Because what I wrote was a 4-minute film, there was very little room for character development, however, I think that I did manage to evolve my film's protagonist. My film has three characters, so rather than develop all three, I wrote a story that only requires the protagonist to have any significant development. To clarify, the ending of my film shows that the other two characters and the conversations they engage in are nothing more than a figment of the protagonist's imagination.
At the start of the film, Zack (the protagonist) is feeling upbeat and confident, he strides in, orders a drink and takes his seat. The first sign of his resolve faltering is when Abigail gives him a little wave, as he meekly waves back and sinks into his seat. After a brief talk with Harris (his positive inner voice), the next hit to his confidence is when an alternate version of Abigail (his negative inner voice) tells him that he shouldn't talk to her, which ends up hitting his confidence even more. When the film turns back to his conversation with Harris, he is much more apprehensive to talk to Abigail because of that inner voice. When Harris eventually persuades him to try to talk, he ends up having a panic attack, as all the imagined conversations that he could be having all pile up into one sensory overload. By the film's end, he ends up never talking to her and spending the whole afternoon alone.
More writing advice on character development:
6 Tips for Writing Characters:
Writing Character in a Screenplay
Developing Characters for Your Short Film
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