How Pro Screenwriters Create Characters

2024 ж. 15 Мам.
133 192 Рет қаралды

Join our Discord server and tell me what your favorite film is: / discord
Twitter: / ntjrdn
Instagram: / ntjrdn
Filmmakers featured in order of appearance:
00:00 Behind the Curtain
00:05 Billy Chew (The Death of Dick Long)**
02:18 Krysty Wilson-Cairns (1917)
03:32 Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada)
04:37 Billy Chew (The Death of Dick Long)**
05:22 Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network, The West Wing)
05:35 Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad)
06:40 Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
06:50 Jonathan Hirschbein (A Prayer Before Dawn)**
07:46 Greta Gerwig (Little Women, Lady Bird)
08:16 Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network, The West Wing)
08:53 Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
09:19 Jim Uhls (Fight Club)**
11:07 Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood)
11:53 Jonathan Hirschbein (A Prayer Before Dawn)**
Non-Behind the Curtain sources: pastebin.com/HjViX1VB
ABOUT BEHIND THE CURTAIN
This channel is a way for me to share the best nuggets of knowledge for filmmakers I find. It's an attempt to take a look inside the greatest films and TV shows and learn from the creators themselves how they do what they do.
#screenwriting #characters #filmmaking

Пікірлер
  • That piece of advice from PTA about trying to write a scene for your character and seeing if they let you do it is just brilliant.

    @nlg070301@nlg0703013 жыл бұрын
  • What I love so much about the advice on this channel is that it isn't solely useful for just movies, ive learned so much that's helped me with my graphic novel, it's universal advice that can help in any story telling medium

    @sociallyineptspider-man2366@sociallyineptspider-man23663 жыл бұрын
    • Thanks, man! That means a lot. Good luck to you on your graphic novel.

      @BehindtheCurtain@BehindtheCurtain3 жыл бұрын
    • ..or just about any form of expression! I think it's widely applicable

      @dejavu2752@dejavu27523 жыл бұрын
    • Behind the Curtain It would be cool if you could expand to say books too. The Chuck Pahlaniuk stuff for “Fight Club” was really good. Maybe you could do George RR Martin, Stephen King, etc?

      @Nobody-fb7ni@Nobody-fb7ni3 жыл бұрын
    • It's helped me understand character as an actor as well. I love this channel haha

      @bdawk511@bdawk5113 жыл бұрын
    • Same! I'm doing a small-scale video game and these are so instrumental!

      @cheesecakelasagna@cheesecakelasagna3 жыл бұрын
  • "Doing interviews with the characters." Never thought about this but it makes so much sense!

    @sookielloyd78@sookielloyd783 жыл бұрын
    • this blew my mind.

      @TommyMcCubbin@TommyMcCubbin Жыл бұрын
  • This channel is hella slept on. Amazing that you can pull these quotes from these successful writers

    @Dina8485@Dina84853 жыл бұрын
  • Love hearing my screenwriting heroes talk about their crafts. Thanks for these, has already helped my writing immensely.

    @ShEDDiNgmYSkiN@ShEDDiNgmYSkiN3 жыл бұрын
    • Good to hear! That's what I'm trying to achieve with the Behind the Curtain channel and membership!

      @BehindtheCurtain@BehindtheCurtain3 жыл бұрын
  • This is the first channel where I feel I'm getting into the heads of screenwriters. Hearing about their process is so informative and helpful. Subscribed.

    @AllThingsFilm1@AllThingsFilm17 ай бұрын
  • Another great video, congratulations. The fact that you've interviewed great writers is an inspiration in itself. This channel and LFTS I find are the best deconstructions of storytelling. Personally, I use the old adage of "make the plot simple, but the characters complex" it's served me greatly. I love the tidbit about hypocrisy and a very real dirty truth to it. Look forward to your future video and projects.

    @ButtrNut32@ButtrNut323 жыл бұрын
    • Thanks for the kind words. Taylor Sheridan is a writer who believes the same thing. All of his plots are some, so he can focus on character and theme.

      @BehindtheCurtain@BehindtheCurtain3 жыл бұрын
  • So it basically boils down to: have empathy!

    @jonesjeremiah@jonesjeremiah3 жыл бұрын
    • A true test for writers, and humanity alike

      @ClankyOtter@ClankyOtter3 жыл бұрын
  • Great channel. Found this last week and have been binge watching all the content. Keep em coming! THANKS!

    @Boise78@Boise783 жыл бұрын
    • Great to hear! Glad you're getting value from it.

