Audience Identification
Take a look at just about any film where you walk away saying, “I didn't get it” and I'll show you a film and most likely a screenplay where the writer failed to connect US to the characters in the script.
Great screenplays often translate into great films. There, I said it. Deal with it. In all great films, we must identify with... At the very least... The main characters.
How do we accomplish this?
By creating a character and story where we the audience feel as though what is happening to that character could just as easily happen to us... i.e., “Audience Identification.”
One of the best ways to do this is to develop your characters around people you know. If you don't know anyone, develop your character around people you've read about, seen on television or at the movies.
When writing a screenplay, if you simply take the time and effort to create characters that we all know and can identify, sympathize, and empathize with, you'll go far in getting your characters to GRAB the audience. You want the audience to GRAB onto your characters and NOT let go. You want them to care about your characters enough so they invest themselves into the rest of the ride i.e., your story, screenplay, and hopefully, completed film.
If you can in fact accomplish this, your audience will experience emotion so powerful that they cease being mere audience members and become willing participants of your movie.
Steps to creating powerful characters...
First and foremost, you must KNOW your characters. You must know them as well as you know those people within your inner circle of family, friends, and associates. Chance are that you know someone in your life well enough to be able to predict their answer(s) to common, everyday questions... Cool. That's a good start.
But what about the hard questions?
Do you know what your brother or sister would say or how they would react if for instance, you told them you were Gay? That you've been screwing around on your spouse? That you have an alcohol or gambling problem?
Would your parents answer the same as your brother and sister? As your other friends and associates?
Hell no.
So now you've got an idea what I'm talking about here. Everybody is different and so are their answers, their actions, their emotions, their reactions, their EVERYTHING.
But what if you don't want to write about your friend that works at the post office? He's boring!
Five words... Emotions.
LOVE (HAPPINESS)
HATE (ANGER)
FEAR
BETRAYAL
HUMILIATION
Chances are that unless you're a recluse, you've probably experienced at least one of the above EMOTIONS in the experience you call your life.
Remember the old saying... Write what you know?
Write about the EMOTIONS that we all experience at one time or another and will continue to experience throughout the rest of our lives.
Making the audience of your story, screenplay, and film identify with your characters is really as easy as making sure your characters CREATE, or are SUBJECTED TO, the above EMOTIONS.
Have you ever felt humiliation? Probably. Have the rest of us? Probably. Subject your main characters to humiliation and we will INSTANTLY RECOGNIZE the same humility they are experiencing. Somewhere in the back of our minds... Deep in our subconscious, we will remember feeling the same exact way or a feeling SO CLOSE to what we are seeing that we will want to see what happens next.
Where do these emotions come from?
Insecurity. There, I said it again. That's right... We've all got 'em. Yeah, even YOU back in the corner over there. No matter the race, color, creed, geography, background, environment, or national origin, we've all got one thing in common.
INSECURITY.
Give your characters some insecurity or insecurities and force them to become emotional about them. From these insecurities, spring EMOTION and EMOTION is how we protect ourselves. Think about it... I yell at you – you yell back at me. Emotion. I say I love you, and you say you love me. Emotion. I say I hate you and you humiliate me... Emotion. LOL.
People lash out in their own emotional response to stay safe... To not get hurt or to be hurt as little as possible. What do we call that?
SURVIVAL.
We can't help it. We all want to survive. We all must survive. It's embedded into our DNA – we can't help it.
Remember, when writing what you know, sure... Go ahead and write about your town, your friends, your job... Whatever. But when you're writing your characters and their decisions and reactions to conflict, be sure to dig down DEEP into your soul and pull out those insecurities you've been hiding down there. Figure out what they are and give them to your characters.
Hell, for that matter, borrow some insecurities from everyone you know... The more insecurities the better!
To summarize...
When any of your characters come up against the following threats:
fear
hunger
loss
wild animals
natural disasters
monsters
ghosts
embarrassment
*NOTE: Add your own story element here...
The audience will most likely identify with your characters if they react with emotion to this conflict. Their emotions are OUR EMOTIONS.
By the same token...
When any of your characters yearn for any of the following:
love
companionship
food
revenge
*NOTE: Add your own story element here...
And finally, when any of your characters demonstrate:
sickness
abuse
humiliation
shyness
being orphaned
courage
loyalty
humility
kindness
*NOTE: Add your own story element here...
