How Do Screenwriters Come Up With Names For Characters? by William C. Martell

BUY THE BOOKS - THE SECRETS TO ACTION SCREENWRITING
amzn.to/1vLLqzt
DIALOGUE SECRETS (Screenwriting Blue Books Book 10)
amzn.to/2w059Mv
MORE VIDEOS WITH WILLIAM C. MARTELL
bit.ly/1p9Gamx
CONNECT WITH WILLIAM C. MARTELL
www.scriptsecrets.net
www.imdb.com/name/nm0551598
/ wcmartell
CONNECT WITH FILM COURAGE
www.FilmCourage.com
#!/FilmCourage
/ filmcourage
/ filmcourage
/ filmcourage
BUSINESS INQUIRIES
bit.ly/22M0Va2
SUBSCRIBE TO THE FILM COURAGE KZbin CHANNEL
bit.ly/18DPN37
LISTEN TO THE FILM COURAGE PODCAST
/ filmcourage-com
PROMOTE YOUR MOVIE, WEBSERIES, OR PRODUCT ON FILM COURAGE
bit.ly/1nnJkgm
SUPPORT FILM COURAGE
/ filmcourage
Stuff we use:
CAMERA - This is the camera we have used to film 90+% of our interviews (over 200 interviews and counting) It continues to be our workhorse - amzn.to/2u66V1J
LENS - Most people ask us what camera we use, no one ever asks about the lens which filmmakers always tell us is more important. This lens was a big investment for us and one we wish we could have made sooner. Started using this lens at the end of 2013 - amzn.to/2tbtmOq
AUDIO
Rode VideoMic Pro - The Rode mic helps us capture our backup audio. It also helps us sync up our audio in post amzn.to/2t1n2hx
Audio Recorder - If we had to do it all over again, this is probably the first item we would have bought - amzn.to/2tbFlM9
LIGHTS - Although we like to use as much natural light as we can, we often enhance the lighting with this small portable light. We have two of them and they have saved us a number of times - amzn.to/2u5UnHv
COMPUTER - Our favorite computer, we each have one and have used various models since 2010 - amzn.to/2t1M67Z
EDITING - We upgraded our editing suite this year and we’re glad we did! This has improved our workflow and the quality of our work. Having new software also helps when we have a problem, it’s easy to search and find a solution - goo.gl/56LnpM
*These are affiliate links, by using them you can help support this channel.
#writing #screenwriting #screenplay

[@PauseFilms]

Love how honest he is. I Laughed so hard when he said "I made a movie... No one should go see it" lol.

[@zebracloak]

Darth Vader could be an example of a defining name that's a step away from on the nose.

[@WDSimp]

I once met a guy named Vincent Doom. But if I put that name in a script, nobody would believe that I didn't just make that up for the sake of having a character with a cool name.

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

MailOrderClone So? If it fits, use it! Or maybe spell it differently, but sounds the same. Vince Doome. Make it a joke. Like McLovin in Superbad.

[@LLMAXG]

It's not as good as yours but i worked with a guy called Wesley Ford. And i always thought that was an awesome name.

[@fjgarcia3]

Victor von What?

[@JorgePrietoNYC]

My problem with my own characters names was, too many characters with the same first letter, which I know have to make sure I go through the alphabet. I hate it, but it's something my readers, tell me. Surprised this was not an issue. Great topic all the same.

[@MarcoR6]

I think last names are usually more important (and remarkable) then first names: Sarah Connor, Ellen Ripley, James Bond, John Rambo, James T. Kirk, Luke Skywalker, Michael Corleone, John Wick, etc.

[@JamesSmith-vk2ky]

Marco R. Good point.

[@AB-hz2od]

But that only works for western characters. Just like how lots of western people tend to have plainer first names (James, Emily, etc) and more recognizable last names, some countries tend to have plainer last names (in S. Korea for example, like 80% of the population has the surname of either Kim, Park, or Lee) and therefore people give their children more distinct first names.

[@squidsona8509]

Lol i dont even give characters last names

[@yerabbit6333]

i love how unashamed he is of talking about his sillier movies, also his advice is so good - definitely my favorite guest

[@JackDecker63]

Come on, come on, Film Courage, do a series with him! You've found the diamond in the rough. Don't toss it back into the rough. Again, I suggest you film him watching movies. Split screen. Movie on left and him on right. Give him the remote. Let him pause it and comment. Let him rewind it to point out how things tie together or don't.

