how to get inexperienced actors to project their voice

An organic way of asking actors to "speak up" is by reminding them that the lines are their power. To direct the lines at the other actor, maybe with the intention "to be heard".

But in contrast to StepUp2, I was surprised to find quite a bit of mumbling going on by Philip Seymour Hoffman in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. He's an incredible actor and there was quite a bit of mumbling and poor diction going on.

Just a sign mumbling isn't limited to poor actors. But maybe that isn't what you were talking about, since it sounds like in stepup2 they were really afraid of the choices they were making so they were more quiet.
 
Mumbling is due to lack of training in articulatory phonetics. If they don't know their instrument and they can't control it, no quick tip will save the performance, but humans do tend to talk better when they are stressed or forced to confront something loud, when they compete with loud voices and raised tones. You could try to get other actors to project more or upsetting the actor a little bit.
 
work on improv with them. Teach them how to act and break them out of their shell. Force them to be uncomfortable and let them feel comfortable with you.
 
previously in the thread someone mentioned making it person for the actors (your boyfriend is cheating on you with him, seduce the boom operator) and this is very similar to what a director did on a commercial we did. she would ask the actors a question and their response was always the line the were supposed to say. her question changed depending on the way she wanted the actor to respond.

for instance, if the actor was supposed to say "You can't plan for an accident," she would lead them off with, "can you plan for an accident?" then she'd asked "CAN you plan for an accident?" then "can YOU plan for an accident?" her emphasis on different words got a different reading of the line from the actor.

or she'd say, "your husband died in an accident, did you expect it?" or "why were you late today?" each time the response was "You can't plan for an accident." but it took on different meanings and emotions from the actor responding to the director's questions/set ups.

this way you aren't telling an actor "i want you to say it with regret or surprise or anger" which, for an inexperienced actor would be tough, but having them respond naturally to the setup achieved the same thing.

also, secretly recording a shot when the actor thinks it's just a practice run will get rid of their performance anxiety.
 
Yes, everybody is different and you have to tailor the psychology to them, but I have found several things that many beginners do.

1. They emphasize the wrong words. A good trick to help with this is have them always ask the question "what" .

Take for instance, a line like- "I love the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells like victory."

If you break it down and continually ask" what", you have, "I", I what? I LOVE, Love what? the SMELL, smell of what? the smell of NAPALM in the, in the what? in the MORNING. It smells like, smells like what? like VICTORY.

So a line reading might look like: I love the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells like victory.

It might seem obvious with this line, but I think it really helps as a general rule to start from anyway, especially on more vague lines.

2. Lets talk about overacting. The first-timer or non-actor will most likely gravitate towards an arm-flailing "here are my lines as indicated for a monkey" performance.

It's still amazing to me how the camera can read your mind. You only need to think it and it will come across. So if an actor is real big, maybe back the camera up with a wide lens to lessen the size of their performance. And for those actors that are non-expressive, get a nice tight closeup.

3. I think it's good to ask the actor questions in-character, especially about back story. What happened before this and what emotions are still carrying over? Anything to really get their head in the character and make it personal. I think when you are looking for more ____ it's good to ask questions so they come up with the answer you're loking for, like they thought of it in the first place! It boosts their confidence and adds a feeling of collaboration to the set.

4. One more thought is about focus. Beginners don't know where to look, so they look everywhere! Most pros I see in movies are very focused with their eyes, unless their character is scattered or nervous.

5. If one line just doesn't sound right, maybe ask them how they would say it if they were in the same situation, and have them do it that way.

6. I've always thought it was cool to have one actor surprise another with a different line or action that isn't written or expected. I've never been able to do it, but it could be fun if you have the time and creative juices.
 
Have you tried a red hot poker?

I also believe that the actor must have the instrument. In live theater, some actors must over-project their voice in order for the audience to hear/understand (and many still cannot be understood); while others can speak normally and be understood.

Diction (voice and elocution) is an acquired skill that must be practiced. Some will natuarally sound better because of thier God-given instrument...but it still must be practiced.

Oh...does anyone NOT believe that live theater is different than TV/film?
 
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yeehaanow said:
2. Lets talk about overacting. The first-timer or non-actor will most likely gravitate towards an arm-flailing "here are my lines as indicated for a monkey" performance.
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I find the reverse is more often the case. Stiff, wooden, lifeless, flat - that's usually the problem I find with inexperienced or non-actors. It certainly is true about 90% of the time in classes I've taken. They've got the words but not the music, as they say...

Fear of overacting is actually the problem for many students, leading them to underact instead.
 
I don't think voice projection is the problem you're having.

They need to inject emotion into their performances.
 
Indywannabe said:
Oh...does anyone NOT believe that live theater is different than TV/film?
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I would go as far as saying that acting for film is a different art.

The great film actors give performances that sometimes look indifferent when you are on set, even through the camera lens, but come to life when the material is projected. A world of microscopic performance is to be found on the filmic closeup. The expression is in a different scale. Many good theater actors have problems mastering that. Theatrical performances force you to overact motion and emotion in order to cover the distance from the audience and this becomes a problem on film.

Another problem theater actors have with performing on film is that they have problems acting in front of a camera, without an opponent/actor. Being with the crew and a lens in your face can make you feel very unconformatable and empty when you are used to interacting with a human. It takes a lot of practice.

Then we have the problems that film shooting creates. Constant interruptions, takes and more takes. It's hard to keep focus though a scene.

The film logistics force the director to shoot scenes in an order that has nothing to do with the actual logical progress of events on the script. Huge issues of motivation arrise.
 
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