Character Development

    The time has come for one of the most difficult parts of planning . . . I must create my characters. In past projects I have heavily struggled in the process of creating relatable and strong characters, so to help me with the process, I did a little research.

    I found this really cool video that takes screenwriters through the process of character development with tips and tricks throughout. One of the best tips I took away from this video is the fact that I have to relate the characters to people I know. This will allow the characters to become more relatable and less like fictional characters. In doing this, it can allow my audience to have a more immersive experience. Because of that I've based all of my main characters (so just the main character and the doctor) on traits I've observed in people I know. On top of that, to make a good character you must put yourself in their shoes to determine what they would do as that character. Even though this is a shorter production, I do plan on incorportating those elements even if they are minor.

    So now that we've done research lets get into the two main characters themselves. The first one up is the schizophrenic who believes that they're in a TV show, Chip Clark. The first thing I had to come up with was a name, so i settled on Chip Clark because I wanted to give him a first name that stands out while giving him a last name that's basic. This emphasizes the fact that he believes that he is a "main character" while he is just an average human being.

    The next aspect I looked into for him was his clothing and style. Since Chip views himself as a main character, I picture him wearing trying to come off as cool which is why I'm giving him cooler clothes and a cooler vibe. I still want him to have messier hair, however, because I want the point emphasized that he isn't all there. I utilized the video as shown before in the process of developing his character by basing it on people I know. My friend Drew is someone who always acts really cool and seems that way on the surface, but once you get to know him, you realize that his is extremely crazy. I feel like their personalities match perfectly and I'll continue using him as I add the final touches to the script.

    The other character I'm using is Dr. William Grey. I based his name on the fact that I wanted him to be very stereotypical so I used a very basic name. On top of that, the last name Grey adds to the blandness of the character which is exactly what I wanted. I picture him being kind but at the same time fed up with his job, which will be shown by his interactions with Chip.

    I wanted him to seem as generic yet fed up as I possibly could, and for some reason I felt like a bald haircut with glasses represent that perfectly. I want to portray Dr. Grey as a man who takes his job very seriously, hense the heavy use of suits in the mood board. To portray his character, I based him off of my old therapist and my father, my dad is someone who is normally uptight and take his job as a lawyer very seriously yet can get annoyed by it, and my old therapist helped me with attire, and dialogue.

    If you guys have any additional ideas for my characters, please tell me in the comments below.

-The Producer