Directing children

J

jghenderson

Well-known member
Hey guys. I am directing a short film soon, and one of the characters in the piece is a child. I have no experience working with children and would love any advice you guys have.

The actress is 6 years old. Her character is very important to the story, but she will probably only have ~4 minutes screen time total. I specifically gave her very few lines (I think she has 4 lines in the whole piece) in order to minimize any damage done to the piece if her performance doesn't come across well.

Any advice would be much appreciated!
 
This is just my 2c :D

Make it fun. Always be on the same level as her - eye-level, what you say, how you say it, body language - get down on the ground and see the world with her. The principal goal with any director is to get the actors' trust. This goes double for kids. Become her best friend. Maybe have some rehearsals where you just talk and ask her questions, make her ask you questions. You can find ways to loop that back around to the script, if you so desire. Few lines is a good thing, and I understand what you mean about minimizing potential damage, but you will gain a serious confidence boost in your ability to direct her if you just start spending time with her ASAP. She may be really precocious when you saw her in the audition, but she may tense up as soon as she has to "act." Your being there as her friend, will open all kinds of possibilities, and she might surprise you.

Also, you would never talk down to an adult actor; don't talk too high for a six-year old. Make sure the language you're using is getting across. You can tell immediately on the face; if you ask her, "Got it?" she may just nod to make you happy. Doesn't mean she really understands. Take your time, walk her through everything, and always keep an eye on her meter. She likely has two speeds - up and down. You won't get much of anything if she is tired. Your AD should also be keenly in tune to this for scheduling purposes.

Lastly, always be there, always say something before and after each take. Never say anything is bad or that she messed up; just say "It was OK and we're gonna do it again." And after the take, especially when it's the one you print, give her a high-five or tell her she did really well. Her confidence will go through the roof, she'll open up, and then you can take risks.


Of course, this is all one man's opinion. I have directed kids in a film I wrote, and I've shot many more projects with kids from 4-15. These are just my thoughts - there is no cookbook :D
 
Adendum:

PARENTS

Did you audition the parents when you auditioned the six-year-old? The parents can be disastrous on set. If the mom/dad seems nitpicky or critical now, just wait until you get on set. You will have to think of ways to wrangle the parent(s).

Also, do not let them interfere. All parents want their kids to do the best, but some will step on your toes. You will need to build some confidence in the parents - maybe the first scene you shoot with the girl is the easiest or the one where you think she will do the best, assuaging any of the parents' worries and proving that you're competent. Else, if you're doing take after take and not getting what you want, the parents may jump in and start directing the kid. That is sooo damaging because now the kid is losing trust in you, the reward isn't there for a good take, and the kid will start to wear down. It's okay to tell the parents before you shoot anything that, "I think it is best for this particular movie that only a few people talk to her while we are working, just so she doesn't get confused and listens to me most of all."

You can also ask them not to help her memorize the script. That's your call. It might be better to just remind her of her lines on set. That will keep them fresh, and you can use the context of the set - the props, the blocking, the other actors, the camera even - to deepen the meaning of the words to a degree she will comprehend. If she studies them ad infinitum before shooting, she may memorize them with a robotic cadence just to have them memorized, and that could take time to break on set.

Just be very wary of the parents. You might have great parents, or they could be very domineering, controlling, or critical. It's best you show them early that you can do the job and that you care by forming a relationship with the girl.

You should feel free to use the parents to your advantage, too. It's not your job to take care of the little one - that's why the parents are there (minus the legal reasons :P) - it's your job to get the performance and coverage you need. But you can ask the parents for help with things, and they might provide little tidbits to you that will help you make sure you get the scenes done, like how she might act when she's starting to get tired or hungry, or a kind of nervous tick that clues you in to her discomfort in a scene, or any of the things only the parents know.

But you should still do your damnedest to develop a relationship - a friendship - with the kid to really be able to get what you want. Else, the performances may read flat or too "cute" and not realistic. The latter is very possible at six years old. Work hard in rehearsal and every time between shots, and it will pay off. I've been lucky enough to have worked with some great kids, and I'm still friends with their families because of the real relationships we built before and during shooting. You really know you've created that bond when the kids start coming to you on set instead of their parents. That means they trust you, and you are in prime position to get the scene you want.
 
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Excellent advice Jordan, thank you!

Unfortunately, the girl lives out of town, and will most likely get into town the night before shooting. I really hope to be able to spend some time with her prior to the first shoot, but it's not guaranteed. That's one of the reasons i'm worried. I'm afraid she won't trust me enough, and I really don't want to have to use her parents (I think only her Dad will be there) as a go between. One lucky thing is that she is the niece of the lead actor (the reason I cast her) who is playing her father and is in most scenes with her. So while she won't necessarily be very comfortable with me, she will be comfortable with him. That being said, I definitely don't want him to direct her in any way, being as he has enough to worry about with his character.

Have you ever been in a situation where you had absolutely no time to build a bond with the kid before you got on set?
 
jghenderson said:
Have you ever been in a situation where you had absolutely no time to build a bond with the kid before you got on set?
Click to expand...

The film I wrote/directed was a very similar situation (second link in my signature).

