When you talk about characterization it may be referring to two issues ... On the one hand, to the determination of those peculiar attributes that a person or a thing presents and that therefore clearly distinguishes it from the rest of its class.
Unique attributes of a person, animal or thing that distinguish it from the rest of its species
The characteristics of a person, an animal, or an object respond to particular signs that will make them different from others in their class.
There are some essentials that frame them within a given species, and many others are unique to each person.
The characteristics of an object, animal or person, refers to the notes or peculiarities that distinguish them from other objects or people and makes them who they are.
Fitness and physical preparation that an actor performs to compose a character
And on the other hand, at the behest of the artistic world, especially in the fields of theater, cinema and television, the characterization of the adequacy that an actor proposes in terms of the physical traits that the character he will have to interpret must observe and that differ from his own. To do this, on many occasions you will have to make use of makeup, special masks and a particular wardrobe..
“The characterization of Dracula took the makeup artists more than four hours.”
For example, the actor who is hired to play Dracula will have makeup accentuating his paleness, sharp fangs will be placed in his teeth and will be dressed in black outfits and a huge black cape.
On the other hand, characterization may involve special physical work for the actor. For example, an actor who must represent an athlete in a fictional story should get ready in physical matters, if he is overweight he should get online and lose those extra kilos, dieting or physical exercise, or a combination of both.
Also, surely you should observe and interact with some athletes in order to better compose the character, as close as possible to the reality of an athlete and then nothing better than interviewing them and knowing how they live and think.
And if it is an athlete who develops a specific sporting activity, they should also train in this regard.
The characterization, in the cases mentioned and that require it, is fundamental because it gives verisimilitude to the plot that is narrated.
If the story of an athlete is told but it is represented by an overweight actor who does not respond to the characteristics of a true athlete, then it will not be credible.
There are characters that do not require any type of special physical characterization, but the aforementioned of Dracula or some other superhero or villain, usually demand special characterizations that require hard work by costumers, makeup artists, and the actor, of course, who lends her body.
Techniques that are applied
The characterization of a character, then, is carried out thanks to hairdressing techniques that allow changing the appearance of a person's hair, for example, if a character must appear on the scene first as a young man and then as an old man, in the latter case, products will be used that bring their hair to the gray color, typical of adults greater.
Other techniques at the service of characterization are implants, such is the case of Dracula that we mentioned earlier, and the makeup.
The professional who is in charge of performing this role is the characterizer and in the productions he takes care of placing the prostheses or hairpieces when necessary and also guiding the professionals in his charge, or the interpreters themselves, so that know how to put on a wig, for example.
The production presents the characterizer with a general idea of how the character should appear physically, while the characterizer will also intervene in the delineation, giving his own advice about the transformation to be carried out, suggesting and proposing materials and also the most suitable techniques. to make the change happen.
Once a characterization plan has been outlined, tests will be done on the actor, usually on camera, to see how real they are in the eyes of the viewer.
Characterization is undoubtedly an art in many productions and so it is that given the importance of the item added to the achievements that are usually seen in this sense, there are awards or special mentions for those who carry out this task.
