# different versions of the same person



## Guitar_chick133 (Jun 19, 2008)

[Please disregard my posts from 2008. I have no idea what I was writing then, and have since moved on to other projects. I'm asking about a similar idea on the next page. Thank you.]

I'm coming up with something kind of cerebral, so I have about two or three versions of the same character for almost all of them, how would I write the dialouge for them? would I make them seperate characters?


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## Mklangelo (Jun 19, 2008)

Guitar_chick133 said:


> I'm coming up with something kind of cerebral, so I have about two or three versions of the same character for almost all of them, how would I write the dialouge for them? would I make them seperate characters?



See of you can get hold of the screenplay for "Sybil"  Starring Sally Field in 1976.   She had multiple personalities.  See how they did that.  Hope that helps.


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## Mklangelo (Jun 19, 2008)

also check out the screenplay for "The Three Faces of Eve"  1957 with Joann Woodward.  Another multiple personality thing.


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## Guitar_chick133 (Jun 19, 2008)

it's not exactly multiple personalities, but I'll check it out anyway.

it's more visually seeing the different versions of the characters, I don't know how to describe it so it can be understood, because I get confused trying to put it into words.

lets see, say for example ( this is not what it's about, but it's close enough to explain) there was someone who jumps into a parallel (sp?) universe to the one that they are in right now, at random moments. there are different versions of their friends and even themselves ( they look different). would you still have the same names with the dialouge, how would you describe it?

there may be a few that look the same, but they are still the "other univese" person.


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## Mklangelo (Jun 20, 2008)

Does the character know he is different in this parallel universe?   Of does he just pop back to where he was and have some missing time?


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## Linton Robinson (Jun 20, 2008)

All you'd need is the character's name.  Where he is would be determined by the slug.

EXT.  JIM'S APARTMENT IN BLUTO WORLD  NIGHT

CITY STREET IN 1506

JIM'S OFFICE ON ANDROMEDA


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## Guitar_chick133 (Jun 20, 2008)

the main character knows that they look different in both places and they know that the people who are there are the same people, and i guess so does the audience, they just look different is all, most of them, some of them look exactly the same. I think the only person who has two others beside herself is the main character, and on a couple of occations the two "others" talk to each other, but the "here" main character never talks to the other two. everyone else either has one other or none. plus there is not alot of dialouge from the "Other" people, only a few times, mostly between the two "other" versions of the main character.

this is making my brain hurt a little. LOL!!

let me see if i can figure this out. should i write it...

int.- cafe-day
MC and Cindy are sitting in a booth across from each other in a cafe in the city,MC looks out the window, instead of the Cityscape there is a desert. She sighs then looks back

ext.- desert-day
the cafe is gone but she is still sitting in the booth as her other self. Cindy is now standing under a small, skinny almost dead looking tree. She is not dressed the same, instead wearing a long,shimmery,gold dress, her hair in a long,wild mess tied up behind her and her skin has a golden tint to it. she walks forward out from under the shade,twirls once then walks back behind the tree and peeks around at her playfully. suddenly Cindy's voice can be heard in the air.

CINDY(O.S.)
MC? Are you listening?

the golden Cindy looks around a little scared, then she looks back at MC who looks back out the window.
int.-cafe-day
MC looks back at Cindy who is looking at her confused.

feel free to pick this apart.


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## brokenxtheory (Jun 21, 2008)

Oh I see. Your idea sounds like a combo of the movies 'Sliding Doors' and 'Palindromes'. That's a great mix of ideas. And I think it would be visually cool. I'd suggest you watch these two movies to get an idea about formatting your story.


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## Mklangelo (Jun 21, 2008)

Give them the same name.  Just describe what you need to in the Action Line.


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## Guitar_chick133 (Jun 21, 2008)

what if i had made her talk? would it just be ciny or would it be say, golden cindy?


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## Mklangelo (Jun 21, 2008)

Guitar_chick133 said:


> what if i had made her talk? would it just be ciny or would it be say, golden cindy?



I've never tried anything like that but perhaps you could give he a variant of her name, depending which "universe" she was in.  That could be consistent to each "time/place" or version of her.  Then it would make a way of knowing where she was based not only on the place but the name too.  Just of the top of my head here.


It sounds like it could be interesting.


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## Linton Robinson (Jun 21, 2008)

I'll say it again...think about the credits.

Are they going to have "Cindy"  and "Golden Cindy" listed as the same actor?


