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Stories cannot exist without characters to drive the action or respond to events.

There are a number of key terms we need to know when we’re analysing film narratives or creating our own scripts.

Characterisation

This is the process of inventing a character.

In a well-written film this stage will have been given lots of thought and the characters will have been given set characteristics and traits.

A detailed approach to characterisation will result in more compelling characters and may help avoid stereotypes.

When creating a character a screenwriter should consider the following:

• Age: a young character may react very differently to events than an older one
• Social background: where a character is from, their education and their access to money should all have effects on their overall personality
• Gender: a character’s sex may give them a different perspective on the story events
• Personality: a character may be quick to anger, curious, witty or all of those things

Character types

Characters in film can usually be classed by their function in the narrative. The two most important character types are the protagonist and the antagonist.

The protagonist is the main character.

We normally see most of the story events from their point of view and we are usually encouraged to empathise with them.

^{Harry Potter is the protagonist of the Harry Potter films.}

The antagonist is a character who stands against the protagonist.

In the Harry Potter films, Voldemort is the chief antagonist.

He is the most powerful and most prominent enemy our hero faces, but is not the only antagonist.

Other characters such as The Dementors and the Death Eaters also fill this role.

Propp’s character types

In the early Twentieth Century Russian writer Vladimir Propp analysed over a hundred fairy tales and from that identified eight different character types:

• The villain is the antagonist who plots against the main character. In the Harry Potter films this function is served by Voldemort
• The dispatcher is a character who informs the hero or heroine of some emergency or need and sends them on their quest. This role is carried out by Dumbledore
• The helper, often literally magical, helps the main character during their quest. In the Harry Potter universe, Ron and Hermione fulfill this role
• The princess is the hero’s love interest but they cannot be married until the villain is defeated. In Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince (2009), this role is fulfilled by Ginny Weasley
• The princess’ father gives the hero his task and exposes the False Hero. Ginny’s father Arthur fulfills this role
• The donor prepares the Hero for the challenges ahead. In the Harry Potter stories this role is fulfilled by Hagrid
• The hero reacts and responds to the donor and gets married to the Princess. This is Harry Potter himself
• The false hero is jealous of the hero, plots against them and takes false credit for the hero’s achievements. Draco Malfoy is the False Hero in the Harry Potter stories