00:00In many movies you watch, there's a little secret trick known by a lot of screenwriters
00:04that you may never have paid attention to, to make you appreciate the main character
00:08that is called Save the Cat.
00:09At the beginning of the story, the main character will often help or save another character
00:13or animal for no apparent reason.
00:16In the latest Superman movie, he saves a little dog from an attack, a little girl or even
00:20a squirrel.
00:20In Aladdin, he gives the bread he stole to some children.
00:23And in the latest Batman, he saves a little child in a church during an attack.
00:27It's really just a small thing that costs nothing but makes your character more likable,
00:30which really changes the audience's perception of them.
00:33This idea was theorized by American screenwriter Blake Snyder, who explains that at the beginning
00:37of the film, your main character must do something for the audience to like them and identify
00:41with them.
00:42He also uses the example of Pulp Fiction, where we meet the characters played by John Travolta
00:46and Samuel L. Jackson, talking about Big Macs, they're joking around, which makes them likable,
00:51human and funny.
00:52We immediately root for them, even though they're about to do something really crazy.
00:56They call it Royale with Chiefs.
00:59Royale with Chiefs.
01:00They're villains, but they're also kind of funny.
01:02If I go back to the example of Aladdin, it's really good because the challenge with this
01:06character is to make him likable, even though he's a thief and therefore a criminal.
01:10And especially in an animated film for children, I mean, how do you get people to like a character
01:14who commits crimes?
01:15Well, he ends up helping other people with it and children nonetheless, so everything's
01:20forgiven.
01:20The opposite of Save the Cat is also possible.
01:23To create hatred or contempt for an antagonist, at the beginning of the film, the character
01:27can hurt or unalive another character for no apparent reason either.
01:31And this will subconsciously evoke negative ideas related to this character for the viewer.
01:35If screenwriting is something that interests you, I highly recommend reading this book by
01:39Snyder or the classic screenplay by Seed Field.
01:42And if you like this kind of video, like and follow for more.
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