- [Michael] Hi, I'm Michael.
This is Lessons from the Screenplay.
The assembly of a team is a classic storytelling device.
- 10 oughta do it, don't you think?
- [Michael] A well-designed team
allows the plot to move forward
by enabling the protagonist to achieve their goal.
- You think we need one more?
- [Michael] And at the same time,
keeps the story interesting
by providing a constant source of conflict.
- You think we need one more.
- [Michael] To create the ideal balance
of harmony and dissonance within a team,
the screenwriter needs to make sure the characters' traits,
or some might say stats, are well-balanced.
So today, I'm enlisting the help
of fellow YouTuber TierZoo.
- [TierZoo] Hi, Michael, how's it going?
- [Michael] Who makes videos breaking down
the stats of animals
and ranking their power from F to S,
the highest possible tier in gaming.
Together we're going to break down
the characteristics of one particular team,
tasked with hunting down a great white shark
to see how their strengths and weaknesses
play against each other,
creating the twists and turns of the film's plot.
And to reveal how the story ultimately forces
the protagonist to confront his fears,
and the enemy, head on.
Let's take a look at "Jaws".
(upbeat music)
Before the team is created in "Jaws",
the filmmakers have to introduce
the setting, the problem, and the protagonist.
The story takes place on Amity Island, a small resort town.
In the first scene, a woman is viciously attacked
while swimming at night.
- [Swimming Woman] Oh, God, please, help!
- [Michael] And the following morning, we learn
that protecting the town is the responsibility
of our protagonist.
Let's get a quick run down of Police Chief Martin Brody
and his relevant character traits.
TierZoo?
- [TierZoo] Police Chief Brody is a New Yorker
who's only been living on Amity Island a short time,
hence his low local stat.
Being specced for police work,
he obviously knows next to nothing about marine biology
or hunting sharks.
In fact, he hates water.
With these stats,
one might even wonder why he's the party leader at all.
But what Brody lacks in marine knowledge,
he makes up for with a very high investment in safety.
It's his responsibility to protect
the people of Amity Island,
and he takes this very seriously.
- [Michael] From a character design standpoint,
Brody is the perfect protagonist for "Jaws".
He has none of the skills required
to overcome the challenge at hand,
but has all the determination.
So Brody refuses to put more lives at risk
and immediately sets out to close the beach
in order to keep the town safe.
- Where do we keep the beach closed signs?
- We never have any. - Chief, Chief!
- No?
- [Michael] But because he lacks expertise
and the clout that might come from being a local,
his plan is rejected by a higher authority, Mayor Vaughn.
- Martin, you gonna shut down the beaches
on your own authority?
- Well, what other authority do I need?
- We're really a little anxious
that you're rushing into something serious here.
It's your first summer, you know?
- [Michael] Despite knowing the right thing to do,
Brody is helpless to stop the shark from attacking again.
(suspenseful music) (people chattering)
Resulting in the tragic death of a young boy.
- Alex?
- [Michael] Let's see where Brody ranks on our tier list.
- [TierZoo] At this point in the story,
it's pretty clear that Brody ranks way down
at the bottom of the tier list.
He's just not powerful enough to stop this shark on his own.
- [Michael] In order for the protagonist
to overcome the obstacle at hand,
he's going to need to make up
for the weaknesses holding him back.
In other words,
it's time to add another member to Brody's party.
- [Martin] Who are you?
- Matt Hooper, I'm from the Oceanographic Institute.
- [TierZoo] Hooper is not a local whatsoever
so he's no help to Brody in that regard
and he's less concerned with safety as well.
But Hooper specs incredibly high in marine knowledge,
and knows a bit about shark hunting too.
Plus, his high tech skill might come in handy.
- [Michael] With Hooper now on Brody's team,
they're able to confirm
that the young woman who was killed in the opening scene
was in fact killed by a shark.
- Well, this is not a boat accident!
It wasn't any propellor.
It wasn't any coral reef.
And it wasn't Jack the Ripper.
It was a shark!
- [Michael] And they're able to disprove the theory
that the small tiger shark killed
by some local fishermen was the one attacking swimmers.
- That's it.
- [Michael] Together, they are making progress.
But a story without conflict risks losing momentum,
so Brody and Hooper's differing traits are designed
to create conflict as well as progression.
When Hooper wants to explore a sunken vessel
to prove that the shark hasn't yet been killed,
Brody's affinity for safety and distaste
for water make him hesitate.
- [Matt] We gotta find him right now.
He's a night feeder.
- [Brody] On the water?
- [Matt] Well if we're lookin' for a shark,
we're not gonna find him on the land.
- Yeah, but I'm not drunk enough
to go out on a boat.
- [Matt] Yes you are.
- No I'm not.
- [Matt] Yes you are.
- [Michael] And when they do find the proof
they're looking for,
the tooth of a great white shark,
Hooper's lack of caution (Hooper screams)
lands the pair right back where they started,
without the concrete evidence they need.
As a result, the mayor still won't let them
close the beach for the Fourth of July,
which results in mass panic,
as well as the death of yet another Amity Island citizen.
- [Onlooker] Shark, in the tide!
(suspenseful music)
- [TierZoo] With Hooper added to the party,
they're doing much better
than when Brody was trying to solo this campaign,
earning them a spot in C-tier.
But overall, these two still aren't powerful enough
to deal with the problem at hand.
- [Michael] We're gonna need a bigger team.
(chalkboard screeching)
- Y'all know me, know how I earn a livin'.
