Loki
Veteran
I think you are reading into this... wayyyyyy too much...
How to motivate actors to be better?
- Thread starter uTurnProductions
- Start date
I think you are reading into this... wayyyyyy too much...
Zak Forsman
Major Contributor
haha! right. okay. I've seen potentially good scenes ruined by the attitude displayed above. it's not a small matter when the crew is unwittingly sabotaging the very purpose of all their own hard work -- to capture magic in that brief moment between "action" and "cut". just wondering where it comes from.
Last edited:
Your actors are what your audience is watching. Your characters are your film. Without them, you have nothing.
You wouldn't kick your camera around. You wouldn't punch holes in your set walls. Why treat your actors in such a way that they'll be disincented from delivering their best performances?
You wouldn't kick your camera around. You wouldn't punch holes in your set walls. Why treat your actors in such a way that they'll be disincented from delivering their best performances?
Loki
Veteran
What I meant was.. I don't think the people saying this would really ever do this.. they are just having fun on the forum...
I certainly wouldn't belittle my actors... doesn't make for an effective working relationship.
Zak Forsman
Major Contributor
sure, but it's rarely the director doing the belittling. most every director is sensitive to an actor's needs. but i think there is a good chance that if someone like capt quirk were hired to be a grip on your set, he would be "having a little fun" from time to time at the actors' expense. well okay, maybe, maybe not. let's just say I wouldn't be surprised if it happened.
Let them know you believe in the piece you are shooting and let them know how critical they are to making it work. Youve made the choice to have them act the roles they are in so let them know you believe in them.
Actors can be like chalk and cheese. One responds to x while another responds to y. Making time to find out in either rehearsal or discussion pre shoot is very important.
And as the wookie says - FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD.
Capt Quirk
Veteran
Actually, there are two things wrong here- first, I don't work on movies. And second, what I say outside of the work environment, and how I act on the job are completely different. I may act like a horse's ass here, but on the job, I remain professional. This is not a job, this is a forum to read, learn, and have much fun. And I do plenty of the latter
Michele Seidman
Well-known member
brought it...and hung it up to dry!
Here here! Well said.
Well said...and tell the wookie I said Foooood back!
Actually, there are two things wrong here- first, I don't work on movies. And second, what I say outside of the work environment, and how I act on the job are completely different. I may act like a horse's ass here, but on the job, I remain professional. This is not a job, this is a forum to read, learn, and have much fun. And I do plenty of the latter
lol..especially when it comes to me...but then, i do egg you on! ha ha ha
Capt Quirk
Veteran
Since you already have the laundry done, you might as well get started on the dishes
Yeah, like I need any motivation
Tim Joy
Veteran
I find that the biggest problem is when the Director is not "Getting what he wants", but he keeps trying for it the same way take after take with the same results each time. I found this to be especially true when working with children, and the energy is sucked out of the set faster than you can say, "close the spaceship door!"
One remedy I stumbled upon is to: first, be flexible. You're never going to get a cat to bark or a dog to meow.
And second, take a breath and have the actors try it a totally different way, or a 'just for fun/bloopers take'. Inevitably, they will stumble upon something that brings the energy back into your set and gets people smiling, and maybe even something you can use, or at least say, "YES, think of that while you do it this way...."
... And if that doesn't work... LUNCH!
... Oh and always serve lobster and fillet mingnon to your actors and PB+J to the crew. (so they feel special)
One remedy I stumbled upon is to: first, be flexible. You're never going to get a cat to bark or a dog to meow.
And second, take a breath and have the actors try it a totally different way, or a 'just for fun/bloopers take'. Inevitably, they will stumble upon something that brings the energy back into your set and gets people smiling, and maybe even something you can use, or at least say, "YES, think of that while you do it this way...."
... And if that doesn't work... LUNCH!
... Oh and always serve lobster and fillet mingnon to your actors and PB+J to the crew. (so they feel special)
ExtremeSleuth
Veteran
Right on. For Ladies Night, we had an overnight shoot, and morale was getting down. On our break I stood on a ladder and got everyone's attention, thanked them for putting time in on the project and let them know that I appreciated their hard work and dedication, and I assured them that the project was gonna be good. I told everyone I believed in them. After the break things started up just like it was the first shot of the day. The energy was renewed and we kept shooting.
I also had a lot of food on the shoot too
Michele Seidman
Well-known member
Since you already have the laundry done, you might as well get started on the dishes
Yeah, like I need any motivation
ha what i hung out to dry was not the laundry...and if men make better chefs...get YOUR butt in the kitchen!
yeehaanow...can i also add to and suggest...with kids, if you can...bring their coach to set if they work with one. most of the kids i teach don't need me on set. i try to teach kids and adults to be able to handle anything but one time a kid of mine was having issues. it was an indie but i knew the director and he called and asked if i minded. i was not going to get paid but i did it as a favor.
simply turned out that he was using language that was over the head of the kid even though he thought he was being simple enough. he told me what he wanted, i spent 5 minutes on the side with the kid and they got a 1 take and did another for safety! easy breezy and the director was slightly stunned...that made for a good chuckle though!
