Filmmaking / Directing : 30 Questions to Ask About EACH Character (pt1) by Peter D. Marshall

What is the character's name, age, gender, occupation, and background? These basic details establish the character’s identity and context within the story. A character’s background can include their family history, education, and significant life events, which shape their personality and worldview. Their background can influence their motivations and how they interact with other characters and the plot, adding layers of depth to their role in the story.

2. What is the Character’s Spine?

The character spine refers to the core motivation or driving force behind the main character's actions and decisions throughout the story. The character spine is what gives the character depth and complexity, as it reveals their inner desires and drives. What are their short-term and long-term goals? Their spine includes their overall goal or objective, the actions they take to achieve it, and the obstacles they encounter along the way. The spine also reflects the character's evolution and how they respond to various challenges and conflicts in the story.

3. What is their Super-Objective? (The main needs of the character)

The super-objective is the main need or desire that the character is striving to fulfill throughout the story. It is often related to their emotional or psychological growth and can be seen as the main goal that drives their actions and decisions. The super-objective provides a clear focus for the character's journey and helps to shape the overall story arc. Understanding the super-objective can clarify the character's motivations and highlight their personal stakes in the story’s outcome. Their super-objective often ties into the main themes of the story and the character's development.

4. What are the Character's Scene Objectives? (What do they want?)

What does the character want to achieve in every scene? The objective is the specific goal or desire that the main character is actively pursuing in a particular scene or moment. It is what the character wants in that specific context and often involves making active choices or taking decisive action to achieve it. The objective can change from scene to scene as the character faces new challenges and encounters new obstacles. These objectives drive the character’s immediate actions and reactions, influencing the scene's dynamics and progression. Each scene objective contributes to the character’s overall journey and development.

5. What are the Character's Primary Motivations (Desires and Goals?)

Why does the character want to achieve these objectives? What are their deeper desires, fears, and needs? What do they want most in life, and how do they plan to achieve it? Exploring the character’s motivations provides insight into their actions and decisions. Motivations are often rooted in a character’s past experiences, personal values, and emotional needs, adding depth and complexity to their behavior. This understanding can clarify why characters behave in certain ways and helps to predict their future actions.

6. What is the Character's Role in the Plot?

How do they contribute to the main plot and subplots? This helps clarify their importance and function within the story structure. Each character has specific functions and influences the plot in distinct ways. Protagonists drive the main story, antagonists create conflict, and supporting characters help develop the main characters. Identifying each character's role aids in understanding their impact on the story and how they interact with others.

7. What is the Character's Story Arc?

How does the character change throughout the story? What significant events influence this transformation? A well-defined character arc shows growth and development, making the character’s journey compelling. The arc can be positive (overcoming a flaw), negative (succumbing to a vice), or complex (a mix of growth and setbacks). Understanding the character’s arc helps in ensuring that their journey feels authentic and engaging.

8. What are the Character's Relationships?

How does the character interact with others? What are their key relationships and how do these dynamics evolve? Relationships reveal different facets of the character’s personality and can drive the plot forward. Analyzing relationships with family, friends, allies, and antagonists provides insights into the character’s social world and emotional life. The evolution of these relationships often reflects the character's growth and helps to advance the story's themes and conflicts. These relationships also provide context and depth, influencing the character’s story decisions.

9. How does the Character Contribute to the Theme?

How does the character’s journey reflect or enhance the main themes of the story? Characters often embody thematic elements, reinforcing the story’s central message. Analyzing this helps in understanding how the character’s actions and growth contribute to the broader story themes. By examining how a character interacts with the theme, one can see how their personal journey parallels or contrasts with the larger message of the story.

10. What are the Character's Conflicts?

What internal and external conflicts does the character face? How do these conflicts impact their journey? Conflict refers to the obstacles, challenges, or opposition that each character encounters throughout the story. These conflicts drive the story and force the character to grow and adapt, adding tension and interest to the story. They can include inner conflict (struggles within their own emotions), relational conflict (conflicts with other characters), societal conflict (conflicts with social or cultural forces). and situational conflict (conflicts arising from the setting of the story).

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