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New screenwriters and filmmakers often find themselves in a quandary when it comes to deciding who the main character is of their film. In shorts, this is less so, but the longer the script the harder it is, sometimes, to know who the main character is.
One way around this is to decide who you want your audience to see first. If the star is a huge movie star, we usually see him or her on the Fade In shot. If you're writing a short script about an athlete and his relationship with his difficult coach, you can choose to introduce the athlete first. We'll meet him. Get a sense of who he is. What his world is. Then we'll meet the coach and realize that the coach is the athlete's nemesis.
In the process of writing the script, though, you may start with the coach. Then introduce the athlete. But by the time you finish the first draft, you'll have a stronger sense of whose story it really is.
But when in doubt: it's the person you introduce first. |
