Film Language Tag: acting

The work of creating a dramatic character by a professional or amateur performer. The term acting is most often used in relation to narrative cinema, where the construction of character is central. Actors construct characters through their bodies (posture, gesture, and movement augmented by costume, makeup, hairstyle) and voices (tone, accent, delivery). [For a more complete description, please see source]. [See performance]. At Kinolab, we use this term to note distinct examples of how an actor can construct a character through their body (movement, voices, facial expressions, etc.) and how that construction is facilitated or augmented by aspects of mise-en-scene and cinematography. In other words, we use it to call attention to an actor’s construction of character and how they interact with other aspects of film form to communicate meaning to the audience. Kuhn, Annette and Guy Westwell. A Dictionary of Film Studies. 2nd ed. Oxford UP, 2020.