The Bestseller Society presented a live webinar with successful screenwriter Brian Bird in which he shared his tips on creating characters that will resonate with an audience.

1. how to make your
audience fall in love
With Brian Bird

2. how to make your
audience fall in love
{ P.S. It’s all about… ACT ONE

3. 1.
{introduction}

4. what are your
favorite movies?

10. why are they your
favorite movies?

11. is it the explosions?

12. is it babes in bikinis?

13. is it the cool plot twists?

14. is it the cool plot twists?

16. the right answer:

17. the right answer:
real, living, breathing
3-dimensional characters
who we care deeply
about…
who we…
fall in love with

18. what movie characters have
you fallen in love with?

19. Melvin Udall
AS GOOD AS IT GETS

20. Melvin Udall
AS GOOD AS IT GETS
• Obsessive-
Compulsive
Disorder
• Anti-semite
• Homo-phobe
• Anger-management
issues
• World’s best
romance novelist

21. Rodrigo Mendoza
THE MISSION

22. Rodrigo Mendoza
THE MISSION
• Slave-trader
• Adulterer
• Kills brother in fit of
passion
• Could not forgive
himself
• Forgiven by tribe he
enslaved
• Becomes a priest

23. Marge Gunderson
FARGO

24. Marge Gunderson
FARGO
• Nicest police officer ever
on film
• 7 months pregnant and
on the job in -40 weather
• Doesn’t let pregnancy or
cold stop her from
solving grisly murders
• Solves crime, shoots
murderer in leg even
though he deserves to
die… because it’s the
right thing to do

25. 2.
{why ACT ONE is everything}

26. Basic screenplay structure:
Act One – WHO is story about?

27. Basic screenplay structure:
Act One – WHO is story about?
Act Two – WHAT problem does
WHO have to solve?

28. Basic screenplay structure:
Act One – WHO is story about?
Act Two – WHAT problem does
WHO have to solve?
Act Three – How will WHO solve
his WHAT?

29. Act One = WHO

30. Act One = WHO
No WHO = no movie (story)

31. Act One = WHO
No WHO = no movie (story)
WHO = everything

32. 3.
{the BONE STRUCTURE
Act
of good characters}

33. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
1. PHYSIOLOGY

34. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
1. PHYSIOLOGY

35. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
1. PHYSIOLOGY

36. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
1. PHYSIOLOGY

37. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
1. PHYSIOLOGY

38. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
1. PHYSIOLOGY

39. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
1. PHISIOLOGY
• SEX, GENDER
Act
• AGE
• HEIGHT, WIDTH
• HAIR, EYE, SKIN COLOR
• APPEARANCE: OVERWEIGHT, SKINNY,. HANDSOME, UGLY?
• DEFECTS, DEFORMITIES, BIRTHMARKS, DISEASES?
• HEREDITY

40. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
2. SOCIOLOGY

41. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
2. SOCIOLOGY

42. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
2. SOCIOLOGY

43. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
2. SOCIOLOGY

44. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
2. SOCIOLOGY

45. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
2. SOCIOLOGY

46. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
2. SOCIOLOGY

47. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
2. SOCIOLOGY

48. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
2. SOCIOLOGY
Act
• CLASS… UPPER, MIDDLE, LOWER?
• RACE, ETHNICITY, NATIONALITY?
• OCCUPATION, TYPE OF WORK?
• EDUCATION? HOW MUCH? HOW LITTLE?
• HOME LIFE, MARITAL STATUS? FAMILY STATUS?
• VICES, AMUSEMENTS, HOBBIES?

49. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
3. PSYCHOLOGY

50. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
3. PSYCHOLOGY

51. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
3. PSYCHOLOGY

52. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
3. PSYCHOLOGY

53. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
3. PSYCHOLOGY

54. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
3. PSYCHOLOGY

55. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
3. PSYCHOLOGY

56. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
3. PSYCHOLOGY

57. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
3. PSYCHOLOGY

58. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
3. PSYCHOLOGY

59. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
3. PSYCHOLOGY

60. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
Act
3. PSYCHOLOGY

61. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
3. PSYCHOLOGY
• SEX Act MORAL STANDARDS?
LIFE,
• PERSONAL PREMISE, PASSIONS, AMIBTIONS?
• FRUSTRATIONS, DISAPPOINTMENTS?
• TEMPERAMENT: PESSIMISTIC? OPTIMISTIC?
• OBSSESSIONS? INHIBITIONS? SUPERSTITIONS?
• EXTROVERT? INTROVERT?
• ABILITIES, IQ, TALENTS, SKILLS, IMAGINATION?

62. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
1. PHYSIOLOGY
Act
2. SOCIOLOGY
3. PSYCHOLOGY

63. the BONE STRUCTURE
of good characters
1. PHYSIOLOGY
Act
2. SOCIOLOGY
3. PSYCHOLOGY
4. SPIRITUALITY

64. 4.
{characters we love…

65. 4.
{characters we love…
always GROW}

66. The Hero With a Thousand Faces
By Joseph Campbell

70. The Writer’s Journey
By Christopher Vogler

72. characters we love…
always GROW

73. characters we love…
always GROW
The only predictable thing about human beings
is that they are always trying to change.
Well-drawn characters must go on personal
quests or journeys.

74. characters we love…
always go on journeys
• It is a journey of growth:
• From despair to hope
• From uncertainty to conviction
• From animosity to love
• From hope to despair

75. characters we love…
always go on journeys
• It does not have to be a journey from
one pole to another:

76. characters we love…
always go on journeys
• It does not have to be a journey from
one pole to another:
• From poverty to crime
• From longing for a dream…
to an awakening to a new reality

77. characters we love…
always go on journeys
• Only one possible scenario in which
character doesn’t go on a journey:

79. characters we love…
always go on journeys
• Only one possible scenario in which
character doesn’t go on a journey:
REALLY BAD WRITING!!!!!

80. TEACHING POINT!

81. characters we love…
always GROW
• Without character growth, there is no…

82. characters we love…
always GROW
• Without character growth, there is no…
CONFLICT

83. CONFLICT is the fuel of growth…
… growth is the reaction to CONFLICT

84. TEACHING POINT NO. 2!

85. characters we love…
always GROW
• Character growth must be ORGANIC…

86. characters we love…
always GROW
• Character growth must be ORGANIC…
• No change just for change sake
• Character’s growth journey must be
organic to his bone structure

87. what movie character
growth journeys have you
fallen in love with?

88. Guido Orefice
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

89. Michael Clayton
MICHAEL CLAYTON

90. Alvin Straight
THE STRAIGHT STORY

91. Micah Mangena
BOPHA!

92. 5.
{characters we love…

93. 5.
{characters we love…
are always CONTRADICTORY}

94. internal
contradictions are
dialectical

95. internal
contradictions are
dialectical
original
proposition =

96. internal
contradictions are
dialectical
original
proposition = thesis

97. original
proposition = thesis
contradiction =

98. original
proposition = thesis
contradiction =
antithesis

99. original
proposition = thesis
contradiction =
antithesis
resolution =

100. original
proposition = thesis
contradiction =
antithesis
resolution =
synthesis

101. synthesis =

102. synthesis =
TRUTH

103. we love contradictory
characters…

104. we love contradictory
characters…
• A bundle of paradoxes
• Full of flaws
• Labyrinths of inconsistency
• Plan one thing and do another
• Remind us of ourselves

110. CONTRAST

111. what contradictory movie
characters have you fallen
in love with?

112. Bruce Wayne
THE DARK KNIGHT

113. Oskar Schindler
SCHINDLER’S LIST

114. Fantine
LES MISERABLES

115. Walter White
BREAKING BAD

116. 6.
{characters we love…

117. 6.
{characters we love…
are NEVER WIMPS}

118. strength of will

119. strength of will
• Fight for their convictions
• Be able to bear humiliation
• Not run from the journey
• Carry burden of prolonged
conflict

120. we love characters who are
never wimps…

121. we love characters who are
never wimps…
• Stubborn and full of spit and vinegar
• Will fight to the last drop of blood
• Hate bullies and injustice
• Refuse to take “no” for an answer
• We want to be like them (wish-fulfillment)

122. what strong
(non-wimpy)
movie
characters have
you fallen in
love with?

123. William Wallace
BRAVEHEART

124. Ray Kinsella
FIELD OF DREAMS

125. Chuck Tatum
ACE IN THE HOLE

126. 7.
{which comes first…

127. 7.
{which comes first…
plot or character?}

128. the answer to this age-old
question is…

129. the answer to this age-old
question is…
YES!!!

130. Simple screenplay math:
plot
+ dialogue
+ genre
+ conflict

131. Simple screenplay math:
plot
+ dialogue
+ genre
+ conflict
= CHARACTER 2

132. a cord of three strands is not
easily broken
Ecclesiastes 4:12

133. Scene test:
Character
+ want/desire
+ plot point
=

134. Scene test:
Character
+ want/desire
+ plot point
= 2

135. @brbird
www.brianbird.net

136. www.brianbird.net

137. www.bestsellersociety.com