Characterization

Characters must seem real, understandable, worth caring about, and believable. The main appeal of characters lies in the qualities that set them apart from ordinary people…emphasis in on the unusual aspects of the individual’s personality. When characters are credible, the audience response in some way, such as admiring them, love them, laugh at them, or hate them.

Types of characterization:

** Characterization through appearance: audience make assumption about the character because of their facial features, dress, physical build, and mannerism.

** Characterization through dialogue: Actor’s use of grammar, sentence structure, vocabulary, and/or dialect reveals the character social and economic level, educational background and mental process.

**Characterization through external action: A clear relationship between a character and their actions, actions should grow naturally. The motives for the character’s action is clearly established.

**Characterization through internal action: The inner world of action normally remains unseen and unheard, Inner action occurs within the character’s mind and emotions, secret unspoken thoughts, daydreams, aspirations, memories, fears, and fantasies.

**Characterization through contrast consists of foil characters: contrasting characters whose behaviors, attitudes, opinions, lifestyle, physical appearance are opposite of the main character.

Characterization through caricature and leitmotif

**Caricature characters: characters that exaggerate or distory one or more dominant feature or personality traits

**Leimotif characters: characters that repeat a single action, action, phrase, or idea that becomes a trademark

**Characterization through choice of name: the use of names that possess qualities of sound or meaning

***Varieties of characters

*****Stock character: minor character whose actions are complelety predictable or typical of their job/profession

*****Sterotypes: characters that fit the preconceived pattern of behavior common to or representative of a large number of people

*****Developing characters: characters that undergo some important change in personality, attitude or outlook on life as a result of the action of the story. The character will never be the same person she/he was when the action of the film began.

*****Dynamic characters: characters that become sadder or wiser, or happier and more self-confident. They may gain new awareness of life, more mature, more responsible, or become more moral.

*****Static characters: characters that remain the same throughout the film.

*****Flat characters: Characters that are predictable, who lack the complexity and unique qualities

*****Round characters: Characters that are unique, individualistic, some degree of complexity.