* Directing Rehearsals *

NathanPresley

NathanPresley

Well-known member
Im shooting a short film this FEB and I absolutely plan on doing rehearsals, but
being my first time to "really" do rehearsals I'm trying to figure out typically
how it goes and what is done

Cam anyone describe a typically rehearsal for me ?


thanks

-nathan
 
[FONT=&quot]The idea behind a rehearsal is the Rehears the scene's in which you’re going to film so that you can work with the actor to get the performance you want. Generally, rehearsals are done on short films all at once; however, on feature film, rehearsals are done on more complicated scenes mostly, and not used for most basic scenes.

Different directors work different ways... The time you actually have to shoot it has a factor in this as well. If your shooting a feature, it won't hurt to Rehears the whole thing before you start filming, although don't expect the actors to remember most of the stuff from it, especially if you have along shooting schedule.

Personally, I don't like rehearsals except on complicated scenes where I need to work with an actor to get the right performance... I'm more a fan of un-rehearsed acting, because if they rehear it to many times, the actual performance feels like rehearsals to everyone, including the audience watching it. [/FONT]
 
When I did my short film, I rehearsed with all my actors once for about 2-3 hours. We ran through the script a few times without any blocking and then I showed them a diagram of the set and where they would be going during the scene (the entire short took place in one location)...then we went down to the location (a bar) and had a drink and talked about the scene.

Since it's a comedy, we talked a lot about trying hard to be real rather than trying hard to be funny...the minute you try to be funny, it stops being funny...I got the actors talking about their characters, the scene itself and we actually got a few funny little bits out of that...
 
thanks.

"rightfrog" I've seen your short "the wine bar" I thought the acting
was at a much higher level quality then most. good job
 
its hard to find a balance

I want the actors to know the script well, but I know how easy it is for new actors
to fall into the rut of saying the lines like they've said them 100 times.

is a better way, like just telling them what needs to happen by the end of the scene
or something ?
 
Give the actors the script in advance, so they can study it. Give them time before each scene to study the script, if the script is that hard.

If you need to, rehears BEFORE the scene, maybe one or two times... Just DON'T overdue it.
 
One thing, don't look for the final performance in rehersal. Keep is fun, and just try out different ways to play the scene. Personally, in rehersal I give the actors more control on what they want to try and watch their ideas. Best case, they've got a different way to read the character which is better than what I had thought of and usually they can play it better since the ideas came from them. Worst case, I start throwing ideas around with them trying to get them into my pov on the scene (my goal is always to drops hints at them, but let them interpret them. So far I've yet to ever give a line reading since I learned why and how it was bad).
 
My opinion is that there are two important things to remember. #1 it's all about casting. If you cast the right person you will have very little to do in terms of shaping their performance ... and you'll be surprised by them, which is a wonderful thing. #2 in terms of talking to actors, you never want to give them a line read ... unless it's an emergency ... and you don't want to talk in terms of results. You want to talk in terms of wants. If you tell the actor to be more angry ... in general that will yield much less realistic results than reminding the actor what they want, remind them what is at stake, and speak psychologically about what's happening from moment to moment. Finally, remember to shape it with them. Most actors want to trust and please their director ... you don't want them to feel insecure because that will come across on screen. Support your actors and they will support you.
 
to add to the craziness, also think about camera placement and what kind of shot you want, either before you even rehearse or while you're rehearsing and you get a chance to see what works. the actor's performance will have to be different for a wide shot as opposed to a close up.
 
Rehearsal should (or even must) be done for any scenes that require unusual or dangerous physicality.

It might be a good idea to do a "table read" and get a feel of how the lines are coming off the page. It will give you a good idea about what scenes may need a bit of work.

If you prefer to really nail down the emotional tone as well as the physicality of a scene in a rehearsal, do it. If you prefer to give a general direction and see how it goes on the set, go for that.

I would say the most important thing to remember is that actors DO NOT like to be told how to deliver a line. This is called a "line read". This drives actors nuts.
 
I recommend doing an improvisation of the scene. Basically tell them to do the same scene, with the same character objectives, in character, but without using the lines from the script.

This forces the actors to learn to listen to each other, which is something a lot of only-good-not-quite-great actors don't do. They're listening for their cue, they aren't absorbing the words coming from the other actor and reacting to them.

Improvisations can also lead to new moments and lines of dialogue that you might not have thought of, but which can turn out to be the best line of the movie.

Of course, some directors don't like ad-libbing and improvising, but I personally think if it's in character and doesn't derail the scene, it's gold.
 
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