      @BehindtheCurtain@BehindtheCurtain3 жыл бұрын
  • I am so obsessed with your channel. Thank you for putting so much work into these videos, you’re an absolute gem!

    @brendanlorenzo7298@brendanlorenzo72983 жыл бұрын
  • I really needed to hear that tip about hypocrisy! Thank you so much.

    @cheesecakelasagna@cheesecakelasagna3 жыл бұрын
  • Some of these things I've thought of, but most of the advice here is new to me. It's so amazing to hear these perspectives and learn from them.

    @lorettabes4553@lorettabes45533 жыл бұрын
    • Good! Listening to the people that are doing what you dream to do is the most valuable resource.

      @BehindtheCurtain@BehindtheCurtain3 жыл бұрын
  • Weird hearing that particular advice come from Jim Uhls, considering he didn’t even write Fight Club. The novel was written by Chuck Palanuik. Phenomenal screenwriting and advice, none the less.

    @portlandgoose4727@portlandgoose4727 Жыл бұрын
  • Really enjoy what you do and I benefit from it greatly. I’ve started watching a video before I begin a writing session to jump start me a bit. Thank you!

    @Tmb1995@Tmb19953 жыл бұрын
    • That's really cool to hear! Glad it can get your creative brain churning. Thanks for watching.

      @BehindtheCurtain@BehindtheCurtain3 жыл бұрын
  • This is the best I've heard on the subject for long time - thank you !

    @sketchyppl@sketchyppl3 жыл бұрын
    • Thanks for watching

      @BehindtheCurtain@BehindtheCurtain3 жыл бұрын
  • Thank you so much for including female writers too!! You don't know how much we truly appreciate it, we have such a hard time getting representation in the film industry, so thank you for using your platform to elevate our voices as well.

    @beccag1107@beccag11073 жыл бұрын
    • I know right!

      @cheesecakelasagna@cheesecakelasagna3 жыл бұрын
    • sexism ends when you stop caring what genitals people have becca

      @fatshernandez4593@fatshernandez45933 жыл бұрын
  • Your videos are incredible! Subscribed

    @squishedcockroach8579@squishedcockroach85792 жыл бұрын
  • 11:07- every bad fanfiction ever!

    @CourtneyCoulson@CourtneyCoulson3 жыл бұрын
  • Great video, as always. Thank you

    @Kishan_Baijnath@Kishan_Baijnath3 жыл бұрын
    • Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for watching.

      @BehindtheCurtain@BehindtheCurtain3 жыл бұрын
  • Amazing !!! Very inspirational !

    @waltermanson999@waltermanson9993 жыл бұрын
  • Just what I needed to hear, thank you

    @simonh7025@simonh70253 жыл бұрын
    • Perfect. Thanks for watching!

      @BehindtheCurtain@BehindtheCurtain3 жыл бұрын
  • This is really helpful, thank you.

    @morphetic_films@morphetic_films3 жыл бұрын
    • Thanks for watching

      @BehindtheCurtain@BehindtheCurtain3 жыл бұрын
  • Smashing video! Thank you for inspiring writers around the world. Greetings from 🇧🇬 Bulgaria.

    @playgemji@playgemji5 ай бұрын
  • The character interview part and the last part were FUCKING AWESOME

    @GustavoSilva-ny8jc@GustavoSilva-ny8jc9 ай бұрын
  • Always coming up with great videos

    @cine.te.philia3632@cine.te.philia36323 жыл бұрын
    • Thanks for watching!

      @BehindtheCurtain@BehindtheCurtain3 жыл бұрын
  • Wow. Absolutely amazing!!!

    @ridleysingh3966@ridleysingh39662 жыл бұрын
  • Amazing video!

    @emfivethirty@emfivethirty3 жыл бұрын
  • Your channel is one of the best on YT. Congrats.

    @lucassilvamiranda4694@lucassilvamiranda4694 Жыл бұрын
    • Thank you! I really appreciate that.

      @BehindtheCurtain@BehindtheCurtain Жыл бұрын
  • I really love this channel :’)

    @kevinhillary4057@kevinhillary40573 жыл бұрын
    • Kevin! That's good to hear! Come say hi in the discord and we'll chat about films and writing.

      @BehindtheCurtain@BehindtheCurtain3 жыл бұрын
  • I think it'd be cool to see a How They Wrote Avatar The Last Airbender. The show NOT the movie.

    @TheCrankyDank@TheCrankyDank3 жыл бұрын
    • “There is no Avatar movie in Ba Sing Se.”

