I screwed up as a director...how do I stop my actor's from killing me?

I have one more option to offer.
Edit with what you currently have, then find out what is trully needed in reshoots.
If it seems the low angle solution will work - go for it,
but if it seems iffy SIMPLY WAIT for the greenery to come back!
It will. Leaves come and go. The film isn't running away. The footage is there.
You can reshoot once the location looks green again.
I hope this helps.
 
DavidBeier said:
Well, thankfully the actors I'm working with don't have any interest in being behind the camera much less going on to a digital filmmaking forum. For that matter, if I was planning to lie I wouldn't have posted here. The few times I've asked for advice about other industry matters dealing with other filmmakers I've made sure I didn't post on this forum.
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ah ha David is a smart one! you would be surprised how many folks say things on here they should not...even me from time to time! lol

but for the record, you might be surprised how many actors are really lurking around on forums..even this one!
 
I have one more option to offer.
Edit with what you currently have, then find out what is trully needed in reshoots.
If it seems the low angle solution will work - go for it,
but if it seems iffy SIMPLY WAIT for the greenery to come back!
It will. Leaves come and go. The film isn't running away. The footage is there.
You can reshoot once the location looks green again.
I hope this helps.
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That's actually what I'm doing now. I've told them we may need to do a quick reshoot but I wanted to wait untill everything else was in place so we could be efficient (I hate wasting people's time). I've thought about waiting but we were hoping to have this finished by the end of last year. I dont' want this to slip till mid summer, especially when we've got ADR.

Michele Seidman said:
ah ha David is a smart one! you would be surprised how many folks say things on here they should not...even me from time to time! lol
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I once started to write a thread asking about such things with another filmmaker and tried to be very vague but then realized it wasn't worth the risk. I think as a culture we're all getting used to the idea of how easy it is to track people on the net. I remember I once was on a relationship forum and some guy wrote a post asking how he could get his girlfriend to take him back. After a day, another user replied, "I don't want you back and I don't appreciate you playing the victim when you cheated on me." He confirmed it was his ex :D

but for the record, you might be surprised how many actors are really lurking around on forums..even this one!
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True that. I'm just confident since one actor doesn't have a computer and neither has ever attempted to make a movie or has knows the difference between HD and film. I'm in Louisiana where so many actors are playing catch up with the biz since it arrived because of the tax breaks. They can quote me current SAG rates and how much they're expecting in residuals from their last speaking parts but give me a perplexed look the second I say "shallow focus." It is pretty cool that we've got a lot of people here who don't quite realize how much talent they have yet (of course, if they did, I probably wouldn't be able to get them to be in my movies...)
 
Trick with actors is to show your trust in them... Your job is to pick the one for the role, than you let the actor take control over the character. And some time bring them back on track. Took me a while of practise to get get to that point. When you let actor breath, you show confidence in your craft. Your job is to be sure to story is tell, but not how its tell in the acting, let the actor do is job.

Hope it helps
 
Dave, speaking on experience... Admit you F**Ked up. With my second film, I worked more on the technical than the acting and ended up with some very uneven performances, plus with no one getting paid I was also afraid to push them a little more, so i am to blame in the end and I take full responsibility for it.

Basically, in editing I am cutting around the bad performances tryin to even things out. Which is why my second film has been in post for nearly a year.
 
uTurnProductions said:
David,

This is something really important. You care about the story and the characters enough to get this done RIGHT. Even if you made some mistakes, that's okay. You're the director, and they are ACTORS.


By re-shooting, you have to let them know that you are doing THEM a favor. If the scene came out bad, they will only embarrass themselves. Don't let them walk over you. Yeah I understand they have feelings and they worked hard, but they can work a little harder because its for THEIR character and the story.

It's good to be a kind and gentle director, but you also have to be firm. My actors used to push me a lot when we were doing long night shoots cuz they had to go home, but I recently learned from a professional set where I interned that it is better to get the shot right. Let them complain - that attitude won't get them too far in their acting careers.

And on the gentle side, let them know what ever you are doing is to make THEM better actors and "characters" in the story. I have a bad habit of sometimes casting my friends, and sometimes I'll be really harsh and mean to them, and only a couple survived but it made them better actors. That's the bottom line.

You can lie if you want. You don't really have to. It may be much better to say "Look.. I need to do it again." That's it. Leave out emotions and personal feelings and get the project done.
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I completly agree!
David, actors are like children, they are egocentric becouse they are actors. You made few big mistakes, so what?! They do not need to know that. Directing is controling yourself, and mistakes are part of that. They are first your actors and than your friends. You ARE director; do not care so much for them - you do not need them, they need you more! And one more thing, always have more optiones; not just low angle, explore on shooting. Even if that actor was problematic can not remember text - explore that! Shooting and filming is exploring...
 
Way to keep it honest David. And they're right, you never know who you'll run into here. :P

Besides if your career as a director fails, you can just keep acting like one in front of them camera ;)

-Jeff Asher

EDIT: Wow, and you were the recipient of my first post ever. You da' man!

EDIT: Also, I hope you've finished this thing now since I just realized this topic is mega old.
 
Honesty, i'd say.

It's hard, but.. they'd appreciate you coming forth and admitting. Plus you'd feel better for it in the long term.

They've put so much effort in - to date.. they wouldn't turn around and say 'No' at the final hurdle.. they'd be silly if they did. They want to see this work, just as much as you do. :)
 
I agree with Ki-Ki. Honesty is the best policy and as actor I know I would appreciate your candor. The talent want to get the project finished too and in most cases will bend over backwards to help finish what you started out on. Unless they are a bunch of Divas, if so good luck with that. :)
 
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