Just Actors

J Davis

J Davis

Veteran
Just Actors is a series where I avoid cinematography. Where I avoid worrying about lighting and backgrounds. Its just the actor. By removing these distractions I can better see the actors subtleties.

Barren Woman by Sylvia Plath is read by Sarah Seeds. Prior to shooting I asked Sarah to mime every sentence during her run through. We then reeled back the physical movements to a point where they serve as accents and her facial expressions could then lead.


Comments appreciated.
If you liked it, please drop a comment on my blog as well
http://jdmax.com/just-actors-pt-1-sarah-reads-sylvia-plath/
 
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As the actress in this piece, I was very pleased in how it turned out. It felt great to be able to freely express
my connections/emotions to the poem and become immersed in it. Jhoe and I have worked together before, and
I always feel we create some emotionally tangible work!

I am based in New York City and more information can be found at: www.sarahseeds.com

Thanks for watching :)
 
great idea!

some comments...
loved that she introduced herself before getting into the piece.
her first word and expressions were strong!
also thought at 1:09 she was strong too when she thinks about what kind of children she dreams of having.


couple of questions...
what gave you the inspiration to do this kind of work?

i thank you for informing us on your methods as to how you approached it, how did you come to decide to do it this way? how many takes did you do?
what did you learn?

many thanks for sharing!
 
Hi Cris, thanks!
hoz said:
loved that she introduced herself before getting into the piece.
Click to expand...
Me too, that was a last minute addition. I like it because it establishes a distance from the narrative style I normally do.

Inspiration? um ... I guess it seems like the right direction for me to go in after A Strange Confession (where I pushed cinematography as far as I could)

Takes? We did fourteen takes of which six were usable. I only showed Sarah four of them and we decided on this one.
This is a really low number as I usually hit 25-30 takes for dialog shots in one of my narratives.

What did I learn? That I'm still thinking like a cinematographer. I'm looking at the white BG and asking myself should it have more light and be solid white or do I like the character given by the textures in the paper from the sideways HMI. I mean WTF? I'm not supposed to be thinking stuff like that. I'm also concentrating on her but its only 50% of my attention. It should be 85%. What did I learn from her performance? Not much as I'm more focused on learning from the series as a whole. Maybe after I've done 5 or 6 of these I'll be seeing a change within myself.

Mods: I just realized I probably should have put this thread in the acting section. If you see this can you move? thx
 
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Just Actors Pt.2 – Javier reads Edgar Allan Poe

Just Actors Pt.2 – Javier reads Edgar Allan Poe

Dream within a Dream by Edgar Allan Poe is read by Javier Marquez. With this piece the goal was to emote rather than project – just like in a narrative script. Concentrating on appearing natural and relaxed, it was great to see Javier alter the way he read each line from take to take. Its particularly noticeable on the first line of the second verse.



Comments appreciated. If you liked Javier, please drop a comment to him on my blog as well
http://jdmax.com/just-actors-pt-2-javier-reads-edgar-allan-poe/
 
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Your actor did a fine job with this reading. I agree with you in where he really picks it up with the second verse.
how many takes did you do? did he prepare beforehand?
might be interesting to see the whole process, or at least a quick bit of it, in where we see you directing the reading too. show some behind the scenes.
keep em coming! i hear your next one might be quite the original kind of scene!
 
Thanks Stephen!

Here is a new one

Just Actors Pt.3 - Characters from Doug Robbs
http://vimeo.com/34693821



if you like what Doug did, leave a comment on his page at my blog, a brief write up about characters is there as well
http://jdmax.com/just-actors-pt-3-characters-from-doug-robbs/

Coming soon to Just Actors is John Henry Soto who screened at Sundance last year,
he should be my Just Actors Pt.4 and hopefully will be online in the next few days
 
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