IMPORTANCE OF ACTING IN FILM (RESEARCH)
Actors and actresses can bring a different tone to your film, actors being able to become the characters and present them to the audience in the way their selves and the director envisions the character and how they act, bringing emotion and depth to the characters.
Depth to individual characters is important to understand and represent to the audience as the characters can feel disconnected or misplaced, the actor being able to present this to the audience. For individual characters you need to think about their positives, flaws, habits, motives, speech and past. Having dimension in characters allows the audience to be more drawn to getting to know the characters and listening to them to try and understand them. This helps the audience understand the characters and how they effect what is happening in the scene around them, the strange, sarcastic laughter of the Joker making sense to the audience when he arrives but still sending a shiver down their spine.
Actors are good observers and listeners, being able to take into account all of the flaws and habits of a character in the story line and how they fit into it, being able to perform a character in a certain situation. If an actor can become familiar with the character and how they would move, the character becomes more realistic and understandable to the audience, allowing the audience to open up to feeling emotions over this character; positive and negative. Bringing emotion and depth to a character is important to make the character feel as if they fit with the World around them or purposefully stand out from those around them if needed; example being Edward Scissorhands by Tim Burton.
The emotional complexity of the Joker, performed by Heath Ledger in Batman: The Dark Knight, are all effective into how the audience feels, the audience feeling that this scene is realistic and could happen in real life. The matter of knowing that this scene could actually happen in real life and that the Joker is understandable as a character to a point where the audience can relate to him can make the audience ever more uncomfortable. A great performance by Heath Ledger as the Joker manages to make the audience feel the tension and to make them feel like they are in the scene their selves, being able to feel the fear of the characters around and the brutality of the Joker. This is one of the most memorable scenes I remember from any film growing up, watching this being the most effective emotionally and makes you invested into the scene. It also creates a fascination on the Joker, being afraid of him and knowing he is unpredictable but also wanting to know more about him, this being an effective character.
If the characters seem disconnected from the scene and their personality jumps over the place they wont be believable and will become obvious to the audience that there is little depth behind the character. This is commonly picked up on by audiences and has been shown through many reviews and discussions of other films such as the Marvel or D.C. films, most complained about recently being Suicide Squad for the exact reason of character development; story development was also an issue. Whether they are kind, comedic or mean to each other, relationships between characters are some of the most important parts of a character's atmosphere to the audience. Impulses will also help the audience understand why a character may become nicer or meaner to a certain character throughout the film and who they have become close to throughout their journey, this all being performed by the actor or actress.
Acting can bring an overall presence to a scene that may be lacking if the acting wasn't there, the actor and actresses bringing the characters and the scenes around them to life. An actor is able to make realistic versions of your characters come to life. 'An Actor needs to be a good listener observer, be able to take directions, be intuitive and must possess a tangible acting range. It’s a skill set that eludes most and not everyone can learn it by themselves.' - Dafilmschool (2018).
References
Diamond, K., Reilly, S., Marshall, L. and Cassandra, C. (2018). The Importance of Character Development. [online] Thanet Writers. Available at: https://thanetwriters.com/essay/characters/the-importance-of-character-development/ [Accessed 6 Mar. 2018].
Dafilmschool.wordpress.com. (2018). Role of an Actor in Film Making. [online] Available at: https://dafilmschool.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/role-of-an-actor-in-film-making/ [Accessed 17 Apr. 2018].
Fast Company. (2018). 4 Keys To Creating A Mood From Director David Gordon Green. [online] Available at: https://www.fastcompany.com/1683546/4-keys-to-creating-a-mood-from-director-david-gordon-green [Accessed 9 Apr. 2018].
YouTube. (2018). Joker's Pencil Trick (Best Quality). [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/ihazDjbJ9WQ [Accessed 9 Apr. 2018].