Audience Identification is guaranteed...
filmy
Take a look at just about any film where you walk away saying, “I didn't get it” and I'll show you a film and most likely a screenplay where the writer failed to connect US to the characters in the script.
Great screenplays often translate into great films. There, I said it. Deal with it. In all great films, we must identify with... At the very least... The main characters.
How do we accomplish this?
By creating a character and story where we the audience feel as though what is happening to that character could just as easily happen to us... i.e., “Audience Identification.”
One of the best ways to do this is to develop your characters around people you know. If you don't know anyone, develop your character around people you've read about, seen on television or at the movies.
When writing a screenplay, if you simply take the time and effort to create characters that we all know and can identify, sympathize, and empathize with, you'll go far in getting your characters to GRAB the audience. You want the audience to GRAB onto your characters and NOT let go. You want them to care about your characters enough so they invest themselves into the rest of the ride i.e., your story, screenplay, and hopefully, completed film.
If you can in fact accomplish this, your audience will experience emotion so powerful that they cease being mere audience members and become willing participants of your movie.
Steps to creating powerful characters...
First and foremost, you must KNOW your characters. You must know them as well as you know those people within your inner circle of family, friends, and associates. Chance are that you know someone in your life well enough to be able to predict their answer(s) to common, everyday questions... Cool. That's a good start.
But what about the hard questions?
Do you know what your brother or sister would say or how they would react if for instance, you told them you were Gay? That you've been screwing around on your spouse? That you have an alcohol or gambling problem?
Would your parents answer the same as your brother and sister? As your other friends and associates?
Hell no.
So now you've got an idea what I'm talking about here. Everybody is different and so are their answers, their actions, their emotions, their reactions, their EVERYTHING.
But what if you don't want to write about your friend that works at the post office? He's boring!
Five words... Emotions.
LOVE (HAPPINESS)
HATE (ANGER)
FEAR
BETRAYAL
HUMILIATION
Chances are that unless you're a recluse, you've probably experienced at least one of the above EMOTIONS in the experience you call your life.
Remember the old saying... Write what you know?
Write about the EMOTIONS that we all experience at one time or another and will continue to experience throughout the rest of our lives.
Making the audience of your story, screenplay, and film identify with your characters is really as easy as making sure your characters CREATE, or are SUBJECTED TO, the above EMOTIONS.
Have you ever felt humiliation? Probably. Have the rest of us? Probably. Subject your main characters to humiliation and we will INSTANTLY RECOGNIZE the same humility they are experiencing. Somewhere in the back of our minds... Deep in our subconscious, we will remember feeling the same exact way or a feeling SO CLOSE to what we are seeing that we will want to see what happens next.
Where do these emotions come from?
Insecurity. There, I said it again. That's right... We've all got 'em. Yeah, even YOU back in the corner over there. No matter the race, color, creed, geography, background, environment, or national origin, we've all got one thing in common.
INSECURITY.
Give your characters some insecurity or insecurities and force them to become emotional about them. From these insecurities, spring EMOTION and EMOTION is how we protect ourselves. Think about it... I yell at you – you yell back at me. Emotion. I say I love you, and you say you love me. Emotion. I say I hate you and you humiliate me... Emotion. LOL.
People lash out in their own emotional response to stay safe... To not get hurt or to be hurt as little as possible. What do we call that?
SURVIVAL.
We can't help it. We all want to survive. We all must survive. It's embedded into our DNA – we can't help it.
Remember, when writing what you know, sure... Go ahead and write about your town, your friends, your job... Whatever. But when you're writing your characters and their decisions and reactions to conflict, be sure to dig down DEEP into your soul and pull out those insecurities you've been hiding down there. Figure out what they are and give them to your characters.
Hell, for that matter, borrow some insecurities from everyone you know... The more insecurities the better!
To summarize...
When any of your characters come up against the following threats:
fear
hunger
loss
wild animals
natural disasters
monsters
ghosts
embarrassment
*NOTE: Add your own story element here...
The audience will most likely identify with your characters if they react with emotion to this conflict. Their emotions are OUR EMOTIONS.
By the same token...
When any of your characters yearn for any of the following:
love
companionship
food
revenge
*NOTE: Add your own story element here...
And finally, when any of your characters demonstrate:
sickness
abuse
humiliation
shyness
being orphaned
courage
loyalty
humility
kindness
*NOTE: Add your own story element here...
Audience Identification is guaranteed...
filmy
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