Common Mistakes Writers Make With Characters - Robert Rippberger
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- čas přidán 21. 04. 2022
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Robert Rippberger is a filmmaker with a broad array of creative and executive experience. He most recently directed and produced the film "Those Who Walk Away" starring BooBoo Stewart (Descendants, X-Men) and prior to that directed and produced the Harlem drama, "Strive," with Danny Glover. Both were released theatrically and received dozens of accolades worldwide.
Directing and producing documentaries, Robert released in 2019 'Public Enemy Number One' from Executive Producer Ice-T about the U.S. war on drugs. Prior, Robert directed/produced the documentary "7 Days in Syria," a look at the human side of the war in Aleppo, Syria. The film was championed by Angelina Jolie, screened at Britain's House of Lords, to senior members of the U.N., and was released on Hulu and Amazon.
As an executive producer, along with Jason Blum, Robert did the feature doc, "Alive & Kicking." The film was sold to Magnolia Films after its debut at the 2016 SXSW Film Festival where it received a Grand Jury nomination. The film is available on Netflix.
Robert received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from UC, Berkeley in 2012 where he was awarded the Eisner Prize for his film "In the Middle." It is considered the highest achievement in the creative arts given on the UC, Berkeley campus.
Robert is a member of the Producers Guild of America and is on the PGA's Social Impact Entertainment Task Force. In addition to SIE Films, Robert is also the founder and co-executive director of SIE Society, a leading global alliance of Social Impact Entertainment filmmakers.
His latest film is Those Who Walk Away (Now in theaters and on VOD) starring Booboo Stewart, Nils Allen Stewart and Scarlett Sperduto.
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I found it surprising how hard it was to find a character’s voice when writing. It showed me the importance of getting a deeper understanding of the characters in my stories
Typing direct dictation of different people talking is very helpful...where they pause...cry..laugh... the words they choose vs. their age/station in life...
Reverse engineer what you uncover.
I somewhat have mixed feelings regarding point on realism of character. It's true that a lot great characters are modeled based on some certain aspects of realistic/real person. At the same time I think what makes characters inherently engaging is consistency of persona and methods of representation of said persona.
Somewhat not random atm but Jack Sparrow is example that came to mind. There is nothing realistic about the character(sure reality is sometimes weirder than fiction but such ppl are more of an exception than norm) but damn it's engaging as hell. There is nothing normal about what character says, does or manners how he behaves but he's consistent and IMO that's the key to great character.
That's because he's not a character. He's an archetype: the trickster. Across all cultures and across all of human history, people have always loved tricksters - but they're always fundamentally the same guy. Why is he not a character, then? Because tricksters are static. They can not develop. They always come full circle and never change. They never get serious about anything, and they never die. A character is someone who can change, develop, be traumatized or grow. This is why you think of Jack Sparrow as consistent - or, as some people call it, predictable.
Don't get me wrong, I love Jack Sparrow as much as the next POTC fan. And he gets a lot of screentime, but he's never the focal character of the movies he's in. The "hero's journey" or "character development" always happens to someone else, like Will and Elizabeth in the first movie. He's just around to catalyze it. Think about it, next time you watch POTC, and check if I'm right :)
"Is this someone I want to spend time with?"
Yes.
"Is this reality?"
No.
I don't write characters that keep me in reality; I write characters to help me escape reality, because ultimately, that's what entertainment is; it's an escape from reality. If I'm not accomplishing that task, then I'm not entertaining anyone, including myself. Do I want to reflect pieces of reality? Yes. However, I don't want to just copy reality, unless the reality is so laughably nonsensical that it's funny.
I don't think that is what he meant. i think does it feel genuine, so that it is rooted in something that allows us to relate to the character, or like he said recognize our neighbor, or the guy at work, etc. He of course writes non-real events himself...
@@Arrogan28
Yeah, I addressed that. Do I want to recognize my neighbor? Heck no. My neighbor is boring. They don't belong in a movie. If I had to watch them all day, I'd be the very opposite of entertained.
But the question of whether they feel genuine is a different idea, and like I said, I do want my characters to reflect pieces of reality. I don't want them to be the guy at work, in a full sense. Can they take some aspects of the guy at work and spin them to be entertaining? Of course. But I don't want to see the guy at work in a movie. I don't want to see reality.
