David Winn

Found on utube.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YvZZNwDnJuk

No actor can give an identical performance twice. It will only have freshness or tuthfulness if each time the performance is given it is as if for the first time. So maybe the first thing is not to stress your actor by making him/her feel that they have to replicate a performance exactly.

If the actor is not "in the moment" at all, then there are all sorts of strategies you can use to get them there. I wouldn't lecture them about feelings - nobody can produce feelings at will, not you and not even actors - they're a consequence of actions and experiences. So perhaps you could give them some kind objective to aim for. Say you want your actor to "be angry" at another character, you might ask them to "punish" or "attack" the other actor. If you start talking about feelings, your poor actor is going to have to step back and work out why he needs to be angry and what he needs to do about it and already you're distracting them from the work.

Good luck.

Hello Michael,

 

James is right. Screen acting is a whole different animal from stage acting. We have a motto at Easton Pictures: "Never hire theater people!" The reason is, their acting experience is for the stage. Their stuff has to be seen, heard and interpreted from as much as a couple hundred feet away (back rows). Screen acting is EXTREMELY INTIMATE. The camera is right in the actor's face. Everything they do is fully seen. The presentation not only needs to be subtle because of the intimacy of camera placement, but, film acting is more of a cueing device than acting. The actor ever-so-slightly indicates the emotion, therefore allowing the veiwer the priveledge of "feeling" that emotion. The problem with stage actors is that they want to "feel" that emotion and thereby steal that moment from the veiwer. That pisses the veiwer off... alot. Nothing will kill your work surer than a single moment of "ham".

 

I suggest you watch About Schmit for a fine example of screen acting. You know everything the director wants YOU to feel because Jack knows exactly how much to give YOU so that YOU feel and thereby, OWN the emotions.

 

Knock 'em dead, Dude,

 

Paul

I think you may be cutting yourself off from a formidable wealth of talent by excluding "theatre people". Sure tv or film acting requires subtlety but there are plenty of actors who have huge stage experience and create big performances on stage but can achieve an "intimacy" in performance before a camera. Talented actors are often versatile in that way.

David

Hello David...welcome to Cinematography.com. Why don't you start a thread relevant to the site instead of just avoiding pruning?

Thanks for the welcome. I'll certainly pitch in soon.

I'm a director working in UK TV and have been lurking a while. I wanted to say hello before I got pruned out of existence by the moderators.

David Winn