Character

Character will be an essential part of my short film, as they will drive the significant, yet short narrative. What are their traits? What do they want? What actions will they take and why? Therefore, I must think carefully about character construction and consider my options.

 I had a look at some successful screenplays and which I found the most successful. The first, from Taxi Driver, was the most detailed and really built a clear image of the character in my mind. However the third, from Clerks, was the most concise and efficient in creating a sense of the character in the smallest amount of time.

Following this, I spent five minutes trying to write my own character introduction, in order to see what I could create. Here is what I came up with;

INT. NIGHT, APARTMENT.

ARTHUR, an elderly man, sits in a chair in the middle of a quiet bedroom, staring out of a dirty window into the night. He take long, deep breaths from an old pipe with a blank expression on his face. His pale, wrinkled skin suggests a not-so-healthy body and saggy, dark patches below his eyes reflect negative experience.

An old, dusty Bible sits on a bedside table, next to an aged picture of a beautiful young couple. He is alone.