1 Università della Santa Croce Facoltà di Comunicazione Dispensa ...

19consultant, Marie-Eve Kielsen,of Kielsen Media Consulting.“Over and over again, I thinkwriters feel that it’s not acceptedif they write from their ownvantage point. [Writers]should have the courage towrite about what they knowand not try to write the genrethat’s accepted by all the agentsand Hollywood.” Kielsen’sbackground is in marriage andfamily therapy and her approachto script consulting is not topsychoanalyze the writer. “It’s togive the writer the courage andsupport to make the characterwork within the context of thestory.”“Even if a writer doesn’t havethe script already formed,they’re beginning to think aboutthe characters they want to writeabout, about the story and theysometimes need a deeperunderstanding of what ismotivating, what is driving theperson to make the decisionsand the choices that they’remaking. My role is to have thatwriter dig deeply underneathand say, ‘Okay, why is thisperson speaking the way they’respeaking? Why are they thinkingthe way they’re thinking? Whatdo they need to do differently ifthey want to accomplish A, B, Cor D?’”Motivation is key tocreating multi-dimensionalcharacters that “leap off thepage,” but the motivation mustbe realistic and “organic” to thestory. “There are some scripts Iread where there are no realstakes for the character, there’sno meaning for what thecharacter is going through,” saysGertler.“If there’s no meaning forthe character then there’sno meaning for me unlessthere is some sort of point to bemade about the character notbeing able to gain any meaningfrom what he or she is doing.”What comes first, thecharacter or the plot,depends a great deal on thewriter’s approach but whatagents and producers wantis for both elements tocompliment each other.If the writer begins with theplot and creates charactersto inhabit that world, hemust allow the characters to bewho they are rather than writecontrived character definingscenes to serve the plot. “It’s amatter of taking the time tounderstand what thecharacter is thinking andfeeling,” adds Kielsen. “Whatare the environmental and