Character’s Statement of Transformation

I hope your May is going well! Today’s Part 3 of our 4-part series on character transformation involves a special video treat.

If you missed Part 2, you can read here about how the moment of enlightenment can turn the dreaded Second Act into a transformational midpoint.

In good narrative films, characters needs to evolve and change. Captain America started out as Steve Rogers, a scrawny guy who was rejected for the military. He transforms into a superhero by drinking a serum.

“True transformational change is a decision made by the protagonist,” says Dara Marks, author of Inside Story, a guide for fictional filmmaking. In screenplays, this decision is often followed by a Protagonist’s Statement of Transformation—often just a line of dialogue about how they’ve changed.

However in documentary films–especially those involving big ideas–it’s often the character’s viewpoint, not her personality that changes.

For example, in Dirty Wars, investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill documents how his views about the U.S. military shifted as he unearthed damning evidence.

He ends the film with a well-crafted Protagonist’s Statement of Desire, which you can watch in my 3-minute YouTube tutorial (today’s treat):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr60GatgzJA

What are you trying to express through your protagonist’s quest for understanding?

“We don’t write what we know, we write what we are called to know,” says Marks. A story consultant “holds up a mirror to show you what you’re trying to say.”