How to Write Characters’ Introductions — A Character’s Most Important Scene

First impressions are everything. And you only get one chance at them. - Hello.

- How we first meet a character informs how we see them for the entire runtime of a movie. This is 'How to Introduce a Character'. Let's begin with our own introduction.

- Allow myself to introduce myself. - Subscribe to StudioBinder and turn on notifications to stay up to date on all our videos. Some of these character introductions get violent.

So graphic content lies ahead. On to the meet and greet. - Well, I'm a young filmmaker and a real big fan.

I just wanted to meet you. - How a character is revealed to an audience relays huge amounts of information and sets up expectations of what's to come. In films like 'Amelie', we begin with a proper introduction from day one.

But this kind of thorough backstory is rare. And the best introductions focus on the essential qualities of a character more implicitly. What are they doing?

What are they wearing? What are they saying? Entering the town of Twin Peaks.

- Take this introduction of Agent Cooper in 'Twin Peaks'. What can we learn from this single shot? From his appearance, we can see that he's clean-cut and put together.

His expression is of cool determination. His monologue shows us that he is detail-oriented, a bit quirky, and curious. The music underscores his suave and collected demeanor.

- Fifty-four degrees on a slightly overcast day, where the man said rain. You can get paid that kind of money for being wrong sixty percent of the time and be working. - Through a variety of techniques, filmmakers can establish a character in just a few seconds.

- Oh, come on. Please. - The rest of the film can confirm our assumptions.

- Yeah. They're hicks, Rita. - Or subvert them.

- Let's live here. - Let's look at how to effectively establish a character. Beginning with their character traits.

- It's 30 minutes away. I'll be there in 10. - Before a single frame is shot, a character is established on the page.

Often, a writer will describe their principal traits when they first appear. This will typically be as brief and as specific as possible, cutting to the core of who the character is. In his 'Whiplash' script, Damien Chazelle describes Fletcher as one of those people whose whisper can scare the crap out of you.

An apt summary for an intimidating character. - I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

- You know who I am? - Yes, sir. - So you know I'm looking for players.

- Yes, sir. - Then why did you stop playing? - Descriptions can be even more brief with just a few adjectives.

In 'Lost in Translation', Sofia Coppola describes Bob simply as tired and depressed, which is all we need to know about him to start. A writer can introduce their character by solely describing their appearance. This is often done if their appearance is important to the story.

And, or, to define a character trait. In her 'Mean Girls' script, Tina Fey introduces Cady purely based on what she looks like. She is naturally pretty.

Her long hair has never been dyed. Her eyebrows have never been plucked. She has a fantastic tan.

In other words, she lacks vanity. This sets her in direct opposition to her antagonist, Regina, and establishes one of the core themes of the film. Not all writers will include a character description.

Paul Thomas Anderson, for example, rarely includes any details about his characters beyond their general age. - It's what you take. - Whatever approach you take when writing your description, it won't be read by your audience.

So, it will need to be translated to the screen. First and foremost, this can be done with a character's look. - Honey, you see my wallet?

- A writer may not describe what a character looks like. But eventually, they'll have to look like something. - It seems I wore my long legs today.

- And while we're taught not to judge a book by its cover audiences typically take into account a character's appearance. In this sequence from 'No Country for Old Men', the Coen brothers introduce their character by withholding their appearance, creating mystery. In their script, Chigurh is given almost no detail.

For this line, the Coens have already planned for the camera to keep his appearance a mystery. For now. - What is that?

- I need you to step out of the car, sir. - Looks are the most direct form of characterization. For example, take a single actor and compare how their different appearances instantly create different characters.

- I'm only your favorite woman of all time. Barbie! - Darth Vader immediately stands out in all black against the white hallway and white stormtroopers.

His helmet and cape, along with being shot from a low angle, make him all the more menacing. John Doe's reveal in 'Se7en' is equally menacing but in a very different way. - Detective!

You're looking for me. - He is covered in blood, and he has mutilated his hands to hide his fingerprints. - I know you.

- Now! Get down! Get down!

- His appearance alone signals that he is a violent sociopath. Faster! - Faster!

Faster! - Sometimes a character has no outfit at all. In 'The Terminator', James Cameron utilizes Arnold Schwarzenegger's physique to make the T 800 seem unstoppable.

The Dude's introduction in 'The Big Lebowski' is the opposite of intimidating. With his bathrobe and shaggy hair, it's clear that for the time being, he doesn't have a care in the world. - And that's the dude in Los Angeles.

And even if he's a lazy man, and the Dude was most certainly that, quite possibly the laziest in Los Angeles County, which would place him high and running for laziest worldwide. But sometimes there's a man. Sometimes.

There's a man. - Once their appearance is established, or sometimes even before, a character can be introduced with their first line. - When I think of my wife, I always think of her head.