@@G360LIVE No you are still missing the point. It isn't your neighbor, it is a piece of your neighbor, enough so that they are somehow grounded. If you don't ground your characters at least in some small way, they have zero substance. But hey, what do I know, write however you want. I am only explaining what he meant, and trying to unput the words you put in his mouth incorrectly. If you want to say what you do fine, but don't reword his words into a strawman, and then take it down with a tin sword claiming victory. If you want to quote his entire words, fine, but when your 'paraphrase' them you change their meaning, and when you critic them you had better get the nuance right. There is a big difference between the two ideas.
He didn't say the character was your neighbor, but that you had to recognize a piece of someone you know well, like your neighbor, that everyone recognizes so that your characters feel real, grounds, and there is warm blood flowing through their veins.
Some writers have that in them, to make character organic,,, so they don't need to try, some need to make that test so the characters become organic, or
@@tolvfen I’m thinking the wire how bubbles brought out the addict or Omar brought out the gangster, basically the whole actors brought out the xters well
"Are they someone I want to spend an hour and a half with...?"
_THANK YOU!_ That has been my chief argument for why I can't stand most TV these days, and a lot of movies: the characters are all grim and humorless, depressed when they're not angry...and I want nothing to do with them at all. If I can't picture characters laughing, I can't relate to them enough to keep watching.
Finally, I have time to watch these gem interviews.
Cheers!
Same. I wait until I have time to sit down with pen and paper to take notes. Love the content.
I don't think anyone alive does dialogue like David Milch. It's sad he isn't creating television anymore. The man will only live so long, people!
I think he’s having cognitive issues
Would love to see film courage come down to Ghana 🇬🇭 and interview some of our talented writers and film makers.
Yeah, these are American filmmakers. Foreign films give them hives and a headache from subtitle reading and watching something that won't give them ADD (attention deficit disorder).
Great question. Excellent answers. Thanks again.
I don't think a good film character has to be someone you would want to spend time with or even want to know. A prime example would be Hud Bannen in the movie "Hud". He is never likable and has few redeeming qualities, but he is very interesting and watchable. He does have a hint of vulnerability (guilt he feels for causing his brother's death) and the fact that he would want his father to love him even though he does everything to make his father unable to love him. He is offset by his nephew Lon who has all the virtues and good qualities that Hud does not possess. That ying-yang relationship saves both characters from being mundane. But then again, I find anti-heroes more interesting.
Who are some of your favorite characters from the last few years?
Captain America, Tony Stark, Redington, among others, they're well written and like people.
@@thuthuka3562 I love your comment so much.
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Waymond Wang
Can you have morally grey characters that can still do the right thing and still be a hero? Like Dante from Devil May Cry.
I’d say you definitely can, they might be slightly more difficult to write but they’re often some of the most enjoyable characters in a story when done right!
Yeah its called an anti-hero. They're A1
@@halfxbreed23 I know what an anti-hero is. But I don't want to fall into the boring "good vs evil" story. 🤷
@@halfxbreed23 What I meant was I don't want them to come off as unlikeable. Sorry if my comment didn't make that clear.
@@zionleach3001 Anyone can be unlikable, good guy, bad guy, neutral guy (Watch "The Boys" for proof). I think its how many "acts" you string together and whom they are inflicted on. Acts of kindness vs acts of cruelty.
If your protagonist hurts a bad guy (like Punisher) its less likely to turn the audience because the bad guy deserved it. If your protagonist beats a helpless child.. well yeah.
Its also the choices that an actor makes that makes a character pop or not.
Hell yeah
How was this video helpful?
It will be helpful for writing dialogues and creating a character that doesn't feel flat. I always hate my dialogues. Now I have some tips I can try.
With Satir, not all them?
Robert has the best character name.
When I first saw the thumbnail I thought he was Bubbles from “Trailer Park Boys”.
Then I realized he wasn’t. He is one of the vile woke people responsible for the complete dearth of anything watchable on Netflix, Prime or the other streaming services.
That makes him a bad person. I wish it had been Bubbles. Though just a fictional character, Bubbles was at least a good person.
Based
Uh, what are you on about here and what are your sources?
Someone call elder services, grandpa is yelling about the woke millennials again