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Character Profiles
In a feature film the back story is the character development.
A good character is one the audience understands. This means they have to know the character. This means that you, as a writer, have to develop and know your character so well that you construct believable reactions to the circumstances. You don't have to do this for all your characters; some are extras, some are minor, some opposing, some supportive but the major characters have to have a history and a biography to develop. This biography is the back story.
This biography includes everything; education, looks ( physical leatures), family, professional history, lifstyles, relationships, sports, failures, sucesses, disorders, past and present diseases, fears, weaknesses, phobias, and any other traits you can think of.
How do you start to think of this information?
Start with answering the following questions:
1. What is your character's ethical perspective? (See Paul Lester's baseline list.)
2. Is your character dominated by emotion or logic?
3. What is your character's great strength?
4. What is your character's flaw?
5. How does your character see him or herself?
6. How is your character seen by others?
7. What is your character's biggest secret?
8. What does your character want?
9. How far will your character go to get what he or she wants?
10. What does your character learn in the story?
Answer the questions with the story and the story's conflicts in mind. Then you can construct a character that can meet the demands of the story and its conflicts.