DZ-97: Ensembles 2 - Servicing Characters

How do you give your audience access to a lot of characters? In Part 2 of our exploration into ensemble stories, Stu, Chas and Mel examine films whose plot and genre require a lot of characters. Thus we tackle a team sports film (PITCH PERFECT), a murder mystery (GLASS ONION), a slasher (SCREAM 2022) and a family holiday flick (THE FAMILY STONE). By looking at these films, we discover tools for writers to service characters and give them more dimension. These tools include: shifting group dynamics; the spectrum of private to public behaviour; breaking POV, and quintessential group introductions. As always: SPOILERS ABOUND Thanks to Chris Walker for editing this episode. CHAPTERS 00:00:00 - Cold Open 00:01:46 - Intro: Servicing Characters 00:14:40 - Pitch Perfect 00:37:54 - Glass Onion 01:09:20 - Scream 5 01:32:17 - The Family Stone 02:13:22 - Key Learnings & Wrap Up RELATED EPISODES DZ-96: Ensembles 1 - What do we mean by an ensemble? DZ-43: Driving Sequences – Character and Plot Intensity DZ-09: Characterising Introductions This episode brought to you by (drum roll): ScriptUp: https://www.scriptupstudio.com – use promo code DZ10 to get 10% off; and ArcStudio: go to https://www.arcstudiopro.com/draftzero for $30 off a pro subscription! And how can we forget our awesome Patreons? Especially Casimir, Eduardo, Jennifer, Garrett, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis, Alex and Khrob. You rule! Please considering rating or subscribing to us on Apple Podcasts or sharing us on the Social Medias! We like finding new listeners. We are @stuwillis, @chasffisher and @mehlsbells on twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter. BUY DRAFT ZERO MERCH via TeePublic