Establishing Character Moment - TV Tropes
- ️Sun Aug 17 2008
"In just a handful of scenes, we've established the full set of character archetypes to see us through until the series goes off air. Zack's a huckster, Slater a jock, Jessie an uptight brain, Kelly a cheerful object of desire, and Screech an intolerable bundle of silly faces. When Lisa appears on crutches, having kicked a television in rage when her favorite nail polish was discontinued, her core personality — likes clothes; doesn't fancy Screech — is also laid out."
First impressions count, and in TV and film, even more so; there's no point in hiring an actor to give us a Deadpan Snarker if people think they’re seriously being a total ditz until the third act. So when the character comes into the plot you give them an Establishing Character Moment.
Want to establish The Hero as a truly good person? Have them do some small act of kindness for no reward, just because it is the nice thing to do. Want to establish the Big Bad as a mean piece of work? Have them commit some needless act of cruelty to an innocent or a minion. Want to establish a character as a badass? Show them performing some incredible feat, and the audience will know they are not to be messed with.
The establishing character moment does not have to be huge, it doesn't have to be impressive, it doesn't even have to be first. It's about revealing a character's motivations and abilities in a single introductory scene. They could blow the roof and rappel in from a helicopter with an automatic in each hand... but if they’re The Woobie, it's not a good idea (unless you're aiming for a Heartbroken Badass like Harry Dresden or Spider-Man).
Sometimes the first thing needed is to set up how they fit into the plot, but this may not best reveal their character. So the Establishing Character Moment may be one or two scenes down the line. For TV shows and their episodic format, the character may first do what they need to do in the episode and then, near the end, establish how the character will fit into the ongoing arcs and themes of the show.
Other times, the Moment may be the small calm when the character carries out something completely unrelated to the plot to show them in their natural element before putting them in an unrelenting storm of plot lines — for instance, during a Morning Routine sequence.
When it happens, it cannot be taken back. A running punt to a puppy will completely color attempts to Pet the Dog later, but if you start with a gentle stroke, then some people may get the wrong idea about your villain. Then again, a Bait the Dog moment may subvert this... or it might itself serve to show the complex, multifaceted Hidden Depths of that character.
If this happens in a musical, it can be in "I Am" Song format.
Subtropes include Bait-and-Switch Character Intro, Bitch Alert, Incoming Ham, Newcomer Saves the Day, and Reestablishing Character Moment. See also Establishing Series Moment. May overlap with AM/FM Characterization. Compare Characterisation Click Moment. Contrast Establishing Team Shot, when The Team is established.
Examples:
- Anime & Manga
- Comic Books
- Fan Works
- Films – Animation
- Films – Live-Action
- Literature
- Live-Action TV
- Professional Wrestling
- Tabletop Games
- Theatre
- Video Games
- Visual Novels
- Webcomics
- Web Original
- Western Animation
open/close all folders
Advertising
- Big Bill Hell's, a Parody Commercial of car dealership ads, opens with this:
FUCK YOU, BALTIMORE! If you're dumb enough to buy a new car this weekend, you're a big enough shmuck to come to Big Bill Hell's Cars!
Asian Animation
- In the first episode of Boonie Bears, Logger Vick first appears driving into the forest in a truck and talking about how the forest will "look like a parking lot" by the time he's done with it, telegraphing to the viewers that he's an employed logger who intends to cut down some trees.
- In the first episode of Happy Friends, the very first thing Doctor H. is seen doing is to go through a junkyard to find pieces of broken technology to repair, establishing that he is a mechanic. A later scene in the same episode also establishes his crush on Miss Peach by having him develop a Crush Blush while watching a TV show featuring her.
- Lamput: In Mr. Moustache's second appearance, "Bus Stop", he beats up Specs for inspecting his girlfriend. Mr. Moustache beating up the docs or otherwise causing them aggravation becomes a major character trait of his starting here.
- The first episode of Motu Patlu (2012), titled "John Banega Don", begins with two short scenes that introduce the two main characters. The first of these scenes features Motu being attracted to Chaiwala's samosas and eating them, establishing that he's a Big Eater who has a thing for samosas especially; this is followed by Patlu being introduced with a scene where he slips on a Banana Peel while trying to read a newspaper, solidifying him as a Butt-Monkey.
- In the first episode of Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, Weslie has to drag Paddi to school because he's still sleeping, establishing Paddi as a lazy character.
- Simple Samosa:
- The first episode, "Sumo Momo", establishes Samosa's tendency to tell exaggerated stories about himself by having him brag to his friends about having defeated not one, but multiple of Sumo Momo, his favorite professional wrestler.
- The fact that Vada Cannot Tell Fiction from Reality gets established in "Sumo Momo" as well, as he believes Samosa's story about Sumo Momo and, when they arrive at an arena to see Sumo Momo in action, he convinces them to have Samosa fight the champion wrestler himself.
Music
- Albert Fish, in Macabre's "Mr. Albert Fish (Was Children your Favorite Dish?)" is revealed to loves to hear his child victims screams.
- Eminem's Slim Shady persona was introduced to the world in "My Name Is", telling you everything you need to know about the character - his special affinity with kids, his Heroic Comedic Sociopathy, how he's an Anti-Role Model, his love-hate relationship with drugs, his habit of Self-Harm, and that he has a horrible life despite his cheery demeanor.
Radio
- Cabin Pressure: The opening scene of the series, before the titles, establishes Douglas' penchant for sarcasm with his (fake) tannoy address. The first scene proper then introduces Martin, showing his tendency to follow the rules to the absolute letter, and his desperate desire to be taken seriously as a captain, along with Douglas's own similar knowledge of the rules and how to bend (or just break) them, as well as the fact Arthur is The Ditz. The next scene establishes everything that'll be needed to be known about Carolyn, with her first line telling Martin "You're a berk." for ignoring Douglas and following the rules, then laying down her tight-fisted money-pinching ways on them, in-between repeatedly telling Martin to shut up.