A Character Has 2 Pivotal Moments To Change In A Movie - Jen Grisanti
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- čas přidán 11. 09. 2024
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International speaker Jen Grisanti is an acclaimed Story/Career Consultant at Jen Grisanti Inc., a 13-year Writing Instructor for Writers on the Verge at NBC, and a former 12-year studio executive, including VP of Current Programming at CBS/Paramount. Jen is the author of three books, Story Line: Finding Gold in Your Life Story, TV Writing Tool Kit: How To Write a Script That Sells, Change Your Story, Change Your Life: A Path To Your Success.
Grisanti started her career in 1992 as an assistant to Aaron Spelling. He served as her mentor for 12 years. She quickly climbed the ranks and eventually ran Current Programs at Spelling Television Inc., covering all Spelling’s shows, including Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place, and Charmed. In 2004, Grisanti was promoted to Vice President of Current Programs at CBS/Paramount, where she covered numerous shows, including Medium, Numbers, NCIS, 4400, and Girlfriends.
In January 2008, Grisanti launched Jen Grisanti Inc., a highly successful consulting firm dedicated to helping talented writers break into the industry. Drawing on her experience as a studio executive, where she gave daily notes to executive producers/showrunners, Grisanti guides writers to shape their material, write from their emotional truth, hone their pitches, and focus their careers. Since launching the consulting firm, Grisanti has worked with over 1000 writers specializing in television and features. Due to her expertise and mentorship, one hundred and six pilots have sold, including ten that went to series, and one hundred fifty-two writers have staffed.
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A dilemma is a hard choice with no good options. Originally from Greek myth, a two horned animal. If you avoided one horn, the other would get you, hence "on the horns of a dilemma." You want the protagonist to be faced with a dilemma, to make a hard choice, so we can see what he really believes (honor or duty?). If has to choose between a good and bad option, of course he will choose the good option (save wife or bad guy?).
i like this definition.
Best definition for dilemma and problem is given by alan watt who was in this channel. He says
Problem: problem is something that can be solved and
Dileema is something that can be solved only by creating another problem.
I loved this. Please bring him back.
czcams.com/video/gQb949R1Gig/video.htmlsi=Jmmv-p4ulxiP6Bfr
No - Dilemma is the need to choose between two or more ways to solve the problem knowing each option's pros and cons.
@@hamerovv yeah ..Dilemma is the need to choose between two or more ways to solve the problem knowing each option's pros and cons and it had some cons..right.. which is another problem that to be solved..that means u can solve it but there is a catch..
Alan Watt made an obvious distinction between a problem/obstacle and dilemma; a problem or obstacle has a solution, so once the solution is found the problem is over (requiring more episodic problems or the end of the story), whereas a dilemma doesn't have a clear solution. And Truby talks about how a flaw should be a moral flaw hurting not only the protagonist, but someone/something else. I think nailing a moral flaw and dilemma, and making sure the audience understand the stakes is all you need for a great 'change arc' story.
These comments are wild. Jen is one of the most knowledgeable people in the industry and has mentored so many writers in their careers.
Matt, Thank you for your comment. I am grateful. Bliss, Jen
I've followed this idea by accident with a couple of my books, but totally not followed this philosophy in other books - wish I'd looked into this more, like, five years ago! Ha ha. I love the idea that a character might not change entirely but to some degree they will, must, change; or, change the world around them. Life is change and transformation - so, we feel we've transformed by simply following the protagonist. Basically everything she just said! Great instructional tutorial. Fantastic channel - love it! Johnny David; sci-fi.
FC: What is Dilemma?
JG: Dilemma is something that I can't believe I didn't know the value of dilemma when I was an executive.
ME: Thanks for clearing that up. Got it.
I have a feeling this guest is talking in circles and hasn't got it all figured out for herself. She's overcomplicating a simple idea. A dilemma enhances audience engagement because they identify with the protagonist and the choice to be made. If the hero makes the "right" choice the audience will clap and cheer. If it's the "wrong" choice, the audience will gasp in horror. If it's a third (unexpected) choice, they will be shocked, thrilled and/or amused. A good dilemma provides suspense (I.e., dramatic tension) and that alone can move the story from the beginning to the end.
No she’s just trying to find the words to explain it i love being on the spot (talking) she’s probably a pretty gifted writer to have been a part of what she’s been a part of
But you pretty much nailed the the dilemma outcomes. There’s only 3-outcomes to any situation eather it happens, it doesn’t happen or something else evolves from the 3rd outcome something totally defernt LOL the story of my life (pun intended 😝🤣) I think of this anytime I set out to do pretty much anything…..only 3-things can happen.