We were to shoot on a Friday. I had the last round of auditions and callbacks the Tuesday before. The two kids who absolutely knocked out the two roles we needed to fill came in and auditioned. They were notified Wednesday that they were cast. Thursday, I held a 3-hour "rehearsal" where I answered their questions and their parents' questions about the film, and then we just talked for an hour and a half. The next day, we shot.

So, while I had a little bit more time, it wasn't much. I'm still good friends with them now, which is a huge leap from where we were when we met. To really try to earn their trust, I spent every available moment with them from the time they arrived on set. My producer, AD, DP, and Production Design team all knew what they were doing and were well off to work, so once the kids arrived, we just trekked around the woods together and talked about video games. Less than two hours later, we were shooting, and they were delivering.

My advice would be to really try to find that time. Talk to your AD or UPM and make this a priority. When a kid is on set, everything has to be tailored around the kid because of the aforementioned - the relationship, the technical, the kid's meter.

It's actually a really good thing that the lead of the film is a relative - as long as that relationship between them is healthy. You can and should use the uncle to help her with her performance as you see fit because (I'm assuming) he's a trained, professional actor and sees things just like you do, whereas parents will not. He will understand the technical of shooting the scene and the emotional of performance, but the parents will not. You definitely should use him - not as a crutch, but as a way to boost her confidence and her performance. He'll know things about her you won't, most likely, which will help.
 
Jordan gave EXCELLENT advice. I also have a great deal of experience working with kids, I teach a film class to kids, and have a son that started acting at 4yrs old. The biggest issue I see at times, kids shut down, and become shy in new enviornments, The parents will need to be spoken to prior ro the shoot to let them know that if this happens, they will need to encourage the kid to continue. And ALWAYS make time to play around with the kid. If they bring a toy(which is encourged) it can open doorways for discussion and breaking down walls if he or her is shy. Jordan gave great advice about getting down of the floor to the kids level+1. Dont push the kid to hard to get the scene, take breaks, get icecream sandwiches, even if you have to stop between breakdowns and play around goof around whatever, I suggest doing it, with kids, it's all about making it fun. And if you have to make a game out of the script to get the shots you need, Do it.
 
Have you ever been in a situation where you had absolutely no time to build a bond with the kid before you got on set?
Click to expand...

If you show the kid that your a nice guy, make time to spend getting to know the kid, ask the parents what the kids in to, and use it to start conversation, it will help. Also kids take to woman, if you have any females on set, they can be a huge help with this also.
 
I assume that you have the Child Performer Permit if required in your state along with trust account info if you are paying a salary. NY and California are really strict. As a father to a child performer I have to keep on top of my child's safety and wellbeing. (Expect parents to be within sight and sound at all times.) Not so much anymore, but in the begining I had to be more proactive when I felt that production did not have experience with child actors. I.E. hours and safety conditions. Become familiar with bizparentz.org for more information on working with child actors. I have been in the business all my life and have looked after my kid as best I can. He will turn 18 next month (Yea, he's on his own!) and will be behind the camera as well as in front in years to come.
Good luck.
 
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DadinW, that's a useful link.

A trick I use ALL the time with kids (and often with adults) is to place the parent (or friend) in the general area of the child's eyeline. Almost every kid I've ever worked with has glanced to the parent after every take. They do this to look for approval. If the parent is too far off to the side of the eyeline then the child will appear to have shifty eyes. The closer they are, the less chance for a ruined take.
 
Our shoot wrapped on Monday, and overall I would say I am happy with the performance I got from the actress, though it was not without difficulty. I think the most important thing I did was to make sure when I talked to her I got down on her level (especially important since i'm 6'1"). The first day she was very shy and I had to rely on her uncle to relay things to her, but when I showed up on the second day she walked right up to me and gave me a hug, and I knew she trusted me. From there, everything went smoothly until Sunday night, when she decided she didn't want to shoot her last two scenes. Apparently she had a really bad headache, and flat out refused to do anything. I did pretty much freak out (the film could not work without the last two scenes we had to shoot), though not in her presence. Thank God she was going to be in the area for a few days, so we were able to go back on Monday and finish up.

It was definitely an interesting and rewarding experience, but admittedly I think I want to avoid working with children again for a little while.
 
Some people are just naturals with kids; I find little kids, 3-5 - some of them just find me scary (and I've raised three kids who seem to just love the daylights outta me). My wife says beards have that effect.

When kids are involved, I **really** have to remind myself to slow down, and make sure I don't have any abrasive edge going. If you have any time to get to know the kid before the shoot, do it. And the "kids relate to females" is a priceless observation - if you have a kid-loving woman on set, you can sometimes use her as a bit of a "bridge".

But the main thing is to lighten up, try to be sort of a "bright" force in the room personality-wise, and things can go pretty quick.

#1 advice though, if the kid has a huge impact on the shooting day's success: use kids who've worked before. Go through an agency and pay the extra $$.
 
I've had positive and negative results with agency kids.

When working with no acting experience kids, one tip is to use kids involved with team or individual discipline work. They're used to coaches telling them to do it again and again until they get it right - they won't freak out. I look for kids who do competitive skating, gymnastics or martial arts. They're used to putting in long hours and performing repetitive forms. They also always hit their mark. As for performance, well that's a whole 'nother level...
 
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