This is basically a re-draft of 'Taking Characterization to the Extreme' as Pisces would have noticed that I have the right to BURN whatever the heck I want if I do not like it, and I've burned a lot of my work.
Anyway, acting may seem easy enough to most people, walk and talk like a different person and get the attention of the crowd. Simple, no? Actually, it is not simple. It's very difficult to hit the right target and get people to believe your character is real. Trust me, I have more years of experience than you would believe.
In this post, I am going to outline the basics you will need to act like a good, believable character. All underlined words will have a proper translation at the bottom.
First, who is your character? Are they old? Young? Stupid? Smart? Fat? Skinny? All these things you need to note down. Different people walk in different ways according to their build and their personality. Before I used to start acting, I used to observe the way certain people that had the basic build of my character would walk and practice it myself. Observing people walking by is a very efficient way to develop the way your character moves, even though it might get you the occasional odd look.
You also need to consider Naturalistic Movement such as body language, facial expression, gesture, eye contact, posture and use of space. Again, you can find out how your character would use these terms by observing people with the characters basic personality or build. Or both. I recommend both.
Next is the way your character speaks. Now, language and voice alter depending on the situation, role and purpose. You do not speak to your mother the same way you speak to your friends, and that continues with your character. They have a different register for different people. Consider your character's relationships with other characters. How do they know them? Are they friend? Rivals? Family? Consider these before you go any further into your characters voice.
Where is your character from? Their family background and the place they grew up in also affects their voice. Naturally, the first one you have to think about is their accent. Were they born in a high-class English family in the Victorian period? If that is the case, then I recommend watching Jane Austen film and reciting everything they say after they say it before you start acting. Sure, people might think your a nut, but it means you have the accent nailed down. You also have to think about things like pace, volume, pitch, tone, fluency and so forth. You have to be able to switch from your own voice to your character's voice in a snap when it comes to acting.
Now, Pisces mentioned acting as role-play in his last post and technically that is true. But it is also wrong. Role-play, from a drama point-of-view, is a means of exploring attitudes and beliefs. You develop and investigate an imaginary situation to help create a character's point-of-view and how they handle a certain situation, but role-play has no pre-determined course or outcome and is merely designed to develop your character.
To really nail down the character, you need a various number of techniques to characterise your...well, character. These are:
- Character Cards (pretty much information sheets on your character)
- Improvisation (spontaneous acting on the spot)
- Role-play (read above)
- Hot-seating (questioning a character in role)
- Voices in the Head (recall or words said by others about a character or situation)
- Writing in Role (like writing a journal as your character)
- Thought Tracking (when a character speaks their thoughts out loud)
- Thought Tunnel (other characters walk past character and comment on their situation)
In characterisation, you are made to think about your characters relationship with other characters, portrayal in terms of language, voice and movement, status, and change in status, of the characters involved, social, economic and cultural background of the character.
And with these basic things, you are already on your way to developing a well-balanced character that appears realistic and interesting to the audience.
That's all I have to say for now. Now, I am going to have a cup of coffee and observe and people attempt (or don't attempt) to do these things while I draw the British Hulk.
SIGNING OFF!
Rinrei
No comments:
Post a Comment