@@nickybjammin7629 I agree that interviews don't always go as intended, and it may be that. But she didn't seem to be an expert witness on dilemmas. There are 4 basic ethical dilemmas that most fall into: Truth vs Loyalty, Short-term vs Long-term, Individual vs Community, and Mercy vs Justice. Each one is a hard choice, because both sides could be justified. Every movie should have one because they're free (no special effects needed) and you don't even need a great actor to pull this off. It's free, cheap, easy entertainment. A good trick for any writer or filmmaker.
i don't think you understood her explanation. she's talking about structure and character development.
I perceived her point slightly differently. For me, it's not about trying to provoke a specific audience reaction by having the character make a 'right', 'wrong', or 'surprising' choice, but rather that *whatever* choice the character makes, it should reveal their true desires (stemming from their emotional wound).
In Breaking Bad for example, if the show was just about a man choosing a life of crime to make enough money to leave to his family and pay for his treatment (and the various ways in which he struggles to do so), it would be a good story but not a great one (regardless of whether his choices allowed him to succeed or not).
Rather, it's through his specific choice to *continue* in the dangerous meth business, even when he's made his money, satisfied his goal, and can happily walk away that he reveals his *true* desires: to be respected, to be appreciated for his excellence, and to be in control of his own life. We see them lay the groundwork for that when he is shown to lack all these things at the beginning of his arc (representing his emotional wound).
Focusing on the relationship between 'dilemma/choice' and 'true desire/emotional wound' links the character to their choice in a more meaningful and satisfying way, and while I've always appreciated stories that have done this, I've never really understood why - until now. :)
This was encouraging b/c I'm nailing both these dilemmas without even realizing it. Sweet! Keep writing, you will see breakthroughs.
Not everyone becomes conscious of their flaws. 7:39
Epic channel.
I don't think a character changing through the script is _necessarily_ a good thing. I like stories where the characters change the world around them far more than changing themselves and "growing".
I know that character change is, like, a trope in the industry, but far too many filmmakers and scriptwriters seem to think it's _necessary._ Kinda like how nearly every movie has to have a love story somewhere, even if the writers have to shoehorn it in. Or how there are really only three plots for children's movies, all hitting similar beats. After a while, after watching enough movies and TV, you start to notice juuuuust how much Hollywood repeats itself...over and over.
So when a character "grows" or "changes" in a Hollywood movie, it's usually the same ham-fisted tropes as the _last_ movie I watched.
Yes… so many movies are stitched together tropes.
The idea is, character have an internal and external world, something happens and changes the internal world then they show an external change. It doesn’t have to happen, but people want stories where characters grow.
@@kingVibe111 I know what the idea is. Doy. **rolls eyes**
And I don't think you speak for "people"; I'm people, and I don't "want" stories where characters grow. Sometimes that's just plain not the story I want told, not the story I want to experience. Maybe what "people" want is really what _you_ want, so don't presume to speak for _everybody._
I agree that sometimes the character doesn't need to change. But in a movie, change has to occur SOMEWHERE. So, take a character like James Bond. He doesn't change. But everything around him does. He's in like, 8 different countries in 2 hours. He's on a motorbike here, then hanging from a helicopter there. Change must occur in a movie, but not necessarily in the character.
Well -- the hero's journey is a journey of transformation -- like a caterpillar into a butterfly kinda deal, so that model has lasted the test of thousands of years across different cultures .. so its hard to argue against it. I think what you're saying is its lazy execution these days and I agree.
Pure gold.
Check out Lisa Cronn’s Story Genius if you want to learn more about the dilemma stemming from backstory and so forth.
both of her books are quite useful!
Go Film Courage- Thank you.-- Thank you- Jen.. This video is awesome. Yes I'm writing a project right now. Dilemma is what's been missing..
I love this channel and this is a great clip
What do you like about this video?
the explanation that characters that are too perfect are not relatable and the audience does not get drawn in to the characters
Yes! Welcome back Jen!
Good ideas about characters. Also White Lotus season 2 does go from strength to strength. Best show of 2022 I saw.
Jen is great.
Just an idea for a video, god of war 2018 and god of war ragnarok have great character development, and phenomenal writing.
If there's an opportunity to interview someone from the writing team involved, it would generate TONS of views.. fans of that series including myself eat up that stuff all day lmao
Brings the question of Ally Sheedy's character ( Allison ) in 'The breakfast club' final part. Should've she have changed so much in the end ? Or she was always that pretty clean face girl from the beggining and was just asking for that momment/opportunity to pop?. I don't know. I think was very ambiguous but at the same the characters were very complex and was the perfect time as a pivotal point for her character. A lot of people say was a character's sell out and the change was unnecessary and totally uncalled to satisfy the male pretender, i understand that and I rather she gothic as she was but worked just fine for script purposes...but talking about character change , she was the first who came to mind...anyways...just letting registered a great example of character change/use of pivotal point
Dilemma is the need to choose between two or more ways to solve the problem. Simple
❤ in real life too!
Awsome interview/discussion. Merry Christmas guys.
