Jake Vander Ark

In my theoretical feature, there is a 20 year old girl who is very sexually experienced. There are 2 love scenes in the film (both "raw", but not graphic) and she is very comfortable with her body. What sort of things would you look for in an actress during the audition process? How would you audition a difficult sex scene to make sure they're up for the challenge? Do you think it's possible for an actor (guy or girl) to realistically portray this sort of character without having a similar background? This may be an awkward topic, but any ideas?

Good stuff guys... thanks so much for the help. Also, I'm glad to know there is life in this little section of cinematography.com. I've looked everywhere for good boards about directing, but they're all way too unprofessional. Thanks for the good dialogue.

Keneu, I think you're dead on with #1... that's a great point and that may be the thing I've been trying to pinpoint. That also seems to go hand in hand with #2, which I think is another great point... From the films I've seen out of AFI, the actors aren't the problem... I've seen some absolutely spectacular performances, but the scenes still feel stilted. Same with the dolly/jibs... they have all of that equipment at their disposal and it still doesn't give the scenes any life. #6 is something that I've considered before... but more in the vein of "atmospheric shots". Just a few 3 second shots that set the tone of each scene would help the film breath I think. Is this the kind of thing you were referring to? And about lingering shots, I have to disagree with Matthew for the first time... I think that it is important to do everything you can to "cover" your scene with 1 shot, and then do reverse shots when necessary. This is an important technique that a lot of people don't learn. And although I would say it's more difficult for students, it shouldn't be an excuse to not practice. Just watched "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf", and it's a great example of using longer shots.

Also, how do you plan to collaborate with your actor when you're busy setting up crafty? Or holding a boom? If you put this all on yourself, I can guarantee your actor will not appreciate it, and it will hurt your film.

I would be very careful with the style of shooting you're describing. Basically you're telling me you're going to shoot a student film? It is very very easy to say you're going to throw out all the rules, but even somebody like David Lynch (who you expressed interest in earlier) uses many MANY filmmaking conventions and rules. For example, if you break the 180 degree rule, you WILL confuse your audience. Is that really what you want to do? It always seems impressive at first that you're the person doing everything, but for a calling card piece, that's not what people want to see. They want to know that you work well with others, and you can collaborate to make a decent film. I would strongly recommend finding help in the other areas. Let me know how it goes. This is all a little off topic... anybody else have any ideas about giving a low-budget film more life?

Satsuki, So what you're saying is, instead of another actor, they can use objects or their environment to play off of... something I knew, but never applied to this situation. Maybe in the car example, his emotions could be manifested through his use of the steering-wheel, the radio, or his interaction with other cars? Anyway, good advice, thanks for getting me thinking...

Matthew, thanks for the reply. Of course I would never question another director's choice on set, but I don't think it's a problem to learn from their mistakes. I read Nikki's posts, and I hope that I don't sound anything like her. The El Mariachi suggestion was a good one, and I'll be sure to check out the film asap. As far as "too much rehearsal", I definitely think it exists. I think that over rehearsing actors can cause them to settle with a certain line reading, and they can lose some of the magic that happens on that first take. Of course, I would agree that too much rehearsal is better than too little. And Glen, I think that rules are essential to filmmaking. Even if you have to break them once in a while, you should understand them 100% before you do. Anyone else have other thoughts?

My second post for the night: I've been privileged to be married to a Production Designer at the American Film Institute. I've worked as 2nd AD on many of their films, and I've been learning a ton. For the last two years, I've been wrestling with this problem... and I still don't have a solid answer. Every film that I've seen from film school feels very ridged, static, and stale. Even with the scripts that I love, it never feels as if any of them have fluidity, or have time to breath. I've blamed it on many things since I discovered this problem; too many marks on the ground with actors who can't hit them, not enough atmospheric inserts, not enough rehearsal, too much rehearsal, no improvisation, perfectionist DP, etc, etc... but I still don't think I've pinpointed it. If anybody else has noticed this problem, or if anybody can help me avoid this in my own work, I would love some ideas!

Hey everybody. I'm new to these amazing boards, and I'm really anxious to get some more dialogue going in the "directors corner". In my upcoming feature, I have a few crucial scenes involving actors by themselves. Does anybody have any tips for giving the actor solid direction, even though he doesn't have somebody to play off? Action Verbs are more difficult to use because the action is all internalized. A specific example from the script: A man in his late twenties knows that he is responsible for the shooting of two people. He speeds away from the scene, happy about what he did, but he slowly begins to regret it, and ends up in tears. In the next scene, we find out that he made the right choice, turned around, and went back to help the kids he hurt. Obviously, I'm trying to avoid saying things like "start happy, then be sad". Any ideas on directing this transition?

Babel. The father reconnects with his naked daughter on a Tokyo balcony, as the camera slowly pulls back... and back... and back... This is movie that I find a bit sadistic and generally over-rated, but it has one of the most beautiful final shots of any film ever. Not only is it gorgeous, it sums up the theme film and it's technically jaw-dropping. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXL8t92QTrI...feature=related