Capt Quirk
Veteran
You going to drag another thread OT? Shame on you
Batutta
Major Contributor
Actors are picked on because nobody really knows what they do but everyone thinks they can do it. Many directors are control freaks and secretly hate their actors because they can't manipulate them like puppets. Why do you think George Lucas prefers working with CGI cartoons?
Capt Quirk
Veteran
Because you don't have to pay them, feed them, or give them their own trailers?
Actors are people, and you need to form a relationship with them and really connect. Make them feel important.
Have rehearsals. A bunch of them. Just you and the actors sit around in a nice quiet room, with some coffee, and film them acting out scenes with a little crappy digital camera. This is really good with amateurs, in my experience. Tell them what they're doing good and what they're doing bad. After a few times, they usually spontaneously do some great stuff, and you have to tell them that and praise them so they know that you didn't just pick them to fill in some empty space and you value what they're doing. They'll suddenly be on your side overnight, and WANT the film to turn out good.
That said, be ruthless. Rehearsals are fun, but when the show starts, run a tight ship. When you're filming, no nonsense. In between takes, cut down chatter between them. If they start goofing off, force them to rehearse the next shot while you set up. Endlessly make them rehearse, so that when they shoot, they stop performing and hamming it up and worrying about the script and the camera and just start being themselves and really get into the work.
Take them aside. I would often stop in between a take, literally take an actor alone into another room, get close to them, look them in the eye, and in a very calm and serious voice give them some motivation out of nowhere. "You hate these people, remember. But you need them" Then just go right back into the scene. You should always talk to actors alone besides the rehearsal. let them know where the character is coming from, not the scene. I did this once and told each chracter seperately that their character was trying dominate the conversation by talking over and interupting the other person. The result? Everyone started arguing, and very naturally too. Sometimes you need to play mind games, but it usually only works on amateurs. make them angry. be cold to them. Make them feel spoiled. You have to be a psychologist a lot of the time. Love them one minute, hate them the next. But always be in control- and never think that you do not need them, because you do.
Anyway, that's just some of my experience. Don't give line readings. EVER. Let the actors say things how they say them, do them how they do them. There's no wrong way to drink a glass of water, so don't be condescending to them. Additionally, there's no wrong way to direct. Ultimately you'll have to shape your own way of communicating with actors, the same way you need to come up with your own shooting style. There are endless ways to do it. Look at Robert Bresson's films. He would take non-actors and make them do literally 50-70 takes of each line. By the end, they were exhausted, dropped pretense, and were just themselves. Ingmar Bergman had a deep connection with his actors. Yasujiro Ozu just plain knew when something worked. Jim Jarmusch just lets everyone come as they are. it's up to you, really.
Have rehearsals. A bunch of them. Just you and the actors sit around in a nice quiet room, with some coffee, and film them acting out scenes with a little crappy digital camera. This is really good with amateurs, in my experience. Tell them what they're doing good and what they're doing bad. After a few times, they usually spontaneously do some great stuff, and you have to tell them that and praise them so they know that you didn't just pick them to fill in some empty space and you value what they're doing. They'll suddenly be on your side overnight, and WANT the film to turn out good.
That said, be ruthless. Rehearsals are fun, but when the show starts, run a tight ship. When you're filming, no nonsense. In between takes, cut down chatter between them. If they start goofing off, force them to rehearse the next shot while you set up. Endlessly make them rehearse, so that when they shoot, they stop performing and hamming it up and worrying about the script and the camera and just start being themselves and really get into the work.
Take them aside. I would often stop in between a take, literally take an actor alone into another room, get close to them, look them in the eye, and in a very calm and serious voice give them some motivation out of nowhere. "You hate these people, remember. But you need them" Then just go right back into the scene. You should always talk to actors alone besides the rehearsal. let them know where the character is coming from, not the scene. I did this once and told each chracter seperately that their character was trying dominate the conversation by talking over and interupting the other person. The result? Everyone started arguing, and very naturally too. Sometimes you need to play mind games, but it usually only works on amateurs. make them angry. be cold to them. Make them feel spoiled. You have to be a psychologist a lot of the time. Love them one minute, hate them the next. But always be in control- and never think that you do not need them, because you do.
Anyway, that's just some of my experience. Don't give line readings. EVER. Let the actors say things how they say them, do them how they do them. There's no wrong way to drink a glass of water, so don't be condescending to them. Additionally, there's no wrong way to direct. Ultimately you'll have to shape your own way of communicating with actors, the same way you need to come up with your own shooting style. There are endless ways to do it. Look at Robert Bresson's films. He would take non-actors and make them do literally 50-70 takes of each line. By the end, they were exhausted, dropped pretense, and were just themselves. Ingmar Bergman had a deep connection with his actors. Yasujiro Ozu just plain knew when something worked. Jim Jarmusch just lets everyone come as they are. it's up to you, really.
Martay
Veteran
I definitely try to avoid this at all costs.
One technique that I like to use at times after some rehearsal and I think an actor could use more support on reading lines a particular way is to suggest homework viewing.
Like I just suggested an actor watch an older movie and consider the "attitude" of a particular character as an influence. I think this is going to help the actor better understand the nature of the majority of the character's lines in the project we're working on.
We'll see if it does the trick.
-M