Nearly all narrative films rely on characters.
"- Come on. Let's get in character."
- A complex thoughtfully realized character can leave a lasting impact on a filmgoer.
And sometimes on the entirety of pop culture.
"- Are you sure this is the suit, right? - Perfect."
- How a filmmaker builds a character is referred to as characterization.
A crucial tool which can make or break a film.
This is "What is Characterization".
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"- Let us begin."
Characterization is how a character is revealed to the audience.
As defined by Robert McKee,
'Characterization is the sum of all observable qualities of a human being,
everything knowable through careful scrutiny.'
It includes details like age,
occupation, and sexuality.
As well as insight into a character's personality and point of view.
"- Let me just get this straight you are never tip, huh?
- I don't tip because society says I have to.
All right, I mean, I'll tip it if somebody really deserves a tip.
if they really put forth the effort I'll give them something extra
but I mean tipping automatically, it's for the birds."
- It is through these details the true character is revealed.
Therefore, characterization is an essential part of storytelling.
"- All right, what is this. What's this arrangement? - Mr. Drysdale...
- CSI KFC?"
- Characterization can take two forms - direct and indirect.
In this video, we'll look at how the forms work
and when filmmakers use them
starting with direct characterization.
In literature, direct characterization is when an author tells the reader
qualities of a character rather than show them.
For example, in 'Pride and Prejudice' Jane Austen describes Mr Darcy
as proud and disagreeable.
In film, this can take the form of a voiceover.
The boy, Tom Hansen of Margate, New Jersey,
grew up believing that he'd never truly be happy
until the day he met "the one."
- But many filmmakers avoid this approach.
A voiceover which simply describes the traits of a character
runs the risk of coming across as lazy filmmaking.
More frequently direct characterization in film refers to the objective details
about a character that can be easily observed such as their appearance.
In life, we may be told not to judge a book by its cover.
"- It's not what you did son that angers me so.
- It's who you did to. - Who?
- The f*cking nobody?
- That f*cking nobody...
...is John Wick."
- But an audience will often do just that
when introduced to a new character.
What they wear and how they present themselves will inform how the viewer
sees a character for the rest of a film.
In "Mulholland Drive", Adam is introduced at a board meeting wearing all black
with tinted glasses and spiked-up hair
and sitting with a golf club in front of him.
These details quickly tell us Adam is a hotshot Hollywood creative.
Especially when contrasted with the formal attire of the other characters in the room.
"- Hey, that girl is not in my film.
- It's no longer your film."
In "Legally Blonde", we are introduced to Elle Woods through appearance.
Everything about her is perfectly manicured
telling us that she is a character who might be vain and shallow.
A characterization she eventually comes to subvert.
"- Unless the defendant attempted to contact every single one-night stand to
determine if a child resulted in those unions
he has no parental claim over this child whatsoever.
Why now? Why this sperm?
- I believe you've just won your case."
In "The Irishman", costuming emphasizes characters' generational differences.
Frank and Jimmy wear suits while their younger counterpart Don's more casual attire.
"- Making a point dressing like that?
Is that how you dress for a meeting?
- Well, this is how you dress in Florida.
- In a suit. - For a meeting?
-Anywhere. Florida, Timbuktu, I dress in a suit.
For a meetin'.
- And you're late. - What?
- You're late."
- Setting can also act as effective direct characterization.
In "Se7en", we learn about John Doe before we even meet him by seeing his apartment.
The set decoration tells us he's an obsessive religious fanatic
with nothing in his life beyond this killing spree.
"- There are 2 000 notebooks on these shelves and each notebook contains about
-...250 pages. - Looks like a life's work.
- If we had 50 men reading in 24-hour shifts
it'd still take two months. - I know, I know, I know."
- Edna Mode's estate in "The Incredibles",
tells us she's a wildly successful designer.
"- Yes. Things are going quite well, quite well, my God, no complaints."
- Who prefers a сhic minimalism.
"- Yeah, something classic, like Dynaguy!
Oh! He had a great look! Oh, the cape and the boots...
- No capes!"
- Filmmakers can also use cinematography for direct characterization.
In "Dune", the villainous Baron Harkonnen is introduced in an ominous fog.
For his close-up, the camera is placed behind him
and the key light is placed on the short side of his face.
These choices obscure Harkonnen and make him all the more mysterious
and terrifying.
"- When is a gift not a gift?
The Atreides' voice is rising,
and the Emperor is a jealous man."
Direct characterization is an immensely powerful tool
to tell your audience all about your character before they even say a word.
But indirect characterization can be just as potent.
Indirect characterization reveals character information through their behavior
allowing the audience to piece together what these details mean for themselves.
As Robert McKee notes,
'True character is revealed in the choices a human being makes under pressure.'
What characters do is an essential form of characterization
and can even counteract the direct characterization of their appearance.
In "Captain America", Steve is going to be overlooked for the Army's experimental program
because he's too small and therefore seen as not tough enough.
But his actions tell his superiors and the audience otherwise.
He is a superhero at heart.
"- Is this a test?
- He's still skinny."
- Jack Sparrow's introduction in "Pirates of the Caribbean" shows his actions
contradicting his setting.
He stands proudly on his mast.
Only for it to be revealed that he's in fact on a minuscule boat.
The moment perfectly encapsulates Sparrow's character.
The perpetual underdog who is never deterred by the odds stacked against him.
