
Favourite Sayings:
Speech patterns:
Disabilities:
Style (elegant, shabby etc):
Greatest flaw:
Best quality:

Intellectual/Mental/Personality Attributes and Attitudes
Educational Background:
Intelligence Level:
Any Mental Illnesses?
Learning Experiences:
Character's short-term goals in life:
Character's long-term goals in life:
How does Character see himself/herself?
How does Character believe he/she is perceived by others?
How self-confident is the character?
I will be adding 'Notable Personality Traits' to sum up the characters main traits in an effective way
Does the character seem ruled by emotion or logic or some combination thereof? This will not be in our character profiles as it is not needed.
What would most embarrass this character? This will not be in our character profiles as it is not needed.

Emotional Characteristics
Strengths/Weaknesses:
Introvert or Extrovert?
How does the character deal with anger?
With sadness?
With conflict?
With change?
With loss?
What does the character want out of life?
What would the character like to change in his/her life?
What motivates this character? This will not be in our character profiles as it is not needed.
What frightens this character?
What makes this character happy?
I will be adding 'Sense of Humour' due to the comedy genre of the show.
Is the character judgemental of others?
Is the character generous or stingy?
Is the character generally polite or rude?

Spiritual Characteristics
This will not be in our character profiles as it is not needed within our storyline.
Does the character believe in God?
What are the character's spiritual beliefs?
Is religion or spirituality a part of this character's life?
If so, what role does it play?

How the Character is Involved in the Story
Character's role in the novel (main character? hero? heroine? Romantic interest? etc):
Scene where character first appears:
Relationships with other characters:
1. Character's Name: -- (Describe relationship with this character and changes to relationship over the course of the novel).
2. Repeat 1.

Having this example of what is usually within a character profile is really useful, as I am able to get a lot of detail in for my characters, and this could possibly develop the story even further. My goal now is to create character profiles for all of the characters within the pilot episode, and then create more for the characters that will be seen within other episodes, after the pilot.

https://www.writerswrite.com/journal/jun98/how-to-create-a-character-profile-6986

Character Types | Research

Before I start working on the character profiles for the variety of characters in our series, I wanted to do some research on the different character types that might be found on screen.

There are usually 8 different characters within comedy, however this might differ depending on the writer and how the series works in terms of story.

The 8 characters:

1. The Logical Smart One - they are usually seen as responsible and stable.
2. The Lovable Loser - they are usually seen as sarcastic, optimistic, needy and impulsive.
3. The Neurotic - they are usually seen as awkward, nervous, controlling and usually worried.
4. The Dumb One - they are usually seen as friendly, naive, gullible with no ulterior motive.
5. The Bitch/Bastard - they are usually seen as mean, insensitive, insecure and doesn't usually apologise.
6. The Womaniser/Maniser (AKA "Slutty Spice") - they are usually seen as charming, seductive, horny and superficial.
7. The Materialistic One - they are usually seen as judgmental, entitled to everything and spoiled.
8. In Their Own Universe (AKA "Space Spice") - they are usually seen as odd, eccentric and uses their illogical logic.

There is obviously room for interpretation as every writer writes differently. If these characters are part of a long lasting series, the characters will probably take turns in each of these types of characters. This will broaden their personality and keeps the story entertaining, and the love the audiences have for the characters.

Here are a few examples of these type of characters within well-known TV series.

Friends:

1. The Logical Smart One - Monica (sometimes Chandler, Ross, Monica & Phoebe).
2. The Lovable Loser - Ross & Chandler (sometimes all of them)
3. The Neurotic - Monica, Chandler & Ross (sometimes all of them)
4. The Dumb One - Joey.
5. The Bitch/Bastard - None of them due to their relationships with one another.
6. The Womaniser/Maniser - Joey.
7. The Materialistic One - Rachel (as there show carried on through each series, this faded away)
8. In Their Own Universe - Phoebe.

Scrubs

1. The Logical Smart One - Carla & Turk.
2. The Lovable Loser - JD.
3. The Neurotic - Eliot.
4. The Dumb One - Todd.
5. The Bitch/Bastard - Perry, Kelso.
6. The Womaniser/Maniser - Todd.
7. The Materialistic One - Eliot.
8. In Their Own Universe - Janitor.

When thinking about the different characters within our series, I will keep these character types in mind in order to create their personalities and traits effectively. Having these character types will  help carry the comedy throughout the show, and keep it entertaining for the audience.

Audience | Development & Research

Before we decided on the target audience for the show, I had to do some research into the BBC channels audience range, and shows we are using for inspirations audience as well.

Outnumbered

This BBC sitcom follows the life of an average family that always seems to have some sort of chaos within their daily life - as explored in a previous post. The target audience of this show is primarily family, due to the whole basis of the show being based around a family of 5. The series was based originally based on the writers, producers and directors, Guy Jenkin & Andy Hamilton’s own experiences of having a young family. It’s clear from the plot of the show that the main audience that would be watching is a family or group of people.



Andy said that “it was scheduled after 10pm” even though there isn't any expletives or rude elements to the show, but “it means the show can be watched by anybody; parents who’ve been through the experience of struggling and failing to raise kids in a proper way, but kids seem to like it as well and they root for the children”. It's  clear from these quotes that the show would aim to a variety of ages as there is something for everybody to enjoy.


