Characterization

1. Characterization

2. To be credible, characters should appear plausible and worth caring about How the audience gets to know a character is important

3. Appearance The physical features an actor brings to a role can be important to how we see that character How a character is dressed can also impact the way an audience sees that character The audience will make assumptions about a character as soon as they see him or her on screen

4. Dialogue A great deal can be learned about the way a character speaks, their tone of voice, use of vocabulary, sentence structure, grammar

5. External Action The way a character acts is the most obvious form of characterization Actions, small and large, tell us about a character

6. Internal Action Inner action occurs within characters’ minds and emotions and consists of secret, unspoken thoughts, daydreams, aspirations, memories, fears, and fantasies Filmmakers can reveal inner reality by taking us visually or aurally into the character’s mind Tight close-ups, reaction shots, and music can all be used to achieve this effect

7. Reactions of other Characters The way other characters speak of or react to a character tells us something about the character Many times this type of characterization occurs before we even meet the character

8. Foils Foils are contrasting characters whose behavior, attitudes, opinions, lifestyle, physical appearance, and so on are the opposite of those of the main character

9. Choice of Name Name typing is the use of names possessing appropriate qualities of sound, meaning, or connotation

10. Types of characters Dynamic character- one who undergoes some important change in personality, attitude, or outlook on life Static character- one who remains the same throughout the film Round character- one who has many sides to his or her personality Flat character- two dimensional predictable characters