[@timwiesner5941]

YES! Please do that!

[@therunawayrascal]

still a great idea

[@devonhayes2209]

Still awesome. Do it!

[@heikkiaho6605]

This! Very much yes please thx!

[@poojabhandaari]

Film Courage, you guys are doing an amazing job. I watched all the videos of Wiliam C Martell and I am so grateful to you and him for all the information he shared. I can't tell you how happy I am. I am truly grateful to you. Thanks a ton.

[@trettfilms]

These videos are so good!

[@felicity4711]

If your movie becomes popular enough to have fans, _they_ will find the script and read it slowly and lovingly. Back in the 1990s there was a comic shop around here that sold movie scripts. I read the original 1989 script for _Watchmen_ at that shop. Nowadays fans are more likely to see if they can find a screenplay online, but they’ll still care enough to read it in depth.

[@mariesnape]

Oh and, Martell is a pretty cool last name, can´t help but think of Oberyn.

[@SirGrit]

as a pre-boarding screen officer, once meant a guy named Quinton Quintus Quinnquist. literally read his name aloud before boarding a flight. He was nice. never saw him again, just read his I.D, i’ve seen lots of beautiful names such as Serene Le da Vega. Kitell Kitchener Relphine Wolfgang. Barrett Battle. P Persephone St. Pettersonberg, all over 10 years ago. and i’ll never see them again, they just board their flights without ever remembering me. Yet I always remember them. they were all very sweet people. except Ralphine, he had for some reason. packed raw tuna. in a baggie with shrimps, said he was going fishing but it stinker none the less. very old man, wearing a vest with a cargo shorts. his I.D said he was from Venezuela but he had a very thick Swedish accent, but I do live in Sweden. still just meeting people with names that seem extremely uncommon is always such a bizarre thing for me. Yet they just live like any of us. with names unlike ours, yet are exactly like us.

[@filmcourage]

Love these names! For those of us old enough to remember phone books, you used to be able to come up with interesting combinations of first and last names from flipping through the pages. Also, department stores that had loud speakers "so and so, your order is ready..., etc.). I can still remember a piano recital and the pianist's first name was Pepper. Thank you for watching!

[@SirGrit]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@filmcouragemy pleasure. I more so remember through initials. I always was interested in writing but never had the time. I was writing a crime noir film and I just have those named I remember written down to this day. I slowly lost them through time but kept the ones i thought were interesting. oh the forgotten names that could’ve been amazing. I used to try and read through phones book in my region but I could never pull a character out of just the written word, But once I read those names on those I.D’s i instantly got a character out of it because the person was standing in front of me. Those minute ways of thinking can really compel a story forward with a strong believable name. which most of the time is the people around us. Pepper is a great name. The knowledge this channel holds and provides is that of film school it self. always a great and important learning experience when i watch your guys work, thank you.

[@filmcourage]

Thank you for the kind words. Great to hear you are enjoying the videos. There is so much power in a name. Cheers!

[@Katy-sh3ru]

This isn't one of the worst but one of the my recent favourites - I just LOVE how in Star Trek Discovery, they named their science officer who experiments with mycelium after Paul Stamets - a very cool, real- life mycologist 😊

[@animetrip18]

Great!

[@vincentpaterno5311]

I have a rom-com script where the protagonist, a Las Vegas casino waitress, is named Colleen Cossitt (her middle name is Carole, FWIW). Her eventual love interest is an inventor/scientist and regular customer named Keswick Fletcher, who often reminds Colleen that he has a doctorate from Berkeley.

[@ScribblebytesWorldwide]

I think the nest character name ever is: Sidney Prescott.

[@97days]

This guy just explained how implicit bias works and how sexism is perpetuated in Hollywood.

[@mariesnape]

damn I love these videos

[@swiftbird2C]

Thanks!

[@filmcourage]

Thank you so much Swift Bird! We appreciate you supporting and giving back to this channel. We hope this gave you some good ideas for characters in your stories.

[@TacticalOwtlaw]

I really like his videos, please post more...

[@filmcourage]

+STILES1963 Bill is awesome. Good news is that we still have 40+ minutes of interview left with Mr. Martell that we haven't posted yet. : )

[@JackDecker63]

+STILES1963 I second this!

[@robertspencefilms]

This is so useful!

[@filmcourage]

Glad it was helpful!

