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Pixar in a Box
Course: Pixar in a Box > Unit 2
Lesson 2: Character | 2- Introduction to character
- Warm up activity
- Internal vs. external features
- Activity 1: Internal & external features
- Wants vs. needs
- Activity 2: Wants vs. needs
- Obstacles
- Activity 3: Obstacles
- Character arc
- Activity 4: Character arc
- Stakes
- Activity 5: Stakes
- Advice on characters
- Glossary: Character
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Activity 4: Character arc
Exploring character arcs
Part A: Identify the arc of the main character in your 3 favorite films.
- What do they want at the beginning?
- What did they realize they need by the end?
Part B: How have you changed as a result of overcoming an obstacle?
Part C: Brainstorm ideas for how your character might change as a result of the obstacles you’ve identified in the previous exercise?
- What might they want at the beginning?
- What might they realize they need at the end?
Want to join the conversation?
So, I'm not totally understanding this concept. Why does the arc go up and down? when it's lower is it when the character is at it's worst or is it when they are the most downtrodden or when the story is the most boring?(58 votes)
The arc goes lower as the character faces an obstacle.His ability to pass or defeat or overcome that obstacle takes him higher in the arc and makes him a happier or a better person at the end as we see in the diagram above.The obstacle makes him sad or angry or downtrodden depending on the nature of the obstacle.Most of the time, that moment when the character is lower in the arc, that's the time when the movie gets more emotional or touching.
NOTE : "most of the time" not all the time.
To answer your question in a straightforward manner,the mood of the character when its lower in the arc depends on the nature of the obstacle.But one thing is sure, the character is never happy.Except he gets what he wants or needs then the arc gets higher.(6 votes)
Part A:
Samurai X Trust & Betrayal: At the beginning, he discussed to his master that he wants to protect the weak people and the training will just make him lose his time and more people wil die, so he abandon his training but he realize that the thing is not easy and realize that if he wants to protect a lot of people, he needs to kill a few of people under the orders of a movement.
Prince of Egypt: He was a spoiled prince, who doesn't care about slaves, until he knows the truth and run away. Years later, he have a convesation with God, then he realize that he needs to free his people, so thay can live in peace.
The Hunchback of Notredame: Frollo tells Quasimodo that the world is cruel, and people will laugh at him, so Quasimodo is conviced that he is right. But then he met Esmeralda and realize that Frollo was wrong all the time and the only obstacles was his insecurities and fears.
Part B: Personally I think I changed a lot, from the school (A person with a lot of insecurities) to the college, where I choose to study an artistic career, Digital Animation ( I started to open to others and starts to overcome my fears) Now that I finished my career, I'm ready and very exited to work.
Part C:
What might they want at the beginning? A bad temper girl who is not sure about serving to someone, she doesn't realize the true meaning of her work
What might they realize they need at the end? After the Darkness apeared, she realizes the meaning of her work and how important is Aria (The guardian of the Light) Now she has allies and friends who will help her protecting Aria(31 votes)
my original piece of work
Part A:
Samurai X Trust & Betrayal: At the beginning, he discussed to his master that he wants to protect the weak people and the training will just make him lose his time and more people wil die, so he abandon his training but he realize that the thing is not easy and realize that if he wants to protect a lot of people, he needs to kill a few of people under the orders of a movement.
Prince of Egypt: He was a spoiled prince, who doesn't care about slaves, until he knows the truth and run away. Years later, he have a convesation with God, then he realize that he needs to free his people, so thay can live in peace.
The Hunchback of Notredame: Frollo tells Quasimodo that the world is cruel, and people will laugh at him, so Quasimodo is conviced that he is right. But then he met Esmeralda and realize that Frollo was wrong all the time and the only obstacles was his insecurities and fears.
Part B: Personally I think I changed a lot, from the school (A person with a lot of insecurities) to the college, where I choose to study an artistic career, Digital Animation ( I started to open to others and starts to overcome my fears) Now that I finished my career, I'm ready and very exited to work.
Part C:
What might they want at the beginning? A bad temper girl who is not sure about serving to someone, she doesn't realize the true meaning of her work
What might they realize they need at the end? After the Darkness apeared, she realizes the meaning of her work and how important is Aria (The guardian of the Light) Now she has allies and friends who will help her protecting Aria(1 vote)
- do any of you remember Wreck-it-Ralph?
how he was mostly grumpy?
and how he became happier?(12 votes)- Yep, that's beecause Vanellope was the obstacle in Ralph's way that changed how Ralph though about his life. :)(2 votes)
It is wednesday my dudes(11 votes)- Must the characters go through the character arc to make a good story?? I personally don't think the character has to go through the character arc to make the well-told story because if the same formula gets used over and over again, the stories could become predictable and the audience could get bored.(6 votes)
It is totally possible for stories to be compelling without the use of an arc.
K.M Weiland of helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com notes that such stories become situations instead. In situations, the character will have stayed the same by the time the situation ends. They may learn a few skills, but they do not have to change themselves in order to overcome whatever is hindering them (be it an antagonist or inner thoughts). You will still have a protagonist with a goal, though this goal will likely be more physical. Weiland cites Raiders of the Lost Ark as an example of a situation, and (from what I have seen so far) Monty Python and the Holy Grail also falls under this category.
If you are going to choose this route, be sure to use other tools and story enhancers to create a memorable or appealing situation. You can use humor, different types of tension, good dialogue, worldbuilding, and other tools to build upon your situation. You will also need to keep the rules of storytelling in mind; just because you have a situation doesn't mean that you can automatically tell instead of show.
Does this help you?(11 votes)
Part A :
Harry Potter Sorcerer's Stone :
Harry really wants to be known by his family and to be treated better.
He realized he needed friends and encouragement to get through his life.(9 votes)
I love beauty and the beast the beast obstacle was to learn to be kind and to feel so that to break the magic to change him but also love make him learn to sacrifice and to be less angery and that what he need(8 votes)- that is the most amazing movie it like how we need to learn how to love people who are defferent from us(3 votes)
- As Jobs is a real life character so he made the most awesome character arc, he did what he needed and achieved what he wanted.(6 votes)
Adelina wants to defeat Rayalla by herself and take the throne for herself.
At the end she realizes that she needs her sister and her friends by her side instead of being selfish.(8 votes)
Okay, this is the basics of my idea:
At the beginning of my story, the only thing that my character wants is to find her brother. However, as the story progresses and the situation changes, she doesn't change this want, but she does realize that what she really needs is to learn to trust people besides her brother, specifically the person who's been taking the place of her father.(6 votes)
