Character Development Blog Post

 

    For our project, me and my group are going to try to not only give our characters a reasonable character progression but not overextend our two minute time limit. 

    Even though our original script had showed our plot, we were made aware of something by our teacher, Mrs. Stoklosa. She informed us that because of the cliche around the antagonist in our scene being a bully, the opening might be decreased in quality because of it. So, we had decided to still make our plot revolve around the same concept, with Austin still messing with and being mean to Asher. However, we had decided to instead portray Austin as a more belligerent, rude individual rather than being a specific bully for Asher. This would mean that Asher, in his rage, would murder Austin not because of his consistently rude actions, but because it would be the culmination of constant disrespectful treatment in his life.

    We had also wanted to make our character names Austin and Asher because it would help to set up the power dynamic between the two for the entire opening. To be specific, according to Ancestry.com, Asher is meant to a happier and more uplifting name. In contrast, Austin is meant to portray a more strong and commanding name for the individual. This contrast between happiness and strength would aid us in setting up the relationship between the two, with Austin dominating over Asher for most of the introductory sequences.

    In creating our opening, we had wanted to focus more on one single character, being Asher, and try to fully display his character which is revealed throughout the entirety of our project. In our new introduction, we had decided to make Asher wait for Austin in order to do an assignment, trying to be patient and calm in his frustration. This would set up the initial audience perception of Asher as a patient and more responsible character. 

    We would then have Austin mess with Asher and take the work that they were supposed to work on together, causing him to become more upset and straining his already patient personality set up earlier in the scene. This would help to create another visible step away from the calmness seen at the beginning of the introduction to then transition to a more controlled anger.

    

    Finally, with the final section, his violent persona previously hidden throughout our project would be revealed, which would shock the audience and encourage them to continue watching. We would then cut to a more calm sequence of Asher entering his house in an saddened and burdened manner, which would lead into a sequence that would inform the audience more about this character.

    I believe that with these new improvisations made by me and my group, we will be able to better portray our character than the last script because of Mrs. Stoklosa's valuable advice. Although we will have to spend some time rewording and moving around certain elements of our script, I believe that with these specific ideas and plans, our project overall will benefit because of it.

Origin and Meaning of First Name Austin / Search Family History on Ancestry. (2017). Ancestry.com. https://www.ancestry.com/first-name-meaning/Austin

Asher : Meaning and Origin of First Name / Search Family History on Ancestry.com. (2021). Ancestry.com. https://www.ancestry.com/first-name-meaning/Asher

Biography and Genealogy / DoD MWR Libraries. (2026). Dodmwrlibraries.org.https://www.dodmwrlibraries.org/biography-genealogy