Directing Actors Effectively

Re: Directing Actors Effectively

I took a few acting classes....& I'm a terrible actor! :)

What it gave me is the experience of vulnerability an actor faces. It's difficult to go on a set and act and take direction when you're unsure of yourself. As a director this helps me understand things I need to do to help that actor feel comfortable. It also informs me that I need to pay attention to what I say, How I say it & when to talk & when to best be quiet and let the actor do their job.

I have to say that of all the jobs in film making acting has to be the most fun. Actors are great to be around. I love the things they bring to a script. they can bring such freshness, it's amazing!

I say stay busy, take classes, act, direct, ....etc....just stay busy.

Of directors that came from either cinematography or acting, the vast majority that have been success directors come from acting. Why's that? Because as an actor you're directly involved with the intimate details of the story, the beats, etc... the technical things also get rubbed off on you. On the other hand it's typical that a DP will shy away from that acting stuff so they may not become as skilled in understanding the the story / character dvelopment ....I think it's because many DP come from a technical/science type background and are more reserved in their nature.

Just rambling.. ;)
 
Re: Directing Actors Effectively

[quote author=Woodson link=board=Directing;num=1101629432;start=30#39 date=01/04/05 at 14:24:56]Is this what some of you did? or doing it?

J_Barnes, where did you learn about all of this?
Did you go to school for directing actors?
Read?

[/quote]

I wound up working at one of the acting schools for a few years as school's the technical director. I picked up a lot of the acting theory and teaching technique pretty quickly, which lead to some assistant and substitute teaching in addition to the regular video and theater techwork and management.

Because my services were so requested in so many of the classes, I ended up observing, directly participating, or teaching about 30-40 hours of acting classes per week.

Now I'm a video editor in a different state (at a much higher salary), so I don't get much opportunity to implement what I learned.
 
Back
Top