Line Memorization Today

[Max Field]

I've heard stuff from multiple guys here on how the age of digital has introduced a certain level of laziness into the craft. I'm just curious if this also affected the way actors run their craft as well.

 

On those bigger sets, are actors as worried to memorize their roles as much as they used to? Now that it's all digital they wouldn't really be costing all that much to keep the camera rolling, correct?

 

Regarding the smaller stuff I've done, not sure if I've ever worked with an actor who actually attempted line memorization.

 

Thanks for any experiences you may share.

[Kyryll Sobolev]

i would think the opposite, that it's actually harder - directors now restart entire takes multiple times over without cutting, especially when we are pressed for time.

 

longer digital takes still bear a cost - more storage, DIT stays later at end of day, transport waits longer for film&sound.

 

but i cant say i have ever seen talent take heat in front of the crew for forgetting lines

Edited May 9, 2017 by Kyryll Sobolev

[Phil Rhodes]

I find they usually do quite well.

 

Actors range from highly professional to utterly scatterbrained, but I've not yet had one who didn't know what they were supposed to be saying.

 

P

[Tyler Purcell]

It depends on how controlling your actors are. I've been on sets where actors are pretty laid back and let the director do their thing. I've also been on sets where the actor keeps mucking up and wanting to go again, without the camera restarting.

 

I spend most of my time in post and have been very privileged to watch dailies from some big hollywood movies. The professionalism from the actors hasn't changed one bit, I don't see any difference from a "film" set to a "digital" set. Furthermore, it's rare to even get outtakes. I've watched entire days worth of dailies from various hollywood movies and you may get one snicker or mucked up line, maybe? Generally they stop the camera dead in it's tracks when it happens and reset, no difference from the film days.

 

What HAS changed, are the low budget movies. Digital has brought in a laziness to those productions for sure. I've worked on many low-budget shows where the camera was left running for a long time, I mean one start-stop includes a dozen takes of the same scene. Obviously this wasn't as egregious during the film days because you'd simply roll out. Today, I've seen 20 minute takes of a 1 page (1 minute) scene, on a low budget show. Not so much on the bigger shows... they stick to the same practices as normal.

 

One other side note... one thing that HAS changed quite a bit is how many cameras are running at a given time. It's rare to work on a show that's one camera these days. Almost every movie I've worked with, covers almost everything with 2 or more cameras.