Tutorial › Path 2: Development
Unit 3: Characters and locations
In this unit, you complete Nostradamus's sheet, draw his arc and file one location inside another.
A character's sheet
- Rail › Characters › Nostradamus.
- Identity: his role (supporting), his age, his occupation. Changing the first or last name renames the character in all his dialogue.
- Portrait and Dramatic drive: desire, fear, need, goal, obstacle, stakes.
- "Add a field…": fields to go deeper, sorted by category. An emptied field is removed.
- Scenes: the ones he plays in, from each scene's cast.
Draw an arc
An arc says how the character changes.
- In the sheet, Arcs section: create an arc, "From doubt to belief".
- Initial situation: "He thinks the journey is madness."
- Add a turning point: the event that changes him, before and after, linked to its scene (the capture by the Selenites).
- Final situation: "He refuses to go back, but he has seen the Moon."
Turning points linked to a scene appear in Crossed Arcs (Elements group), on the story's axis, next to those of the other characters.
File a sub-location
In the example, the Moon contains the Selenites' Cave and the Crater's Edge: a location can contain others, on one level.
- Rail › Locations.
- Create "Arch of flowers", then drag it onto "Town square": it is filed there (with the keyboard: Alt+↑ / Alt+↓, and Alt+← to take it out).
- Open the square: its type (EXT.) goes into the heading of the scenes shot there.
A location's sheet also carries its plan and its furniture: a piece of furniture placed on the plan shows up on the Props page.
Props and vehicles
- Hand prop: Props page › "+", then tick it in the scene (inspector › Props).
- Furniture: location sheet › Furniture.
- Vehicle: Vehicles page › "+", then tick it in the scene.
Next: Unit 4: Read and share.