Anyone write big ensembles? How do you avoid readers being confused with ‘too many characters.’
I have 3 biker gangs which I think works on screen but on the page people get confused.
#scriptsky #screenwriting
I have 3 biker gangs which I think works on screen but on the page people get confused.
#scriptsky #screenwriting
Comments
One handy trick is to use different names so they are easier to tell apart from one another.
I’d constantly write lines like “three biker gangs fill the street. Whatever you’re picturing, that’s it.”
I try to keep it to about five primary characters.
Here are some common errors: 1. The names are too much alike, 2. The voices are too much alike 3. The characters arent intro’d with weight, in the process of doing something
https://www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/THE-BIKERIDERS-04-15-23-2.pdf
#2, give each character a specific personality or archetype. It can be cliche - the dumb one, the hippie, the neat freak - but it will make them memorable.
One thing I see a lot is introducing too many characters all at once. If you have a paragraph that introduces 3+ characters, try breaking them up. Introduce the most important people first...
Then give them each a very specific character trait.
@scriptsbyjames.bsky.social is great!
I make sure to have everyone's name start with the same letter. I mean who could get Austin, Avery, and Acton confused?
Seriously, a lot of folks have already covered it, but split up your intros and above all make each character memorable.
In my Star Wars pilot, I had one trooper stand out by cracking a dad joke:
How does Lord Vader like his toast?
A little on the Dark Side.
TBH, something where everyone is basically dressed the same/similar roles (also, say, war movies) is often tough on screen too.
Focusing on 1 or 2 characters from each gang, and letting the others be 'texture' with cues that the reader doesn't need to keep close track might help
The original Twister actually does this really well. A lot of the ensemble characters have under 12 lines (some are even sentence fragments) but even if they can’t remember their name the audience remembers>c<
Can’t wait to hear more about what you’re cooking. :)
Even with the 5 members of the Scoob gang, you'd never mix any of them up! So make characters unique and memorable and they'll stand out (in theory, working on the practice!)
I mean, even if you think about something like Sex and the City, they all have their distinct personalities: the sweet one, the spicy one, the bitter one, and whatever Carrie was.