3 Screenwriting Tools That Help The Audience Empathize With Characters by Karl Iglesias

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#screenplay #screenwriting #writing

[scifirealism]

1. Character being mistreated
2. Showing their humanity(their driver centers around them caring about someone other than themselves)
3. Having admirable traits

[JorgePrietoNYC]

Creating empathy for your protagonists in the first 10 pages/minutes is a must to hook the audience. Once they start caring for your characters, they will stay and root for that character's journey till the end.

[micable]

I love the plant in Leon. Simple, effective, brilliant.

[firstlast-oohe]

*What he is describing is sympathy not empathy! There IS a difference!*

Also, empathy is more important. Whether or not you feel sorry for a character does not matter if you cannot empathize with them. Empathy means the ability to share the feelings of someone else.

Sympathy = I understand how you feel.

Empathy = I FEEL HOW YOU FEEL. You don't need scenes like the ones he described to do this. You just need to figure out how to make the audience feel the way a character feels in any given scene. Main character is angry? Make the audience feel angry. Main character is sad? Make the audience feel sad. Main character is afraid? Make the audience feel afraid (this doesn't have to be a horror movie; fear can be experienced by creating suspense).

[KimTownsel]

Years ago, I was in a writing group with Karl. I found out he had written The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters and was amazed that he was so modest! I interviewed him and called myself his first fan. The book is excellent!

[Tubist]

But 1 important factor in Wall-E is: 'he' is adorable (from the first moment we lay our eyes on him)

[jamescamren]

I'm glad he shared this with us. Very helpful.

[wubranch]

He’s right about the technique being revealed, and it’s effect on you. You start seeing the structure then you stop being effected as deeply by the movie.

[kevsh]

L.A. Confidential: In the opening sequence Bud White stops on the way to a
Christmas party to beat up a wife abuser. Although we discover later
he's a police enforcer with questionable morals, that powerful first
impression highlighting his soft spot for abused women
forgives his later transgressions (for some viewers that may even include
forgiving him for striking Lynn?), and instantly makes him a deeper, more compelling character to watch.

[hamanu]

Great video about characterization and development. Thank you very much!

[GaryKlineCA]

The beginning of Sling Blade.  A lawyer/counselor arrives to interview the main character, who's about to be released from a state mental hospital. He describes his horrible childhood, and we feel sympathy for him.  He then explains why he's in the hospital - because he killed his mother and her teenage lover.

[drawinganimekid]

I just discovered you but i already love your videos!

[judichristopher]

Great Video...
He is "Right ON" ...

[Luke_Stoltenberg]

It is true that becoming proficient in a craft to the point you can see behind the scenes in real time kinda spoils the magic. You get like a junky, nothing obvious gives enough of a hit and you're constantly searching for a better high from something made well enough to hide the gears and allow you to sink into it

[reelscreenwriting]

Empathy is essential if you want the audience to care about your characters. Great information, I highly recommend you all check out his book. I took a course with him in the past and learned a lot, highly recommend :)

[giorgigudiashvili]

Great guy but whenever I see the topic I get reminded of Enrique Iglesias.

[thereccher]

Characters don't need to be likable. "Likability" is a marketing rule to pander to the dumb masses. The real key is empathy. The Punisher in the MCU Daredevil had grown men crying in the cemetery scene because every parent connects to what he's feeling. Even if he is a cold blooded murderer