Our audience target range will take inspiration from this, as both shows have similar aspects. Our niche audience will be 40-60 year olds, due to the ages of the two main characters. With having Annie & Dean in their 60s, it means it will attract the older generation due to the relatability they may feel towards the characters. Our mass audience will be 18-60 year olds, or in other words, suited to families. This is due to the variety of characters within the series and the different aspects that go alongside the ages. There will be a lot of relatable aspects for the younger generation, the middle-aged adults and the older generation. For example; Annie wants to be young, and gets involved in subjects such as social media, which would attract the younger generation but also make the situation more relatable for them. By having characters of a variety of ages, it will attract the ages that can relate within society. The humour will also be suitable for all ages within the age range, which is important when attracting and entertaining the audience.

https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/outnumbered/about/

Script Draft One ~ Feedback | Tutorial #3

We recently got feedback from Simon for out first draft of the script.

Content

The first thing he said was that is was nicely observed, but nothing really happens in terms of story. He said that it's more like the start to a 30min episode, which it shouldn't be as we need a full story - beginning middle and end - within 15mins. In order to resolve this we need to think about a proper problem to be overcome by the characters. It needs to appear early within the first 5 pages of the script, and needs to be concluded within the last 2. This leaves us roughly around 7-8 pages for developing the story along with the challenges the characters will face.
He suggested the problem being something to do with the kids as there isn't really that sense of the story in there at the moment. The characters need to want or need something in order for the audience to go along with them on the journey to solve it. A possible scene that introduces the idea of becoming famous through the cookery show or Instagram, in order to get their children's interest, might be needed to start the problem aspect of the story.

Actions/Setting 

He said that there was a good sense of what is happening and where within the action of the script, however feels we are overwriting in descriptions, and we don't need to say every single bit of action. You need to allow the reader some room for filling in on the action, as they know the general steps for most actions seen in everyday life. He also suggested adding some character within the way we write the actions, in order to emphasise the personality of the characters.

By cutting down the descriptions it will create more of a flow within the story and it will free up more space for other additional scenes carrying the problem. It also means we'll be closer to a 1 minute page format, rather than a 30 seconds to a page, which is what it feels like at the moment.

Characters

He thought the characters are really strong. They are nicely observed and he got an immediate sense of who they are in their personality and traits. However, he did emphasise not to overwrite in the descriptions, so we don't need to list the items that they are wearing. This is to make the script flow better and work tighter.

Dialogue

He is happy with the dialogue and he thinks it all works, however the characters do use each others names a lot. This makes it a little less realistic and doesn't suit normal vocabulary, so this needs to be adjusted. He feels the dialogue could be funnier or springier, so we need to look through and change a few dialogue pieces.

Formatting

He said the format of the script started ok, but then the page numbers don't match up. This is due to the fact that both me and Laura wrote the script on two separate documents, and we didn't put the two documents together digitally. This is something we will do from now on before sending the script off for another draft.

This feedback was really good for us to hear as it meant our story could develop further and it will become more interesting. Our next steps are to go through the script, change the actions and some of the dialogue, and potentially change the story slightly. We're happy with the feedback we got, and are thinking of ways to add a problem into the story.

Test Shoot #1 | Development

Recently, we carried out our first test shoot in order to give all three of us, especially myself and Nisserin, an idea as to how the shoot will turn out to be like. We also wanted to test out some equipment so we could decide what equipment we wanted to use for our main shoots.

We booked out two different cameras, so Nisserin could test out both and decide which one she prefers. We also asked Nisserin if there was any particular scene she wanted to test out, in terms of complicatedness and if she had any concerns with it. She chose the Claire and Annie scene in the living room. This was so she could work with the space and work out what to do with the lighting equipment we booked out, along with the natural light coming from the window.
I spoke the lines of Annie, and Laura spoke the lines of Claire - me on the right and Laura on the left. Doing this scene was a good idea as it meant I could block out where the actors will be moving and sitting, and make sure Nisserin was happy in terms of camera positions and lighting.

Screenshot of Test Shoot (CU)                Screenshot of Test Shoot (CU)

Screenshot of Test Shoot (WS)

Once this scene was shot, we decided to run through the first scene just to work out the blocking of the scene - both with the actions and the cameras. As Nisserin thought about where she was going to position of all three cameras during our shoot, I thought about where the characters would be stood from both my thoughts and the scripts actions. Both me and Nisserin worked together to make sure the cameras could see where the actors would be standing, and the movements looked smooth.

Having this test shoot was a really good idea, as it gave all of us a good sense as to what each scene would look like. It also helped me when thinking about where the actors would be moving and what camera would be seeing what, and what shot size it would be on.
We will most definitely be doing more test shoots before the actual shoot, so we know how it's going to go and where everything needs to be. This will prepare us for any mishaps and complications we may have.

Learning Agreement | Development

After the pitch, we sat down and discussed as a group what our learning agreement will contain. This learning agreement contained our individual jobs for the book, so we can all be marked fairly by Simon.

Here is our learning agreement:

This was all agreed by myself, Nisserin, Laura and Simon, and was also signed by all four of us.

This can change as the weeks progress, if we want to add or change any document within our book.

Script Draft #1 | Development

Here is the first draft of our script: