The Impact Character

Wonderful Chris Huntley of The Write Brothers, the man behind Dramatica Software and MovieMagic was my booth neighbor at the Fade In Pitch Fest this weekend. We wound up spending some time together and Chris shared with me a series of video clips he put together in which the "impact character" identifies with the main character. This series of clips illustrates Chris' point beautifully.

So - what is this "impact character"? At The Writers Boot Camp, this was called the "dynamic character" - a character who can variously be an antagonist, mentor or co-protagonist. This is a character who shares, in a sense, a parallel journey with your main character - a character who is in many ways opposite from your main character and yet ultimately more like the main character than the main character would like to admit. Enjoy these great movie moments which illustrate the way in which a secondary character influences the main character:

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