One of my goals over the next couple months is to acquire the technical skills necessary to book national commercials and legit SAG productions. To that end I've been reading a lot about acting for the camera.Richard Brestoff is fast becoming one my favorite writer on the topic of acting theory. I really enjoyed his book "The Great Acting Teachers". With "The Camera Smart Actor," Brestoff takes a highly technical and potentially dry subject and makes it compelling, even fun, to learn about.
The book is broken into two parts. The first part analyzes the theory of film acting in a light yet academic manner; Brestoff is a professor at UC Irvine. The latter two thirds is written in screenplay format and follows an actor through his first day on a film set. As this actor stumbles into some difficulties he is assisted by a fount of knowledge who freezes everyone around him 'til he's done 'splainin' ala Professor X in X-Men 2. By writing about camera acting in script form, Brestoff manages to translate dry information into not-entirely-clunky exposition.
The following are points that stick out in memory:
- On Theory:
- The camera can't steal your soul, nor can it tell whether or not you are lying. It will however transmit the minutiae of what it is you show the world.
- The practical application of the Kuleshov Effect comes when you are unsure of how to react in a situation. If you're on a green screen and you don't know what the monster looks like – a blank expression will do all the work for you. If it's a scary monster the audience will think you're frozen in fear, if it's a cuddly creature the audience will think you're staring in wonderment. In other words, when in doubt don't do anything; the audience will fill in the blanks for you.
- The camera can't steal your soul, nor can it tell whether or not you are lying. It will however transmit the minutiae of what it is you show the world.
- On The Necessities:
- Eat light and eat healthy – big meals make you sluggish and you're liable to get fat and become a continuity problem if you don't.
- Don't drink coffee, drink juice – you've probably got enough nerves going that the coffee would only speed you up and make you crash.
- Don't nap on set – you'll be groggy and your face will look puffy.
- Eat light and eat healthy – big meals make you sluggish and you're liable to get fat and become a continuity problem if you don't.
- On The People Around You:
- 2nd AD: This is the person you check in with and is your primary liason to the production. If you need something, go to her/him.
- 1st AD: This person calls everything but "Action!"
- Camera Operator: In a quiet moment, befriend this person by saying "Hi, I'm BLANK. I was hoping you could tell me if I'm ever popping out of frame or moving too quickly for you to follow." This opens a dialogue and makes both of you look better.
- 2nd AD: This is the person you check in with and is your primary liason to the production. If you need something, go to her/him.
- On Behavior:
- Don't be an actor that needs to be liked – be a professional. In other words, trying to entertain people constantly because you're nervous is a bad move – you're likely just annoying everyone.
- Show up on time and prepared.
- Don't be an actor that needs to be liked – be a professional. In other words, trying to entertain people constantly because you're nervous is a bad move – you're likely just annoying everyone.
- On Working with the Camera:
- Hit your marks – Practice hitting your marks by walking at full speed and energy, do anything else and you're guaranteed to miss your mark.
- Hit your marks – Practice hitting your marks by walking at full speed and energy, do anything else and you're guaranteed to miss your mark.
- On Working with Cast Mates:
- Run Lines – Just try to feel out where the other actor is taking things to see if you need to make any serious adjustments.
- Be There – Always help your cast mates by performing your lines for their close-up.
- Run Lines – Just try to feel out where the other actor is taking things to see if you need to make any serious adjustments.
- On Preparation:
- Tell me the story up 'til now – Shooting out of order can throw your acting out of whack. Get in the habit of telling yourself your character's story up until this point in the film. What do they know or don't they know?
- Title your scenes – in order to better track the story, give each scene a short title like "Confronting Richie About Cheating" so you know what it is you have to do in the scene.
- Listen – do your best to respond organically to what the other person is giving you, these subtle variations will make for a better finished product.
- Tell me the story up 'til now – Shooting out of order can throw your acting out of whack. Get in the habit of telling yourself your character's story up until this point in the film. What do they know or don't they know?
There are plenty more topics that are discussed in this book. It's definitely worth a read and it's infinitely accessible.
No comments:
Post a Comment