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## Guitar_chick133 (Jun 21, 2008)

I was planning on having all of the "others" be played by the same people as the regulars. it's just the main character i think that I was wanting to be different, but that can be changed, but just make her vastly different but the same person.


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## Linton Robinson (Jun 21, 2008)

You do that through the action lines and dialog.

If you can't pull that off, fooling around with the credits isn't going to help.  And will make your script look contrived and amateur.


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## Guitar_chick133 (Jun 21, 2008)

oh, okay. I appreciate that, really,that's why I post on here.


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## Guitar_chick133 (Jul 15, 2008)

okay, so, I've done some re-arranging of the story in my head, and heres where I need some help.

I have the main character, with two "imagined" versions of herself, other than herself, there's someone who is just like her (only slightly different)  and someone completely different ( played by someone else) so I'm not sure if I should just describe in the beginning that she only looks slightly different or just don't bother.

the other thing i'm having trouble with is that the main character is telling a story, about four girls, and she is imagining her self as the four girls ( all slightly different from each other, of course) how do I describe that and dialouge?


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## Guitar_chick133 (May 29, 2012)

I'm totally freaking out right now. I haven't been back to this site because I had it in my favorites on a computer a few years ago, and the computer got destroyed, and I was sad because I couldn't remember what this site was called. I found this exact thread doing a google search for something I'm currently writing. ( yay! I'm still writing! lol!) !O_O! seriously!

(Also, I can't even remember what the poop I was writing in these posts. haha!)

But, I guess my problem now for my current work is that I have 2 different version of the same person, and they go by different names. There is a guy who has his consciousness uploaded onto a computer. His consciousness is followed through the computer, but it is implied that his "real self" is still living outside the computer. Outside he has a real name, inside he is given another name by the other programs inside. Would I continue to refer to him by his real name? even though the other characters call him something else?


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## bazz cargo (Jun 5, 2012)

Hi GC,
Even thinking about writing your idea is making my head spin. 

I suppose the 'real' character would remain unaware of his duplicate and the computer version would have some understanding of what has happened. So the computer character would be assigned a nick name, or middle name, or be randomly disguised with someone else's name?

Then would the computer character interact with its new name, but think to itself with its original name? Would a voice over work?

In a script you could get away with vocal trickery. Goodness knows how you would write this as a short. 

I take my metaphorical hat off to you Lady.
Bazz


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## Guitar_chick133 (Jun 30, 2012)

Ha! Thanks! I'm not sure why I come up with such complicated ideas when I'm not even sure how to write them. lol. I guess for this character It would be the same as if I was writing something with a character known as, say, Steve, but the majority of the story focuses on him in another country where they insisted on calling him nothing but Fireboy. Or something like that. I'm still not 100% sure how that would work being written either. I have another character, in the same project, who is also someone uploaded to the computer, but he is so vastly diferent than the person outside that he belonged to, that I'm going to assume he would go by a different name, right?


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## bazz cargo (Jul 1, 2012)

???,
The only thing I can think of is doing scenes that come from each individual pov. Scene 1 from Steve. Scene 2 from Steve's alter ego. A bit like assigning chapters to different characters. Roger Zelazny wrote Roadmarks as two stories with intertwining chapters. There was a short series on Brit TV called Titanic that pulled off a similar trick. As for names...How self aware of their situations are these characters? Is there a God/buddy figure that can dictate things or are they going to figure things out themselves? I can see about five scenarios without stretching. How close are you to having a plot?


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## alister (Sep 10, 2012)

Guitar_chick133 said:


> it's not exactly multiple personalities, but I'll check it out anyway.
> 
> it's more visually seeing the different versions of the characters, I don't know how to describe it so it can be understood, because I get confused trying to put it into words.
> 
> ...



I think the problem is that you haven't determined what is different about each character.  If they don't have any differences, then they will not respond to situations differently.  No wonder it's drawing a blank.  This is a fairly easy to fix problem.

Begin with the primary differences you want.   Just pick one or two main characteristic differences.  Then ask the question, what experience or repeated experiences would make a person act that way?  Once you get the differences  clear you can work backwards to develop their personality.  This way,  you know exactly where you are going.

Brainstorm a back story for each that creates those differences.  You won't have a feel for each right away, even though you created a logical difference in their back story.  You have to take the next step.  You have to play with them for awhile, date them, have sex with them.  You have to put them through a few trials and tribulations that logically would make them do something different based on that difference in back story.  As you see them begin to act differently, you've made it.  Their dialogue will begin to write itself.


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