Our first assignment to kickstart the second semester of Foundation 4D (2) required us to do intensive character studies with the hope of firstly identifying characters that resonate with us and finally creating a one minute dialog that profiles characters as clearly as possible.

The first step I took was shortlisting characters/people and exploring why I was drawn to them.

After picking my 15 characters, I had to come up with 9 mind-maps profiling each character to get a greater understanding of how these characters were formed, who they are and what they bring to the story/narrative.

To aid myself in this process I also referred to a book, The Definitive Guide To Screenwriting by Syd Field.

My top 3 characters from literature of fiction:

My top 3 public figures:

Finally, I profiled the 3 most interesting people I know and have known:

With the character profiling segment concluded, it was time to create my one-minute dialogue. I chose to narrow down and make a list of themes I wanted to approach and see which character inspirations would bring my story to life.

The themes I gathered which mattered to me based on my 15 character choices were (in no particular order):

1. Opposition of gay marriage / sexuality in Christianity
   1. Conversion therapy
2. Gender non-conformists / transgender individuals
3. The Entertainment Industry
   1. Zero to hero narrative documenting obstacles and struggles faced while seeking fame
   2. The dark side of the industry and what you must do to be successful
   3. Discrimination in the industry (looks vs talent)

After careful consideration, I decided to go with my first theme and the idea of conversion therapy because it stood out to me the most and was something I had read up about in the past and forgotten about.

There has been reasonable debate about the ethics behind the methods of homosexual conversion therapy and after doing more research, I too was taken aback by the suffering individuals have been forced to go through.

Here are some good reads and accounts of real-life patients I used to gain a better understanding:

• I Spent Seven Years In Gay Conversion Therapy Programmes Before Breaking Free
  
• A Survivor Of Gay Conversion Therapy Shares His Chilling Story
  
  “They were able to turn us against ourselves,” he said. “This is what drew so many people to suicide. We all shared a sense of loathing towards who we were and who we loved. It wasn’t just your regular ‘I hate myself.’ It was a disgust with the person you were and you wanted to do anything you could to change… Watching people disappear just became a fact of life after a while. You got used to it.”
• This Is What Happens When You Undergo Gay Conversion Therapy
  

To begin my detailed profiling process, I decided to use two characters from last list, namely Matthew and Agnes. Because I was going to work with my fellow classmate Vanessa, I assumed the role of Agnes and thus Agnes will be renamed to Anthony and Matthew will be renamed to Maddie.

With these two character profiles that gave more background and context to my 1-minute scene, it was time to write my script. I tried my best to be mindful of each character’s subtext and also to stay true to the theme of the story.

I tried to put an emphasis on the amount of ‘you’s in the first part of the script. This was to show how persistent Anthony was on making Maddie seem like she had a problem and needed to change. He also refused to take into account any of his inner-demons and as such spoke with angst and aggressiveness with his choice of words.

Towards the ‘climax’ when Maddie gets up to leave, Anthony finally realises he has taken the wrong approach and also relates to how Maddie is feeling. He had basically fed her whatever he had been fed and deep down knows that that is not what he wants to believe too. He thus takes a step back and tried to understand where she is coming from.

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The Final Video:

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Reflection:

I had a very enriching time with this project and this was probably the most immersive video assignment I’ve ever done. It took me more than a week to complete my character profiles but by the end of it, I fully understood why we were told to do so and realised how important it is to be clear about everything with regards to whatever character we create in order to successfully direct/act.

For my execution, I’ve recently been watching movies like The Neon Demon and La La Land and have been intrigued by colour intensities in lighting design. Working with my classmate Vanessa, we experimented with blue and red gels (she used the former and I the latter) and it was exciting to see the different moods and drama being amplified with coloured lights.

What I takeaway from this assignment is knowing the importance of detailed character profiling, constructing your character from the ground up in order to create convincing characters with backstories you can use to facilitate screenplay, mise en scène and overall direction and art direction.

Thanks for reading if you made it all the way 🙂