Naming your characters

[darko06]

When creating characters, do you just use any old name, or do you think about it.

I heard somewhere that using a phonebook is useful.

What do you guys do?

[GREATwarEAGLE]

First I come up with tempoary names. They will always eventually evolve.

But, for the ease of reading, it's helpful that the names look different on paper. For the ease of reading.

It's easier to read a scene between

ALFREDO and VAN SANT

than it is to read a scene between

MARK and MIKE.

It doesn't mean these are going ot be their permenant names, its just easier to read and follow.

But when you finally decide on a name, it's helpful if the name gives an idea about who the person is, although this is of course unrealistic.

In the feature length script I currently have posted here I named one of the characters BASTER. I did that for a reason. Same with KENT.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ January 20, 2004 11:10 AM: Message edited by: GREATwarEAGLE ]</font>

[james2183]

I got a book of babies names. Inside it has loads and loads of names and what they actually mean. I use this as an undercover description of what happens with them or what they are like as a character.

[thelaughingduck2001]

I only name characters I am sure of their names. For example, one of the main characters in one of my movies is called BLIND GUY, simply because the audience will never find out his name (it's not mentioned in the dialogue) and he is just that-A Blind Guy.

Take tips from Rodriguez. He never names a character if he doesn't have to.

[windowslaws]

oh shit, you can't tell people to take tips from rodriguez here!

[The Cavity]

Write down a list of names you like, and go from there.

Or you can try this site.

[The Cavity]

If the hyperlink didn't work, here it is again:
http://www.kleimo.com/random/name.cfm

[ac_01]

The name of your character can say a lot more about your film...

Example. Cast Away. Tom Hanks plays Chuck Noland.

[kriegslust]

I used to give my characters any old name but that threw up too many Jims and Bobs.

Then I started using names with extra meanings, and really thinking about it.

Now I just don't bother. I call my characters things like Spoon, and Pedal. It started off as a pretentious exercise in demonstating a point I made in an argument about the use of language (which I won't get into here), but now I think I just do it out of laziness.

The lead character in my new film is named after my star striker in Championship Manager though.

Who the fuck cares what a character is called really? I'd much rather watch an intelligent, semiologically loaded film with characters called Sid than... err... Castaway with a character called Noland [img]wink.gif[/img] .

[darko06]

CAVITY: That site is fantastic, thanks alot