      @edifiedreader@edifiedreader3 жыл бұрын
    • I know u wanna know about the show, but i can tell you about the movie. ok use ur imagination: they didn't even try

      @serugolino7867@serugolino78673 жыл бұрын
    • guys there is no film about avatar THAT THING NEVER HAPPAND 😐😐😐

      @mybismark2945@mybismark29453 жыл бұрын
    • The movie writing is so bad and a blatant disservice to the original.

      @cheesecakelasagna@cheesecakelasagna3 жыл бұрын
    • @@edifiedreader You don’t need to brainwash me to believe that, I’ll do so of my own free will.

      @jamesbaxter5147@jamesbaxter51472 жыл бұрын
  • This video is a gem!

    @kennardsmithwatson4192@kennardsmithwatson41922 жыл бұрын
  • Cheers, very informative

    @j.walker6845@j.walker68453 жыл бұрын
  • The greatest characters from any television show, are the Fishcers from Six Feet Under; literally my favorite show, because if one there’s one character you don’t like, than maybe there’s one that you do. And even the characters we don’t like are understandable and can be relatable; not only this, but Six Feet Under’s characters just feel real, genuine, and act like us. The viewer.

    @bryceb1889@bryceb18893 жыл бұрын
  • makes sense that jim uhls wrote fight club, the way he talks about "interviewing his characters" :D

    @pennyjane9906@pennyjane99065 ай бұрын
  • When the characters start to talk to you then you know you are headed in the right direction.

    @georgeg6036@georgeg603610 ай бұрын
  • This was beautiful. Especially when he described the 3 dimensionality of a character.

    @sid_c2136@sid_c21363 жыл бұрын
    • Glad you enjoyed. Thanks for watching!

      @BehindtheCurtain@BehindtheCurtain3 жыл бұрын
  • Can't thank you enough for all these videos.

    @rohansuri9613@rohansuri96133 жыл бұрын
    • :)

      @BehindtheCurtain@BehindtheCurtain3 жыл бұрын
  • essentially get into bed with your characters, have a good romp then look through their underwear drawer. Or give them the buffolo bill treatment ... wear them like a skin and become them when creating them so they have a life of their own. Thinking of characters like this, I like to think we writers have a super power. We can peer into alternate dimensions and what we think is our imagination is actually another universe and we are watching the people we call characters. Each new iteration of a story is our minds jumping to another dimension and seeing another alternative universe for that character. we are super heroes :)

    @dragonstooth4223@dragonstooth422311 ай бұрын
  • Krysty Wilson Cairns' advice is really good. I kinda do the same. I use to create a playlist in Spotify to get in the mood of the character like what would he listen to...

    @TethnekaIsBack@TethnekaIsBack8 ай бұрын
  • The three most commercially successful here are Gerwig, Tarantino and Gilligan. Interesting the range of techniques. One thing in common is that they write the shit out of their screenplays, the one exception being Resevoir dogs, which was written in two weeks. I’ve written 30* scripts and gotten two features made. I’m def a structure guy.

    @MsBob314@MsBob3143 күн бұрын
  • My character is 80% myself So I think my character will be good

    @dannyisthenewdaddy@dannyisthenewdaddy3 жыл бұрын
  • Who are the best film characters of all time? Tell me your thoughts on the official Discord server: discord.gg/xxTqXXd

    @BehindtheCurtain@BehindtheCurtain3 жыл бұрын
    • Walter White

      @djsugarpop_@djsugarpop_3 жыл бұрын
    • Love this video❤ keep up the Good work ❤📷🎥🎬😍🌎😎

      @malinhessedahl@malinhessedahl3 жыл бұрын
    • President Laura Roslin from Battlestar Galactica. She's righteous; she's a cheat. She's got a soft and empathetic side; she gains info in 15 seconds from a Cylon that Starbuck couldn't break and then ices his ass. She's hopeful; she despairs. She's selfless; she abandons her duties and falls into herself and her illness. Throughout the series, she grows and changes. You always understand her, her motivations, and her actions, but you don't always like her.

      @waywardmind@waywardmind3 жыл бұрын
    • Little women of Greta grewig 2019 , lady Bird 2017 , beautifull boy, Call me my your name , the greatese showman 2016 , Titanic 1997 , Colette , and many more diffrent movies❤❤❤❤

      @malinhessedahl@malinhessedahl3 жыл бұрын
    • @@djsugarpop_ One of the greatest for sure!

      @BehindtheCurtain@BehindtheCurtain3 жыл бұрын
  • What bugs me is I have never had the example of the character literally talking to me. Has anyone had this at all. I always feel like I'm leading them.

