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Character Function

Every episode covering Character Function.

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DZ-33: Protagonist vs Hero - Dawn of Character Function

How does splitting 'character functions' enhance theme?
AI✦The episode’s central argument is that splitting protagonist, hero, and active character functions across multiple characters allows you to reinforce theme rather than concentrating all three in a single primary character.✦
⏱ 1h 58m
15 JUL 2016
Listen to see how splitting character functions across your cast sharpens what your story actually means.
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We are often told that our ‘protagonist’ needs to be a active. That they need to be compelling. That they need to change. And - old faithful - that they need to be likeable. But after looking at MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, STAR TREK (2009), THE FIGHTER, and SICARIO, Chas and Stu learn that your primary character does not need to do all these things. In fact, they learn that splitting these functions between your primary characters can reinforce theme and create potential for different types of narratives… →

DZ-98: Ensembles 3 - Character Function & Theme

What effect does adding a ton of characters have on your story?
AI✦Stu, Chas, and Mel break down how ensemble characters serve specific narrative functions beyond the main protagonist’s story, examining the skills they bring and the webs they exist within.✦
⏱ 2h 2m
31 MAR 2023
Listen if you're writing an ensemble storiy and want to understand how different characters serve different narrative and thematic functions!
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In Part 3 (the final part? Ha!) of our exploration into ensemble stories, Stu, Chas & Mel examine films whose genres do not conventionally require a ton of characters or that use those ensembles in unconventional ways. In particular, adding whole storylines that are separate from the main character’s story. To that end, we dive into three films that were horrifically snubbed by the Oscars: THE WOMAN KING, RIDERS OF JUSTICE and NOPE… →

Even More

DZ-20: Writing Strong Secondary Characters - Trinity, Bechdel and a Bamboo Killer

How can the Trinity Syndrome help you write better secondary characters?
AI✦The episode analyzes how female characters are written in Mission: Impossible, Edge of Tomorrow, and other films by examining whether they serve the plot or exist as window dressing, using the Trinity Syndrome’s question framework.✦
⏱ 1h 18m
2 APR 2015
Listen when you're writing secondary female characters and need them to have more depth.
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Chas & Stu are joined by Bamboo Killer (aka Emily Blake) - one of the co-hosts of the Chicks Who Script podcast. They take a critical look at secondary female characters in mainstream movies through the lens of the oft-cited Bechdel test and the new, less-cited, Trinity Syndrome. The Trinity Syndrome berates movies for creating a “Strong Female Character With Nothing To Do” (like Trinity in the Matrix sequels) and raises a list of questions for filmmakers to ask themselves about their (female) characters… →

DZ-18: Michael Bay - F*ing the Frame and P*ing the Page

Are there screenwriting lessons to be taken from analysing the work of Michael f-ing Bay?
AI✦Bitter Script Reader demonstrates how Michael Bay constructs villains with clear functional purpose within the narrative machinery, rather than treating antagonists as mere obstacles.✦
⏱ 1h 7m
22 JAN 2015
Listen to understand how one of the world's highest-grossing directors structures story, makes great villians, controls information flow, and makes visual decisions on the page
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Of course there are. How could there not be? After all, Michael Bay is the 3rd highest grossing director at the worldwide box office... of all time. Behind, y’know, Spielberg and stuff. How could a man of such credentials not know story? Or, so argues this week’s guest: the author of MICHAEL F-ING BAY: THE UNHERALDED GENIUS IN MICHAEL BAY’S FILMS... [drumroll]... the Bitter Script Reader… →

DZ-96: Ensembles 1 - What do we mean by an ensemble?

How can the same story feel different when you have more characters?
AI✦Chas, Stu, and Mel examine how multiple characters operate differently within an ensemble structure compared to traditional protagonist-driven stories.✦
⏱ 1h 16m
31 JAN 2023
Listen if you're working on a story with multiple protagonists and want to understand what makes an ensemble different from a single-protagonist narrative
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In the first part of our series on ensembles, Chas, Stu and Mel start by laying the groundwork for our future episodes. And we begin by asking the seemingly innocuous question: What do we mean by calling a story an ensemble?… →

DZ-49: Antagonists! 1 - vs Humans

What makes a strong human antagonist?
AI✦The episode investigates how antagonists operate functionally within a story--what role they play beyond mere opposition, including when they and protagonists can reverse positions.✦
⏱ 1h 20m
31 MAR 2018
Listen if you want to understand how to craft compelling antagonists who oppose your protagonist through direct human conflict
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Prompted by a listener (and patron of the podcast) question, Stu and Chas dive into antagonistic forces. And because Draft Zero does not do anything by halves, this is Part One of a Five Part Epic Exploration™ into antagonists; namely: vs humans, vs self, vs nature/supernatural, vs systems and “other”. aka the classic narrative conflicts… →