Identification is something that we´re really interested in, as a filmmaker, but most importantly, as an audience. If I can´t identify with what I see on the screen, there´s a good chance I´m not going to end up liking the film. Consequently, I will not recommend it to anyone either. It´s not unusual that someone might say that “I could really identify with that character”, and an emotional response reimburses the identification. But where does it begin? What comes first?

In Storycatcher I read that the question “what can I learn from your story that helps me see my own?” is something that can perhaps explain why identification is important. Because “we imagine ourselves in each other´s stories”. Now, maybe that´s why identification is important because what we´re really after is to understand ourselves  better. But I want to find out how identification comes about. Are there certain techniques with camera? Or are there certain traits for the character? Or is it how the character looks? The last question is somewhat shallow, but still, I do think it is relevant, I´m just not sure how yet.

So this is what I´m doing  my masters on; character identification in film – and I´m researching the identification potential of a short film – which is a film that I´ve made as the other part of my masters. Engaging Characters is one of my main resources. I wonder if the masters would have been different if I wrote the paper before I made the film (although with a slightly different objective for the paper) or have I used identification techniques that I will find in my paper (perhaps because these identification elements are actually innate in us)?

I have about 6 months to go – and then I might (or might not) have the answers I´m looking for.