Merry Christmas Nicky!
@@filmcourage ♥️
Damn 12 years as an executive and now she gets it. No wonder theirs so many bad stories green lit
Dude, she rambled on for 2 solid minutes and I got more and more confused trying to remember what question she was asked.
Dilemma reveals the selfishness of the main character.
I love this Video
Cheers Ryan!
I don’t necessarily believe that a protagonist must be flawed; though I do believe that a protagonist must face a dilemma, or better yet, dilemmas. Let’s take a “bodice ripper” romance tale like Starz/Sony Pictures Television’s OUTLANDER. Jamie Fraser’s perfect over six seasons and the viewers want it that way. Though he is confronted each episode with several dilemmas. The lead character and equal protagonist, Claire, has both flaws and dilemmas. Jamie’s a good man in a morality play AND he needs to remain an upright character while the complexity of Claire moves the plot along. If stories need a bad guy to hate, they need a paragon of virtue to love.
At the risk of seeming pedantic, I'm going to politely disagree with the wording of the definitions given. It's close, but we speak WAY TOO MUCH to "Character driven plot" on this channel for me to overlook it. A problem IS an obstacle. It's always got a solution. The ages old adage, "You can unlock any door if you only have the key." Problems, no matter the semantics are exactly that...
AND over-all, it's a great insight, so this is NOT a lengthy rant... I'm trying to precisely explain WHY I must point this detail out. Honestly, I hope to help others.. not piss all over anyone's knowledge, skill, or perspective...
A Dilemma, is not so simple. It has NO good solution. The choice made through the dilemma, also doesn't define the new pursuit. It defines THE CHARACTER making that choice in that moment.
From M. Night Shamalan's (I can't spell... late... no spell check)... "Signs"... "It comes down to what kind of person are you? Are you the kind who believes in signs... in a power greater than your own? OR are you just sure that we're nothing more than random chance, some roll of cosmic dice that happened to be?"
It's not always just that, but it HAS to attack a core value, and the stakes HAVE to force the confrontation. Then and only then do you really define who you are. Any of us can easily say, "Well, I'd just..." and fill in a blank. We have it easy to make a choice when we don't actually have to do anything or suffer consequences. In the story, however, where there's REAL skin in the game, and when your life is on the line.. Knowing that it's thoroughly and despicably illegal to fire an automatic weapon rated for vehicles at personnel... say a Browning M2HB .50 cal machine gun, as has been mounted on vehicles all the way back through WWII... SO you're there on your hillside, with such a gun sitting idle on a jeep, and a full box of ammunition, belt-fed, already attached and ready to fire... AND an ARMY of angry people are marching on your position... If you get on that jeep and fire on them, it's a crime against humanity. If you don't you're DEAD where you stand. There's no running. No gas in the jeep. You are on your own, and they're not taking prisoners...
That is a dilemma. Do you believe in the rules of engagement? Laws even in war? Do you really believe that's the way to valor, honor... By the letter of the law, you're SUPPOSED to surrender. White rag and accept being taken prisoner... BUT you also have it on excellent authority, that on sight, you're GOING to be shot... BUT if we lower ourselves to the level of the bad guys, we no longer get to call ourselves "valiant" or "heroes". We're murdering bastards the same as them... right?
What you do in those moments DEFINES who you REALLY ARE... and that may or may not way VERY heavily on you. Even if you're never prosecuted... You may be awarded medals and parades, and applauded for whatever lives you saved for stepping on that jeep and gunning down a few hundred people at the cost of around a thousand rounds of ammunition, a few wounds... whatever... but the smoke cleared and you were still alive when the choppers came and pulled you out... alive. Families will thank YOU for bringing back their babies, their brothers and sisters. Your president and generals will hoorah this and cheer you on as "a god damn hero"...
...but somewhere... in the back of your mind... for the rest of your life... EVERY time you're alone and it gets a little quiet. Every time you're in bed staring at the ceiling. YOU WILL KNOW that you committed a war crime. You'll justify it to the press and anyone who asks as "I had no choice"... BUT didn't you???
THAT is a dilemma. Obviously, the interesting choice is to get on the damn jeep and kill everybody... That's how writing and adventure works. It's also a VERY REAL way that the Hell of war weighs so heavily on those who've been out to fight in it. It's WHY veterans of war don't much care to talk about it. Deep down, they've ALL committed some form or other of MURDER, plain and simple, and there's no getting around it... even with the best intentions and the noblest of causes.
BUT the choice only EFFECTS the pursuit of the future BY defining the Character who makes it. THAT is what makes dilemma truly valuable in writing... and facing them with a similar dilemma at some point later, we (audience AND writer) get to see how they've grown, not always just whether or how much they've grown since the inciting incident. Hope this helps. ;o)
yo she just said story people.....
She spent years critiquing scripts without considering dilemma….wtf
Hot mess... then... well...