After watching the video today, I realized that acting is not so much a talent, but more of an art. Michael Cane went on to talk about how simple you have to look in front of the camera and that less is more, especially on close ups. I did some researching of my own and found some other helpful tips that might help the rest of the class with their replication project.
1. If your scene has dialogue, tell your actor/actress to make sure he/she knows the character they are playing. if the character is serious, then the dialogue shouldn't come across funny or sarcastic. IF your having trouble keeping your actors from laughing, go through the scene a couple times until the laughter dies out. It is too easy to spot out on screen actors holding in their laugher, and it only ruined the shot.
2. If you have characters in the background or just simply not speaking, give them something to do while on camera. What I mean by
that is to make sure he/she isn't doing something to just get T/V time. They should have a purpose to the shot and should be doing every day kind of things.
3. Last, be aware of overacting. Make sure you understand what the scene's purpose is and that you don't exceed or miss the point. A lot of the time, beginner acts feel like they need to stand out from the others so they feel obligated to try and make more of what they are suppose to do. This mistake is easily avoideable and shouldn't be seen in any of our projects.
I hope this helps to all that read. Give me any feedback you got or anything else that I should maybe add to the list.
Steve Kinslow
I would personally call it a craft rather than art, although that might be controversial with some. The film actor is truly at the service of the complex mechanism which is a film production at the same time that, as Michael Caine said, everything focuses on making the actor's work possible and successful. Having said that, I believe it is the director's responsibility to create the conditions for a great performance, and it is her responsibility to judge when and how that has been achieved, and if not try and try again.
ReplyDeleteAt least that is the case in independent films and author films (like most european films). Hollywood is a special case since the director is less than a cog in a machine, easily replaceable by anyone at the slightest disagreement with the all powerful production apparatus, the so called "studio system". That is why some actors use their own power and money to produce their own films (Clint Eastwood for example), in fact that is why United Artists was formed in the first place in 1919 when D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks decided to take their future in their own hands. Today, Tom Cruise owns a stake in UA although it is now owned by MGM. Banks win in the end, at least in Hollywood.