Types of Characters in a Story - Character Functions

[@velvetbees]

This is going to help me refine my story. These types of characters already exist in my story, but knowing their precise functions changes everything. Thank you.

[@AugmentedActor]

I'm pleased the video is helping you out.

[@ur_only_kay]

this has help me so much in my end of year exam

[@AugmentedActor]

I'm so glad it helped!

[@Mei-dv2bx]

This helps so much, you explained everything so well! Thank you :))

[@AugmentedActor]

I’m so glad it helped.

[@rishank_lahkar]

Thank I've tried to find videos like this

[@AugmentedActor]

I’m glad you found this one!

[@caitlynscott118]

Once again! Great job! You should receive more attention for all of your helpful work.

[@AugmentedActor]

Thank you, Caitlyn! I appreciate it. Feel free to let your actor friends know about the channel. Every little bit of support (including this comment) helps get the word out.

[@caitlynscott118]

I will

[@LiMe251]

Who would be the Protagonist of Marble hornets, in seasons 2 and 3 it seems like Jay but in season 1 he's essentially for most entries only the Narrator

[@AugmentedActor]

Unfortunately I haven’t seen marble hornets so I don’t really know for sure. But it’s certainly possibly for a character in a series to start out as a secondary character and later become a protagonist. A narrator can often be a protagonist of the story ends up being about them. But usually they are a secondary or tertiary character or not really part of the plot at all. The way I look at tv series is that within each episode there is a mini story and each episode tends to focus on one character as the protagonist. Some series like Stranger Things for instance have so many characters that each of them can be a protagonist of certain episodes but if you try to pin down the main protagonist of a season it gets a little more difficult (although I’d say 11 was in this case). Hope this helps and if I end up watching marble hornets I might have more to say.

[@shelleylarioza3110]

I want to make a story and wanted advice from a professional. is it possible to make a 2 protagonist that shows their pov? does this one character count as a deuteragonist?

[@AugmentedActor]

I would say it is possible. All of these rules of story writing have been altered and played with in some respects. The challenge will be to create a story where two protagonists stay protagonists. Often two main characters will become antagonistic toward each other. Or one will become more important to the plot. And as is usually the case one will become the deuteragonist. In tv series you now see many shows where a single episode will pluck a minor character from the overall story and make them the protagonist in a single episode. Lost did this for example. So in the entire story, Jack was the protagonist. It started and ended with him. But any given episode could show Kate or Hurley or Sawyer as the protagonist. Hitchcock’s Psycho started with Janet Leigh’s character as the protagonist. Her antagonist was Norman Bates, but after the shower scene he became the protagonist and she turned into “the foil”. So yes I believe you can have two characters who are both protagonists but you have to write them that way. I also think this question is open to debate. Thanks for asking it.

[@shelleylarioza3110]

@@AugmentedActor THANK YOU!!!

[@kneegrow537]

Thank you for sharing this. It is very useful.

[@AugmentedActor]

Glad you found it useful. The last two videos on character typing I recently posted may be useful as well. Thanks for watching!

[@kneegrow537]

@@AugmentedActor Thank you. I will check them out.

[@jersonatilo9190]

Great vídeo. Gostei muito.

[@AugmentedActor]

Thank you kindly.

[@LiMe251]

Who would the deuteragonist and foils be in marble hornets

[@AugmentedActor]

As I said in my other comment, I don’t know because I haven’t watched that series. But who do you think is the second most pivotal character in the series? And which character seems like the main antagonist at first but ends up being an ally or a sidekick to the main villain?

[@LiMe251]

@@AugmentedActor I guess Tim and his masked persona

[@3491q]

great video

[@AugmentedActor]

Thank you!

[@3491q]

@@AugmentedActor thank you!

[@CJ_1406]

I don't care what type of character am I in a story. As long as: - I'm not the protagonist - On the protagonist's side - Not important to the plot (maybe comic relief) - Survive from the start until the end of the story/movie/trilogy/franchise/saga.

[@AugmentedActor]

That still leaves a lot of room for roles. Curious why you don’t want to be the protagonist. Don’t want to star in something?

[@CJ_1406]

They draw too much attention to themselves (the attention being people in the story, not the audience). Being a side character means people tend to ignore you, which is good for me considering my skills in social interaction.

[@AugmentedActor]

@@CJ_1406 I get that! yep. Some people thrive on playing those kinds of roles and getting that attention both on screen/stage and off. Others like to maintain a low profile.

[@sh-cru1047]

who would be the dueteragonist in harry potter

[@AugmentedActor]

Think of the dueteragonist as the second most important character. There won’t always be one. It also suggest duet. Or duo as a single protagonist. So like Thelma and Louise. Or Bonny and Clyde. In the case of Harry Potter, Hermionie is the closest to a deuterogonist but she’s also a secondary character. It’s really Harry’s journey.

[@3491q]

bast video!!!

[@3491q]

great great video!10000000000

[@AugmentedActor]

@@3491q Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@mikeplayz6832]

I don't remember much cause I haven't been in school

[@AugmentedActor]

Well I hope you remember some stuff.

[@chaossynergy9768]

Stop spreading the stupid myth that all protagonists have to change and be dynamic, and that static characters are somehow throwaway jokes. Some very appealing and well known protagonists are pretty static and have flat character arcs, they barely change, if at all. What they do instead, is they change the other characters and the world itself. The unchanging protagonist with a relentless drive towards something forces the surrounding world to bend to their will. This type of story, and protagonist, is extremely appealing to many people.

[@AugmentedActor]

Very valid points. I agree with you. There are many exceptions to these "rules". And many of them are based in older ways of telling stories. I also don't consider static characters as jokes. They are often used that way in stories, but each character, static or otherwise, has an essential role to play in a story. (or at least they do in a well written story). And with any of these character functions as well as with Character archetypes, these are ways of compartmentalizing characters and discussing them in a broader sense. They are guidelines for writers as opposed to hard and fast unbendable rules. And clever writers find ways to defy expectations by playing around with these functions and types. Combining them. Or working toward deconstructing them. There's room for interpretation.