How to direct child in scene with crying and screaming

O

orange

Active member
Hello everyone,

I have been doing auditions with kids for a rather difficult scene. In the scene, a family of mom, dad and the little girl (of 5 to 8 years) are in a house when some paramilitary soldiers come in and start interrogating the dad and then they shoot him in front of the girl and the mother. The girl is supposed to observe this, start crying and then scream, and then when her dad dies, scream "Dad!!".

As you can see this is a strong scene for a child and I have been cautious to prepare parents well and only let them do it if they feel comfortable about it (including their child). I can also add, that in the actual scene we will never see any violence or blood or even gun shots, because the camera will show the girl in a close-up most of the time and the rest is suggested by some short subjective shots and the sounds and the dialogue that is heard.

After several auditions I have two girls that look good in camera and who to some degree can control their face expression. But to get a realistic expression of the reaction toward the terrible act of the child's own father being shot in front of her eyes, is really hard. Pure observing (working with how to look, eyebrows position, face expresssion) is relatively easy with some training. But when they are supposed to cry and the scream of fear, and have it look realistic, that's a whole other game. The crying needs to look real, and the screaming needs to look really desperate and full of fear.

Do you have any tips or acting exercises you can recommend? I am aware I might need to do this step by step. Of course, as mentioned, I am very strict about constantly reminding these young actresses that this is pure acting and I am trying to make it some fun as well, to have them laugh now and then. The parents have been very close in every casting session, they have been supportive and encouraging.
 
Maybe play some clips from movies with similar scenes during the audition?

It might help the young talent understand the level of traumatic emotion that's involved and what you're looking for.

It's definitely a tough scene as you mentioned and some people are just trained and/or naturally better than others with that kind of drama.
 
orange said:
...the little girl (of 5 to 8 years) ...they shoot him in front of the girl and the mother. The girl is supposed to observe this, start crying and then scream, and then when her dad dies, scream "Dad!!".

...The crying needs to look real, and the screaming needs to look really desperate and full of fear.
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Just my opinion, and I don't care if people will attack me for it, but I think children 5-8 years old are too young to be exposed to this kind of drama.

I would insist the scene needs to change or be rewritten for children a bit older (mid to late teens).
 
I recently directed a film with two child actresses and there were no shortage of difficult, grown up scenes in it. What I did (upon the excellent advice of my CSA casting director) was to shoot the children doing something else, but something they could play that would give us the emotional tone that fit what the scene needed. Thanks to the Kuleshov Effect you can drop these scenes into the edit and they totally work- the result can be gripping and terrible and exceedingly difficult to watch (in the right way) and your kids won't ever need to actually deal with those moments directly. So for the reaction shot, have them react to something else instead of the make believe drama happening in your script.

For instance, in my film I had a scene (as written) where the young girl was waiting anxiously in fear as she heard her father's footstep approaching her door- she knew that he was going to come in and sexually abuse her (and not for the first time). No way I'm asking a kid to imagine that. Instead I told her to imagine that earlier in the day she broken their mom's favorite item and hid it, hoping she'd never find it. This is a very real world kind of scenario for a kid to imagine, it's within their realm of experience. Then at the cue I told her that her mom just yelled at finding the item and that her footsteps were coming to the room. The girl was very well able to imagine these things and her reactions fit what the film needed. At no point was she ever aware of the "real" setting of the scene. I'd never ask her to try and figure that out.

We had another scene with a different girl where a husband caught his wife cheating on him in their home while the girl was watching TV in the living room. A big argument happened, but we always made sure that at the end the actors made a point of laughing and joking with each other so that she knew it was a safe environment and just a play. We also had her "see" her mom engaged in amorous activity by peeking through a cracked open door. Again, in the edit she's watching her mom & her boyfriend En Flagrante Delicto, but in real life on set she was just peeking into the room trying to see how many fingers I was holding up and in what sequence so that she could tell me the answer later. This gave us exactly what we needed- she was really trying to see something, study it, remember it so that she could get the answer right later (I think we had a mom approved prize for her if she got it right, too. I can't recall). Dropped into the edit and it works for the scene with no undue trauma to the kid.

So think about what the edit needs and think about what you can do with a kid that will get them to respond in an honest way that fits the edit. Keep it real, keep it active (in the acting sense- they need an active objective to get something honest from them).

Also, I'd keep them out of the room for any SFX scenes with a lot of blood and head shots, etc. Arrange the shooting to get the scenes from the girls doing something that fits the edit and don't overly involve them in the traumatic grown up dramas that the story touches upon. In general I agree with Cary- much care should be taken to preserve the well being of the kids first and foremost.

Hope this helps.

-k
 
I think Keithlango hits the nail on the head.

If you watch most scenes where there are children with this sort of traumatic action you realise that it is careful editing and in fact the child is rarely in filmed at the same time the other action is happening. It may be separated by hours or days.

The other point is: "the little girl (of 5 to 8 years)" say 8 years old. You can, with makeup and how they are dressed etc, probably use an older actress.

Also of course as noted above, a film set looks very different to what the audience sees and great pains should be taken to ensure the child (and some of the principal actors come to that :-) ) understand it is only make believe.

