Character Arc

2. Character Arc

3. Character Arc The key to the power and success of your story is the CHARACTER ARC. It is the growth process that takes place as a result of the obstacles and tests your character goes through in the EIGHT SEQUENCES of the three act story.

4. Character Arc The harder the obstacles and tests, the greater the “CHARACTER ARC” and the greater the “CHARACTER ARC” the more entertaining and rewarding the story is.

5. Character Arc SEQUENCE ONE is the beginning of the ARC. A world is created and the character is placed in that world in a state of homeostasis. The first sequence generally ends with a “POINT OF ATTACK” where the character is taken out of homeostasis.

6. Character Arc In SEQUENCE TWO the character is now out of homeostasis. His world is being turned upside down and he is reluctant to “seize the sword.”

7. Character Arc In SEQUENCE THREE the character gathers forces, is many times mentored and makes a naive attempt at the goal that fails.

8. Character Arc In SEQUENCE FOUR the character makes a sophisticated attempt at the goal that again, ends in an apparent failure. It appears the story is now over because there is no apparent way to achieve the goal. This is the FIRST CULMINATION and is sometimes called the FAUX ending.

9. Character Arc In SEQUENCE FIVE the character is at the bottom of life. There is no hope. In this state of humility the hero recognizes that in order to achieve the goal something must change. In this sequence the hero will have a revelation that sets the change in motion. The hero will be reborn and set out again.

10. Character Arc In SEQUENCE SIX the character must be tried one more time. This is to see if he has truly changed. This is the climax of the film. In great films there are two goals, exterior and interior. This is where the exterior goal is generally achieved. Sometimes it is not achieved and the hero discovers that the exterior goal is not important after all.

11. Character Arc In SEQUENCE SEVEN the character will achieve the interior goal. All the loose ends will be tied up. Great stories will have an unexpected twist in this sequence.

12. Character Arc In SEQUENCE EIGHT the character will be taken back to homeostasis and there will be a scene of aftermath or catharsis. In the case of dramas or tragedies, this is important because the audience must be given a chance to purge or cleanse themselves of the strong emotions caused by the story. The Arc has been completed.

13. Creating a strong Character Arc Tell it with pictures - direct it like you were making a silent. John Ford 1895 - 1973

14. directed by John Ford Creating a strong Character Arc How Green Was My Valley 1941 Best Picture

15. I put these moments in my films, not expecting anyone to recognize them, but when they go by on the screen the audience gets a warm feeling in their heart. John Ford

16. Were great film directors such as John Ford the only artists to use the layering technique? John Ford

17. Michelangelo The Creation of Adam, 1510 Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome

18. Michelangelo The Creation of Adam, 1510 Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome

19. Michelangelo The Creation of Adam, 1510 Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome

20. *Frank Lynn Meshberger, M.D., The Interpretation of Michaelangelo's Creation of Adam, Basilar Neuroanatomy, JAMA #14, October 1990 Sulcus Spinal Cord Pons Pituitary Gland

21. God is superimposed over the limbic system, the emotional center of the brain and possibly the anatomical counterpart of the human soul. God's right arm extends to the prefrontal cortex, the most creative and most uniquely human region of the brain.

22. Below the right arm of God is a sad angel in an area of the brain that is sometimes activated on PET scans when someone experiences a sad thought.

23. Character Arc

24. Character Arc

31. Character Arc