It has always been standard practice for protagonists in screenplays to develop over the course of the story. The character development is even more significant in character arc centred stories, in which the protagonist is expected to complete some form of transformation by the end of the final act. This is especially true in coming-of-age stories, and more recently in minimalist science fiction screenplays which often use science fiction elements as a platform to explore the protagonist's inner conflict.
My exegesis is an examination of the character arc centred screenplay, specifically focusing on the structure of character driven stories. The research will be an investigation of how the action and relationship lines in a screenplay are constructed to emphasise the character arc line. I have written a science fiction drama screenplay, Feelers, to explore this research topic.
Feelers follows the story of Blake, a young woman who is unwilling to let go of her clearly uncommitted boyfriend. In a desperate attempt to earn enough money to join him overseas, Blake takes a job as a Feeler, absorbing the emotions of a middle aged housewife. Blake soon develops romantic feelings towards her employer's husband, Greg, and finds herself on the familiar path to codependency.
The exegesis reports on: the difficulty of preventing Blake and Greg's relationship from stealing the focus of the screenplay, the classic coming-of-age story techniques I used to illustrate the protagonist's transformation, and the danger of commencing the writing process with an ambiguous character arc.
