After discussing body mechanics for so long, I guess it's time to move on to acting. I'm just starting to learn more about it, so this will be a brief text about a few of the things I found interesting and learned in AM.
It is extremely important to give your character a clear personality. After all, that's why people still remember some characters long after watching the movie. So try to establish the personality right from the start.
Personality is what makes us different from each other, even if there are many things in common. Two people with similar age, job, looks, doing the same thing would do it in a completely different way. After all, the person's history influences the personality a lot, and no two people have the same past.
That's why, with the same character rig, you can create an infinity of different characters. You can see that in live action too of course, where an actor performs so differently in the movies he/she makes it hardly seems to be the same person.
There are characteristics many people have...but each person shows it differently. If two characters are shy, it doesn't mean they'll show this shyness in the same way. So BE SPECIFIC in your choices! Think about the walk that a particular character would make, the movement, rythm, etc... Finding a characteristic pose can be helpful. It's not a pose to be held all the time, but a pose the character goes back to often, that helps define him.
Think about how the characters are internally, the background story, the needs they have and then how that is translated into their actions.
Creating contrast can create interest in your scene if you have several characters there. Having a variety of personalities interacting can make the scene a lot more dynamic.
Contrasting the external and internal traits of a character can also make it fun. Like the cat in Shrek 2: he looks very decided and proud all the time, but at some point, he makes himself look very vulnerable to inspire pitty, opening those big eyes so Shrek takes him along.
Don't make the acting choices based on your first idea, which it usually is the most obvious thing. You don't want to end up with cliché acting.
There are many places to get reference and inspiration from. Animals, plants, even objects! And while studying them a lot of new ideas can pop up.
Background characters can have personalities too, but shouldn't upstage the main characters.
