Wrong.
Well. Kind of wrong. A good plan of attack when you are about to leap into scripting is to first do characters and then a treatment. I'll go into more details about what a treatment in the next post, but for now the best way to think of it is a short story of what you intend to write a script of. This helps to focus your ideas and often exposes any inconsistencies.
It's not 100% vital, but most producers and grants will require you to provide a treatment before they even look at a script. So I will be taking that step next.
In order to get the most out of my treatment, I'm going to write up the characters first.
There is no right or wrong way to do this. I feel that it helps to not detail characters too much. A common rookie mistake is to develop the characters in amazing depth at this early stage - but you have yet to cast them. It is better, in my mind, to have a broad vision of the characters. What are the really, really important things to know about them. This is what we need right now. Through the treatment and first draft process the characters will grow - and we can then add detail at that point. Right now, I just need to have an idea of who they are - with the knowledge that by the time the scripts get written and the roles are cast, these characters may change.
The Flatmates
Firstly, let's look at the three mortal characters. These guys are our main leads and will be the characters that hopefully the audience will identify with most.
Andrena - Unwilling Responsibility - Andrena is the eldest flatmate and likely the lease holder. She's friendly but a bit motherly. I see her as wanting to be more like Melissa, but unable to let things go into complete anarchy. She's a balancing influence who takes the responsible role because nobody else will. Responsible, Balancing, Motherly.
Melissa - Care-free Chaos - Mel is almost the opposite of Andrena. She throws herself into the chaos of life and milks every drop of enjoyment she can out of it. She likes to keep people off balance for her own amusement. If she wants a party, she throws a party. She loves Andrena as a friend and probably uses her a bit too. I see her key relationship with Andrena being one of little sister trying to help big sister loosen up. Ironically, this probably causes Andrena to become more responsible rather than less. Mel is likely to be very emotional. Carefree, Emotional, Unpredictable.
Devon - Confusion in Love - Devon is newly out of the closet. He's likely fooled around with a couple of guys and had one boyfriend. He is more like Melissa than Andrena, but is less likely to go off the deep end. He desperately wants to be loved but isn't really sure how to tell when he is in love. He is very physical and likely measures things by their more tangible qualities. Hence his troubles with more emotional issues. Loving, Confused, Physicality.
The Numina
Although the series is being pitched as Three Flatmates, One God - the series actually will involve three Numina. Numina is the name I am giving the gods of the series. I've decided that humanity's understanding of gods is flawed and that the Numina are the actual beings that we base mythology on. This allows me to create vague Numina that the audience can debate about which mythology (or mythologies) they inspired. It should also become fairly obvious that each Numen is a partner to each mortal in regards to theme.
Deus - Lost in Translation - Deus is the primary Numen in the show. He's the first that the characters will meet and initially appears delirious and barely able to speak. When he is first introduced, Devon will misunderstand his statement "I am a god" as "I am God." Deus will have a very alien perspective on humanity and the world. He perceives everything in spiritual terms. Here is the twist as to why I decided not to outright make him God - he will fall in love with Devon. I thought a while about this character trait, and I really want to explore this relationship because it will be revealed that Deus is asexual. Not in the no bait and tackle sense, but in the emotional sense. Asexuality is an orientation that is not explored much and has a lot of confusion about it. I really am interested in having a core relationship that looks at the gay prejudice towards asexuals who want love and intimacy but not sex. Who better than a spiritual being to act as a catalyst for exploring that? Deus' other theme is being lost. He's not sure why he has shown up, and is looking for answers. Enigmatic, Loving, Reserved.
Urge - Passion Unleashed - If Deus is reserved and hard to fathom, Urge wears his nature open and proud on his sleeve. He's not evil, but he is all about himself and doing whatever he wants. This will naturally make him appealing to Mel. Urge is the initial antagonist of the series. He knows the score, and is taking advantage of Deus' confusion and weakness. He will be a wedge in a number of relationships and will likely cause all manner of disruption. Disruptive, Passionate, Unrestrained.
Anima - Order and Mystery - if Deus is a twin to Devon and Urge a twin to Mel, Anima is the twin to Andrena. She will not be known to any of the other characters initially, being a vision in Deus' dreams. Anima is going to be trying to help Deus remember who and what he is and will be very responsible and controlled. But she should also be the greatest enigma in the series. Is she a part of Deus? Or is she something else? Mysterious, Aloof, Ordered.
And there you have it. The six core characters outlined in broad strokes. Enough for me to be able to write my initial treatment.
Next up: The Treatment.
Conan
Sounds exciting!
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