- [Michael] At the story's midpoint,
Brody convinces the mayor to hire Quint,
a local professional shark hunter.
- [TierZoo] Now things are looking better!
With extremely high local, marine knowledge,
and shark hunting stats,
Quint's build fills in all of the party's gaps.
Quint almost seems OP!
But his low safety and tech rating
might cause some problems.
- [Michael] Quint complicates the dynamics of the team.
While he and Hooper are both marine experts.
- Just tie me a sheepshank.
- [Matt] How's that?
- [Michael] They come from different walks of life.
- You got city hands, Mr. Hooper.
Been countin' money all your life.
- All right, all right, hey I don't need this.
I don't need this working-class hero crap.
- You're not gonna do this aboard the ship,
are ya Mr. Quint?
- [Michael] While Hooper relies on technology.
- [Matt] Safety float, temperature gauge-
- [Michael] Quint distrusts it.
- [Quint] What are ya, some kinda half-ass astronaut?
- [Michael] With Quint around,
there is certainly no shortage of conflict.
But it's not just about creating conflict
for conflict's sake.
The way the team members interact directly affects
how the plot unfolds.
When Brody, Hooper, and Quint are not cooperating,
when there is dissonance among them,
they experience setbacks.
(metal clanging)
- Damn it, Martin!
This is compressed air!
- Well what the hell kind of a knot was that?
- You pulled the wrong one.
You screw around with these tanks
and they're gonna blow up.
- Yes, real fine expensive gear
you've brought out here, Mr. Hooper.
- [Michael] But when the team works together,
when there is harmony, they progress.
- Shoot!
- Time!
(water whooshing)
- All right, let's see how long
that barrel takes to bring him up.
- [Michael] The design of the three characters allows
for swings between harmony and dissonance
as needed to move the plot forward.
- [TierZoo] Despite a rocky start,
this version of the team is the most effective yet,
which lands them a spot in A-tier.
They might stand a chance at killing this shark
as long as they keep cooperating.
- [Michael] The assembly of the team
has gone well enough so far, and the three men stand poised
to kill the shark once and for all.
But ultimately, this is Brody's story, not the team's.
So once again, the character traits
that have made them a successful team are also the ones
that will bring about their failure.
As they wait for the shark to reappear,
the team ends up drinking and bonding.
But moments later, as the three men swap stories
about their battle scars, a final key difference
between Hooper and Quint is revealed.
- You know the thing about a shark, he's got lifeless eyes.
Black eyes like a doll's eyes.
When he comes at ya, he doesn't seem to be livin'.
Until he bites ya.
And then those black eyes roll over white
and then, oh and then you hear
that terrible high-pitched screamin'.
The ocean turns red.
- [Michael] While Hooper is a marine expert
because he loves sharks.
- I love sharks.
- You love sharks?
- Yeah, I love them, I love them.
- [Michael] Quint has a personal vendetta against them.
Unlike Hooper and Brody, Quint is determined
to make sure he kills the great white himself.
So when they get to the final showdown
with the shark and Brody tries to call in help
from the Coast Guard.
- Hello, mayday, Orca!
- [Michael] Quint makes sure that's not possible!
(metal clanging)
- Excuse me, chief.
- That's great, that's just great!
Now where the hell are we, huh?
You're certifiable Quint, do you know that?
- [Michael] All while the boat is sinking,
Hooper's plan to use his high-tech equipment
to lethally inject the shark fails miserably.
(dramatic music)
And Quint meets an unfortunate end.
(Quint screams)
So ultimately, it's up to Brody
to overcome the weaknesses that have been holding him back.
He has to conquer his fear of water,
throw caution to the wind,
and like a true seaman,
climb the mast of a sinking ship
to finally achieve his goal.
- Smile, you son of a-
(gun roars) (explosion booms)
(Brody screams)
- [TierZoo] With the help of his party,
and with all the XP he gained along the way,
Chief Brody is finally able to level up,
earning him the highest rating of S-tier.
(birds cawing)
- [Brody] I used to hate the water.
- [Matt] I can't imagine why.
- Jaws is a perfect example
of how to construct a team of allies and opponents
that make it possible for the protagonist
to achieve their goal,
while guaranteeing plenty of conflict along the way.
By cleverly designing each team member
to have opposing characteristics,
the filmmakers allow characters to fill in
for each other's weaknesses
while also challenging each other's strengths,
creating an ebb and flow of harmony and dissonance
that ultimately threatens to derail the mission.
But in the end, it's exactly the kind of crew needed
to navigate a top-tier film like Jaws.
One of the challenges in designing characters
is keeping track of all the traits.
Depending on your story,
you may also be designing unique locations
or even whole worlds.
There's a piece of writing software
that is designed specifically to help you keep all
of that organized, Campfire Pro.
Campfire Pro has character pages
to help you manage details and backstories,
endless timelines to visualize story beats,
and even a corkboard-style map view
to track all the locations you need
and with the optional add-on world-building pack,
you can create magic systems, species, languages, and more.
So whether you're an author writing a fantasy novel
or a DM working on some homebrew content,
Campfire Pro is a great tool to check out.
To learn more and to start a 10-day free trial,
head to the link in the description.
Hey guys, hope you enjoyed the video.
I wanna say a big thank you to TierZoo
for collaborating with us on this one.
All of his videos are as fun as they are informative
so go check out his channel and be sure to subscribe.
Thank you, as always, to the patrons on Patreon
for supporting this channel and making it possible
and thank you for watching.