The alternative is to clip child round the back of the head and take their sweets away until they get it right.... OK perhaps not :-) .
 
keithlango said:
I recently directed a film with two child actresses and there were no shortage of difficult, grown up scenes in it. What I did (upon the excellent advice of my CSA casting director) was to shoot the children doing something else, but something they could play that would give us the emotional tone that fit what the scene needed. Thanks to the Kuleshov Effect you can drop these scenes into the edit and they totally work- the result can be gripping and terrible and exceedingly difficult to watch (in the right way) and your kids won't ever need to actually deal with those moments directly. So for the reaction shot, have them react to something else instead of the make believe drama happening in your script.

For instance, in my film I had a scene (as written) where the young girl was waiting anxiously in fear as she heard her father's footstep approaching her door- she knew that he was going to come in and sexually abuse her (and not for the first time). No way I'm asking a kid to imagine that. Instead I told her to imagine that earlier in the day she broken their mom's favorite item and hid it, hoping she'd never find it. This is a very real world kind of scenario for a kid to imagine, it's within their realm of experience. Then at the cue I told her that her mom just yelled at finding the item and that her footsteps were coming to the room. The girl was very well able to imagine these things and her reactions fit what the film needed. At no point was she ever aware of the "real" setting of the scene. I'd never ask her to try and figure that out.

We had another scene with a different girl where a husband caught his wife cheating on him in their home while the girl was watching TV in the living room. A big argument happened, but we always made sure that at the end the actors made a point of laughing and joking with each other so that she knew it was a safe environment and just a play. We also had her "see" her mom engaged in amorous activity by peeking through a cracked open door. Again, in the edit she's watching her mom & her boyfriend En Flagrante Delicto, but in real life on set she was just peeking into the room trying to see how many fingers I was holding up and in what sequence so that she could tell me the answer later. This gave us exactly what we needed- she was really trying to see something, study it, remember it so that she could get the answer right later (I think we had a mom approved prize for her if she got it right, too. I can't recall). Dropped into the edit and it works for the scene with no undue trauma to the kid.

So think about what the edit needs and think about what you can do with a kid that will get them to respond in an honest way that fits the edit. Keep it real, keep it active (in the acting sense- they need an active objective to get something honest from them).

Also, I'd keep them out of the room for any SFX scenes with a lot of blood and head shots, etc. Arrange the shooting to get the scenes from the girls doing something that fits the edit and don't overly involve them in the traumatic grown up dramas that the story touches upon. In general I agree with Cary- much care should be taken to preserve the well being of the kids first and foremost.

Hope this helps.

-k
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Excellent advice...no reason to have the child near anything traumatic/disturbing as you described the only action from the shooting taking place, is sound and a reaction on her part. The other thing I would say is cast older....I have a five year old and even discussing a play date that will be missed without a disaster does not go down well...if you need a girl in the 5 year old range cast a child that's older but small for her size and can be believable in that 5 to 6 year old age range....the emotional difference of say and 8 year old is the sun and the moon...so for best chance of success throughout, cast an older small child that can pass for the age range you want to use...and lastly....that the parents are present and involved should not necessarily be a failsafe for this kind of scenario in your mind...some parents are far too "ambitious" for their children...ultimately what you are going to squeeze out of the child in terms of emotion and possible subsequent damage will be on you. Talk to a child phsycologist about how to best do this and whether you even should at all!
 
My other advice would be work with an AD who's used to working with children...they know how to quickly bond with kids and that helps the child through the scene...a sense of trust is needed...even more so with child actors....as the director you'll already have so much to deal with and you're AD can focus on this one thing.
 
In my experience, children never really act, they simply perform (yes, like little monkeys). If they can do a believable emotion (a realistic cry, or laugh, or anguish) on cue, book 'em and be sure to double or even triple book your talent, if that's a possibility. I can't count the number of times that a child gets on the set and freezes...or has a bad day. I immediately go to the backup. And people down-talk the "stage moms"...and I've seen some horrible ones. But in this business, they are the ones that can get the performance. The kid is performing for their moms as they sit over in the dark, unseen, on the sound stage. They do what their mom says. People ask why I never put my kids with an agent. Because the industry f...ks them up. I would never do that to my children. But some people do and we are all in the business, so we make the best of it and the best of us do not exploit. Going back in history, Margaret O'Brien could turn tears on and off on cue and would always break my heart. Going even further back, Jackie Coogan (even though the acting styles were much more broad back then), could do the same thing with Chaplin. Summary - the kid has it or he doesn't. Let the mom be on stage with you. Have a back up child, if you can. You have to see it in the audition.
 
In the UK - it is against the law for any child performer to witness violence as part of their acting. The licensing and the enforcement are very strict - so the idea of showing violence to a child in an attempt to instruct them is totally out! Younger children are unable to differentiate between reality and 'pretend' - as in acting. Probably in your location, the law will be laxer - that doesn't mean you should do it. We'd find a way to shoot the scene so that the actual violence does not have to be seen by the kids, and they are just reacting to direction.
 
No reason for the child actor to see violence...it's filmmaking after all...forget the wide...do the establishing shot before you go there and then a cutaway to the violence and a reaction shot from the child....as a director, use your imagination instead of damaging the child...stage parents are often too ambitious for their children....the morality in how you use the child and the responsibility for the child's well being ultimately rests with you!
 
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