"- You are without doubt the worst pirate I've ever heard of.
- But you have heard of me."
- Often, actions will speak louder than words.
In "There Will Be Blood", we are introduced to
Daniel Plainview in a largely wordless sequence.
Plainview remains undeterred even after his prospecting goes horrifically wrong
showing us that he will stop at nothing to become a mogul.
Robert McKee writes,
'The revelation of true character in contrast or contradiction to characterization
is fundamental to all fine storytelling.'
In "Star Wars", Han Solo repeatedly makes clear in his dialogue
that all he cares about is his own bottom line.
"- I'm not going anywhere. - They're gonna execute her.
Look a few minutes ago he said he didn't want to just wait here to be captured.
Now all you want to do is stay?
- Marching into the detention area is not what I had in mind.
- But they're gonna kill her. - Better her than me."
- But again and again,
his actions speak differently.
Despite what he says in the end he's a crucial ally to the Rebellion.
This is his true character.
While action is important to indirect characterization
sometimes dialogue can do just as much work.
"- As for any charges stemming from the breach of security
I believe I deserve some recognition from this board.
- I'm sorry. - Yes.
- I don't understand. - Which part?"
- In the opening scene of "The Social Network", screenwriter Aaron Sorkin
characterizes Mark as a single-minded social climber
with no regard for the people he may hurt along the way.
"- If I get in I will be taking you to the events and the gatherings
and you'll be meeting a lot of people you wouldn't normally get to meet.
- You would do that for me
- We're dating. - Okay."
- In this scene from "Lord of the Rings",
dialogue is used to externalize Gollum's internal conflict.
"- Must have the precious."
- There are two warring sides to Gollum.
Peter Jackson accentuates the characterization within the dialogue
through camera moves.
"- Wicked. Tricksy. False.
- No. Not master.
- Yes, precious. False."
- And editing.
"- Master's my friend.
You don't have any friends. Nobody likes you."
- Jackson visualizes Smeagol and Gollum as separate entities.
"- Murderer."
- A dialogue doesn't only inform the person speaking.
"- Pick up! - What?
- Pick up the phone. - Uh, oh, hello?"
- In this Exchange in "Before Sunrise" screenwriters Richard Linklater
and Kim Krizan use the two characters telephone
game to have them describe the other person.
"- I think that's when I fell for him.
Just the idea of this little boy with all those beautiful dreams."
- In doing so, Linklater characterizes the two protagonists through the other's eyes
while also revealing something about themselves.
Jesse and Celine have fallen in love.
"- She's super smart
Very passionate.
And beautiful."
Now, let's look at a film which uses both direct
and indirect characterization to great effect.
Consider this your spoiler alert.
"Casablanca's" Rick Blaine is one of the most iconic characters in film history.
"- Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world...
...she walks into mine."
- To achieve this legendary status director Michael Curtiz
and writers Julius Epstein, Phillip Epstein, and Howard Koch
used nearly every characterization technique in the book.
"- Here's looking at you, kid."
- Film follows Rick as he reconnects with a long-lost lover
and is forced to decide whether he will help the rebel cause in 1940s Casablanca.
Ir take his second chance at love and happiness with Ilsa.
Before Rick is even on screen his character's
reputation is established by way others talk about him.
"- Will you ask Rick if he'll have a drink with us?
- Madame, he never drinks with customers. Never. I've never seen it."
- When we are finally introduced to Rick
we first see the props in front of him.
He's signing a check for a lot of money.
And playing chess against himself.
These details tell the audience he's a man of
significant financial power and a strategic thinker.
When Rick is revealed he's wearing a crisp tuxedo
and he's deciding who gets to enter the lounge with the shake of the head.
He's a suave bar owner.
His dialogue emphasizes that he doesn't interfere in others business.
"- If you're thinking of warning him, don't. He cannot escape.
- I stick my neck out for nobody. - A wise foreign policy."
- This point is repeated when Rick does nothing to help
the man who appeared to be his friend from being arrested.
"- When they come to get me, I hope you'll be more help.
- I stick my neck out for nobody."
- Rick's a magic lifestyle is emphasized so heavily
because it becomes the crucial obstacle of the film.
He was once a freedom fighter but withdrew from the cause when his heart was broken.
Now, he has the power to help the resistance.
But only if he's able to get over his own bitterness.
It's this conflict rooted in Rick's characterization
that builds to one of the most famous scenes of all time.
Rick is finally able to make the ultimate selfless act
sacrificing his potential future with Ilsa.
"- The names are Mr.and Mrs. Victor Laszlo.
- But...
...why my name, Richard?
- 'Cause you're getting on that plane.
- I don't understand. What about you?
- I'm staying here with him till the plane gets safely away."
- Rick's true character is revealed
helping make the scene as cathartic as it is.
"- Here's looking at you, kid."
- With the help of direct and indirect characterization,
"Casablanca" cemented its legacy as one of the most revered films in cinema history.
"- Louis...
...I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
- There are many ways to reveal characters to the audience
as there are types of characters.
Characterization is one of the most important
strategies in bringing characters to life.
Whether this information is communicated directly or indirectly
every aspect of a character's actions,
dialogue,
"- That greed...
for lack of a better word,
is good."
- ...appearance
and more can play a role in communicating who they are.
Good characterization means good screenwriting.
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Goodbye for now and good luck with your next great film.
You can do it. It's in your character.