[@midwestmonster9886]

I think Jurassic Park has the best names of any property I can think of. So many memorable ones in one story. Alan Grant, Ian Malcolm, John Hammond, Ellie Sattler, Ray Arnold, Robert Muldoon... Dennis Nedry isn't as cool as the other names, but it fits the character. It's an anagram of "Nerdy" and has a subliminal suggestion of the same without being too on the nose about it.

[@boluolaleye]

I didn’t t know Neil degrasse Tyson wrote film

[@jeffmcmahon3278]

Which begs the question: what qualifications do interns have for evaluating scripts? A couple of semesters at film school?

[@ScribblebytesWorldwide]

The charcater tells me their names. They make me go down a rabbit hope until I finds them.

[@andandopalteatroconlospies8139]

Martell is Catalan for hammer, so... nice! ;) I sometimes use words from other languages for names or surname to mean something or for the sound of it. Just like he said with sergeant Betsy.

[@the_joe_reynolds_foundation]

2:05 ATTN: sci-fi and fantasy writers

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

William...Can I call you Bill? Please tell us where we can read 'worst screenplay lines'!!!

[@javakendrick321]

This guy sounds exactly like the dude from cosmic wonder.

[@Username74-b8h]

Seth Rogan's voice! Every time I watch his videos, I'm like "he sounds familiar"! But once I closed my eyes, Seth Rogan came out

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

I go to the Social Security page, '100 most popular names by decade'. If my character was born in 1970, I use a name that was popular in the 70s. Also, if he's German, search for popular German first names 1980. That sort of thing. Phone books? What are those? There are no White pages anymore. (Don't know what White Pages are? Ask Grandpa...)

[@majestic8274]

He sounds like the Comics Explained guy

[@jrviade85]

Sometimes confusing audience with names is intentional and is cool for example in "I'm legend" Will's dog was called sam throughout most of the movie and we thought it was a boy until the dog gets infected and before will has to kill it he calls her by her complete name wich was samantha then the audience went like "oh its a girl" Maybe a small detail in that movie but it did cause an effect on the audience 😉

[@ArthurThijs]

Sergant Sandra

[@everestcanyon5647]

Llyod Garmadon because it sounds like Lord Garmadon. And then that character becomes one of the main characters for the series, long outliving the pun his name was intended for.

[@jrviade85]

Well face off is a really cool movie so ok... And the reason they named the villain castor troy is so everybody who watches the movie will remember this movie as soon as someone mentions that name Because who else is called castor troy?? If you hear castor troy you right away remember the movie If his name was "John" you might think of terminator first instead of remembering face off

[@bruisednoggin7301]

simple.... they choose a name from an already established franchise. regurgitate and reboot.

[@julius-stark]

I disagree with him about Face/Off. Castor Troy is an appropriately ridiculous name for a Nic Cage character.

[@squidsona8509]

For me, norse myth is always an option

[@crystalwolfer4117]

if I give my lead a Celtic name would it make him too Irish?

[@Brindlebrother]

Fufu Cuddly Poops is a good name

[@oneeyedphotographer]

A trap for an unwary yank, sergeant baker is a fish. So is john dory.

[@C.Church]

I've come to dislike the name Jack as lazy and cliche. John is a distant 2nd if the character is other cliches.

[@bananian]

Name generator

[@miguelperezrodriguez3246]

6:12 Why not just describing her character as a woman? ._.

[@raz8552]

I also wondered this but I think what he was getting at there is that the initial character description is set up in a script when the character first appears, which could be page 1. So you need a name that can carry that description in your head because by page 40 or so you're not going back to page 1 every time you need to be reminded of who this character is. If the name is confusing or ambiguous in that sense you'll lose aspects of that character, like his "Sgt. Burton" character, who's name sounds like a man when you read it on paper, even knowing she's female.

[@elfboy745]

It's also about the name desexing the character. That said Vasquez nor Ripley don't exactly scream woman either, so does it really matter? If someone reads a name and can't remember if she's male or female, you got a bigger problem than the name, my friend.

[@MMMRATTY]

I heard Sergeant Betsy and I immediately connected that name to Rosie the Riveter if it were Badass Betty White. But that's kinda illogical because Betty White is a badass with or without rank. Word association is a bitch sometimes. But, Betty White would be an awesome sergeant.

[@davidcarroll3993]

All your adds are super annoying!!!!

[@SageGarlandSingerSongwriter]

Seriously? Five ads in a ten minute video? I liked the content but I'm going to have to dislike this video.

[@rickyv]

Will Hunting was an okay name until they used it in the title, Good Will Hunting. Cheesy.