I picture cracking her lovely skull, unspooling her brains, trying to get answers. - A character's opening line is arguably the most important piece of dialogue they'll have in the entire movie. - I was 12 going on 13 the first time I saw a dead human being.

- It can instantly establish their personality, their goals, their point of view, and more. - We were somewhere around Barstow. On the edge of the desert, when the drugs begin to take hold.

- I remember when I first started falling in love with you like it was last night. - In 'Her', we are introduced to Theodore Twombly through an opening monologue. His speech is filled with pathos and romance.

- Suddenly this bright light hit me and woke me up. That light was you. - But it turns out, it is written on someone else's behalf.

Through this opening, we learn that Theodore has a big heart. But he isn't able to put it to use in his personal life. In 'Patton', the famed general introduces himself with a rousing speech.

Establishing that he is a persuasive and hardened leader, hell-bent on winning the war. - I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. You won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.

- A character can also be introduced through their own voiceover. - My name is Lester Burnham. This is my neighborhood.

In less than a year, I'll be dead. - 'A Clockwork Orange' uses this technique to present Alex setting up his unique slang and the perverse boredom which leads him to commit horrific crimes. Kubrick underscores the monologue by slowly dolling out from Alex, revealing the world around him that he has so much resentment for.

- There was me, that is Alex and my three droogs. That is Pete, Georgie and Dim, and we sat in the Corova milk bar trying to make up our what to do with the evening. - While Costello's voiceover in 'The Departed' establishes him as cutthroat and controlling.

- I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me. - By having Costello's opening monologue be over a montage of Boston, Scorsese equates him with the city.

- No one gives it to you. You have to take it. - But an opening line doesn't need to be a monologue to tell us a lot about a character.

In 'Citizen Kane', we are introduced to Charles with just one word. - Rosebud. - This creates mystery around the powerful man who seemingly had everything.

A slight warning. Up next, we're going to spoil a bit of the ending of 'Nightcrawler'. In 'Nightcrawler', Lou's first two words speak volumes about his character.

- I'm lost. - This line shows us that he's deceitful. But also takes a larger meaning.

Lou is a lost soul. Having gravitated to a morally dubious profession. - You saw him.

You saw him. - I can't jeopardize my company's success to retain an untrustworthy employee. - In 'Oliver Twist', the titular protagonist's first spoken line establishes that he is brave in the face of cruelty.

And it also outlines his guiding goal. Oliver wants more out of this life. - Please, sir.

I want some more. - A character's opening dialogue can color how an audience views them for the rest of a film. The same can be said for their first action.

- Oh, that came outta f*cking nowhere. - There's the old adage that states judge me by what I do, not what I say. And this can apply to a character's introduction.

Their first action can tell us volumes about who they are. In 'The Matrix', we first see Trinity being targeted by a massive police force. Her combat skills establish her as a force to be reckoned with, a seasoned fighter who will be invaluable to Neo.

Willy Wonka's iconic introduction, meanwhile, shows us that he is a wily trickster, someone who, while playful cannot fully be trusted. When a protagonist's first action is to do something good or selfless, what Blake Snyder dubbed, Save the Cat. It's a great way to establish an empathetic connection with the audience.

In 'Chinatown', Jake is cynical and hardened. - Down the hatch. - But he lets a down-on-his-luck client off the bill.

Signaling to the audience that beneath it all he has a heart. I only brought it up to illustrate a point. I don't want your last dime.

What kind of a guy do you think I am? - Thank you, Mr Giddens. - Call me Jake.

Careful driving home, Curl, huh? - The meaning we take from a character's first action can be compounded by the reaction of characters around them. In 'Jaws', for example, Quint introduces himself by scratching a chalkboard.

We then cut to reaction shots of the islanders who look at him with disdain. Steven Spielberg creates intrigue by slowly revealing him with a long dolly. At first, he's small and lost in the crowd.

But by the end, he fills the frame. Quint is an outsider who can command a room's attention when he wants to. - This shark will swallow you whole.

It'll shake him, it'll tenderize him. Down you go. And we gotta do it quick.

That'll bring back the tourists. That'll put all your businesses on a pay-in basis. But it's not gonna be pleasant.

I value my neck a lot more than 3,000 bucks, chief. I'll find him for three, but I'll catch him. And kill him.

For ten. - Blade's reveal relies even more on reactions. Director Stephen Norrington opts to exhibit the frightened faces of the vampires first.

Showing how intimidating Blade is before even presenting his face. When he is finally revealed, it is at a low angle and the crowd parts around him further emphasizing his power. - It's the Daywalker.

- The cherry on top is the sound design. - The music cuts. And all we can hear are his footsteps.

You've worked hard on creating a well-rounded and interesting character. - Hello! How y'all doing?

- So make sure you get them started on the right foot. You only get one first impression. Introduce the world to your character with StudioBinder.

Write your script, storyboard the shots, break down the props and wardrobe, and more. That's all for now. It's been great meeting you.