    @ShaneJoshua1980@ShaneJoshua19802 жыл бұрын
    • Same here. I think what's good about screenwriting is that, if the script is good enough, your characters will talk to you. You're laying the foundation of a "real person" so that an actor can simply step inside that and "live." If everything on paper seems enough like a character then all you need is for them to become three-dimensional.

      @elijahalbiston@elijahalbistonАй бұрын
  • Now I know how people who write first feel. I have infinite power now

    @toonsandro@toonsandro3 жыл бұрын
  • Please make a separate video on JAMES CAMERON

    @amannagar1108@amannagar11083 жыл бұрын
  • That background music is an excellent choice to end the video, Anyone know the name?

    @baldur9591@baldur95913 жыл бұрын
  • Love

    @healmeimhurt-.-@healmeimhurt-.- Жыл бұрын
  • I have my own way: I give my characters three positive qualities, and three negative ones. Boom. A character's born.

    @infraredtoa9105@infraredtoa91052 жыл бұрын
    • But does that make a three-dimensional character though? Can the people you know in real life be boiled down to three positive qualities and three negative ones? I'd say it's hard to make some simple labels develop into realistic characters

      @ufoash440@ufoash440 Жыл бұрын
  • Hi, please can you tell me what original source interview is the Charlie Kaufman stuff from? Especially the bit around 8mins 53 secs in your video where he talks about writing dialogue before he really knows what the characters would say? Thanks

    @jeromebell1245@jeromebell124516 күн бұрын
  • How do you not have a million followers??

    @jonahsebin4692@jonahsebin46923 жыл бұрын
    • Haha, I'm working on it! Thanks for the love.

      @BehindtheCurtain@BehindtheCurtain3 жыл бұрын
  • Aaron Sorkin is the side of caution I err on.

    @chadbaptiste4227@chadbaptiste42273 жыл бұрын
    • "Intention and Obstacle, baby!"

      @BehindtheCurtain@BehindtheCurtain3 жыл бұрын
  • I don't need to create characters. I know enough real characters.

    @mmafightcoach@mmafightcoach2 жыл бұрын
  • is this reuploaded because of the greta audio?

    @chaeyoungvideos5742@chaeyoungvideos57423 жыл бұрын
    • Yeah. Should be all set now!

      @BehindtheCurtain@BehindtheCurtain3 жыл бұрын
    • Why I came back

      @mr.phillips@mr.phillips3 жыл бұрын
  • Making them a hypocrite is great advice

    @XxSEETH3RxX@XxSEETH3RxX7 ай бұрын
  • Can you do lady bird?

    @leeluv4176@leeluv41762 жыл бұрын
  • krysty wilson cairns irsh accent took me off gurad

    @mybismark2945@mybismark29453 жыл бұрын
  • Bottom line, it's the director that can make or break anything written.

    @stephen1Oace@stephen1Oace3 жыл бұрын
    • I believe the Editor really has that power

      @brent2795@brent27953 жыл бұрын
    • @@brent2795 also editor*

      @hoopz5095@hoopz5095 Жыл бұрын
  • What’s the background music?

    @connorklebs6432@connorklebs6432 Жыл бұрын
  • Background song?

    @papasmerc4498@papasmerc4498 Жыл бұрын
  • ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

    @malinhessedahl@malinhessedahl3 жыл бұрын
    • Thanks, Malin!

      @BehindtheCurtain@BehindtheCurtain3 жыл бұрын
  • House md please

    @vanntitrises2715@vanntitrises27153 жыл бұрын
  • Is there an example where all the characters are three dimensional?

    @sliceoflife11@sliceoflife113 жыл бұрын
    • I think the Wire would be the closest

      @keokihiga8462@keokihiga84623 жыл бұрын
  • I like how the guy seamlessly goes from "antagonists" to "villains" to "far-right conspiracy theorists." Clearly a diehard Trump voter.

    @vladimirhorowitz@vladimirhorowitz3 жыл бұрын
  • Character depth is overrated. Indiana Jones is a professor who dons a fedora and a whip and cracks one liners. Wonderful character but pretty 2D. Any greater depth he has was brought in during the telling of the stories.

    @formulaic78@formulaic787 ай бұрын
  • jee all these movies are terrible examples, they are horrendously boring

    @curtisnewton895@curtisnewton8952 жыл бұрын
    • They're not boring, you simply just have no taste.

      @TomEyeTheSFMguy@TomEyeTheSFMguy2 жыл бұрын
    • All these movies are so different tho how can you find them all boring

      @briamusic1845@briamusic1845 Жыл бұрын
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