Result Acting

[-zach-]

Result directing is telling an actor what emotions to have, or to control their actions during a take. This will make them more aware of the scene, and give a more fabricated performance.

Have you ever seen a movie in which an actor gives a completely fabricated performance, either way over the top, or just too emotionless? This is usually because of result direction.

When I director says, "You feel happy in this scene; you feel sad in this scene" it's giving the actor means to perform that result of way over the top, or way too mellow.

Saying, "Dial it up/Dial it down" Dialing emotions up or down isn't really true to life. There are a blend of emotions that you can feel at the same time, and giving your actor one emotion to use might end up in a horrific take. It's much better to use action verbs that can be interpreted by the actor, rather than asking for feelings.

Sample Action Verbs w/ Anchoring Subtext
To demand... "I demand it."
To convince... "I think you should..."
To persuade... "Look at it this way..."
To encourage... "I know you can do it"
To incite... "To the barricades." "I have a dream."
To brag... something you are sincerely proud of
To complain... "It's not fair."
To beg/plead... "Please help me."
To cajole... "Come on sweetie."
To coax... "Are you sure you wouldn't like to..."
To charm/flatter/compliment... "You're wonderful." "You'd be very good at..."
To soothe... "Everything will be alright, don't worry."
To tease/tickle... "I think you're cute."
To flirt... "Come over here and sit next to me."
To seduce... "I'm very attracted to you."
To dazzle... "Wait till you see..."
To challenge... "Are you man enough?" "I dare you."
To accuse... "If you lied to me..." "I saw you do it."
To nail... "I know your game." "I see right through you."
To goad... "You wanna fight?"
To warn... "I'm warning you."
To punish... "You're a bad boy."
To ridicule... make fun of a person or other things
To belittle... "You're worthless." "Not important."
To knife... "You hurt me." "I want you to suffer."
To scrutinize... Noticing small details.
To pry... ask questions which are none of your business
To stalk... "I'm watching you."

Use of action verbs helps an actor give their own performance rather than a fabricated one.

As well as using action verbs to prevent result acting, using "Try this next one as if..." and then adding a story also works.

For example, 3 actors are given the same script, about a conversation between a man and a woman. At the end of the scene, the man kisses her, and walks out. The direction for this scene is "Kiss her like she's never been kissed before." The first actor plays the scene, and then walks over to the woman, and gives a long, deep, passionate kiss. The second actor plays the scene very cautiously, and then very slowly gives her an awkward kiss. The third actor plays the scene dominantly, and when it is time for the kiss, he gives her a long kiss, and then slaps her.

The three actors took played the scene very differently with the same direction. The third actor did something unexpected, but wouldn't that be an interesting take on the scene?

Without using result direction, you can recieve from your actors a real, emotional and legitimate performance that doesn't feel contrived.

zach.

p.s. if i got anything wrong, (especially on the story) feel free to correct me.

 

[imageonepictures]

I decided to share what I learned over the summer when I took directing classes. You'd be hard pressed to find this information on google.

Any good director knows how to direct actors.

Sometimes, a good director will fall into the endless pit that is result directing.rogar-BigGrin(DBG)

Result directing is telling an actor what emotions to have, or to control their actions during a take. This will make them more aware of the scene, and give a more fabricated performance.

Have you ever seen a movie in which an actor gives a completely fabricated performance, either way over the top, or just too emotionless? This is usually because of result direction.

When I director says, "You feel happy in this scene; you feel sad in this scene" it's giving the actor means to perform that result of way over the top, or way too mellow.

Saying, "Dial it up/Dial it down" Dialing emotions up or down isn't really true to life. There are a blend of emotions that you can feel at the same time, and giving your actor one emotion to use might end up in a horrific take. It's much better to use action verbs that can be interpreted by the actor, rather than asking for feelings.

Sample Action Verbs w/ Anchoring Subtext
To demand... "I demand it."
To convince... "I think you should..."
To persuade... "Look at it this way..."
To encourage... "I know you can do it"
To incite... "To the barricades." "I have a dream."
To brag... something you are sincerely proud of
To complain... "It's not fair."
To beg/plead... "Please help me."
To cajole... "Come on sweetie."
To coax... "Are you sure you wouldn't like to..."
To charm/flatter/compliment... "You're wonderful." "You'd be very good at..."
To soothe... "Everything will be alright, don't worry."
To tease/tickle... "I think you're cute."
To flirt... "Come over here and sit next to me."
To seduce... "I'm very attracted to you."
To dazzle... "Wait till you see..."
To challenge... "Are you man enough?" "I dare you."
To accuse... "If you lied to me..." "I saw you do it."
To nail... "I know your game." "I see right through you."
To goad... "You wanna fight?"
To warn... "I'm warning you."
To punish... "You're a bad boy."
To ridicule... make fun of a person or other things
To belittle... "You're worthless." "Not important."
To knife... "You hurt me." "I want you to suffer."
To scrutinize... Noticing small details.
To pry... ask questions which are none of your business
To stalk... "I'm watching you."

Use of action verbs helps an actor give their own performance rather than a fabricated one.

As well as using action verbs to prevent result acting, using "Try this next one as if..." and then adding a story also works.

For example, 3 actors are given the same script, about a conversation between a man and a woman. At the end of the scene, the man kisses her, and walks out. The direction for this scene is "Kiss her like she's never been kissed before." The first actor plays the scene, and then walks over to the woman, and gives a long, deep, passionate kiss. The second actor plays the scene very cautiously, and then very slowly gives her an awkward kiss. The third actor plays the scene dominantly, and when it is time for the kiss, he gives her a long kiss, and then slaps her.

The three actors took played the scene very differently with the same direction. The third actor did something unexpected, but wouldn't that be an interesting take on the scene?

Without using result direction, you can recieve from your actors a real, emotional and legitimate performance that doesn't feel contrived.

zach.

p.s. if i got anything wrong, (especially on the story) feel free to correct me.

Zach,

What you are forgetting is sometimes "result orientated" direction does work.There is a fine line. I think each actor needs to be directed differently. Judith Weston frowns on directors who uses thismethod calling it a 'short cut' but what she fails to realize slow budget compromises what they are you have to make some short cuts or your low budget indie will never get made.

I use what works.There are more effective ways to direct actors but they each up time. This is often time you do not have. It's a balancing act I suppose.

Any other thoughts on this?

Chris

 

[thematthewbone]

or you could use the woody allen approach.

he lets actors do what actors are paid for. act. he doesnt tell them what to do or what to feel. he lets them interpret the character completely by themselves.

 

[brianluce]

I don't get the point really. How are you supposed to direct then? You can't say "Too much or too little?" Can you explain more? Do you mean just don't direct at all and let the performer do it any way they want? That works great if you've got Robert Duvall but what if you're stuck with amatuer actors?

 

[kimko]

tell them what you see in this character and they will do the best way to enterpret(sp)what you want! end of story! if you want to see something else then tell them so..... don't get stuck on some name and think this is god all mighty and let him do what he or she wants to do! actors love to be directed by someone who has a vision....less work....more concentration on the dialogue and relationship. aw what do i know!

 

[-zach-]

I don't get the point really. How are you supposed to direct then? You can't say "Too much or too little?" Can you explain more? Do you mean just don't direct at all and let the performer do it any way they want? That works great if you've got Robert Duvall but what if you're stuck with amatuer actors?

What if you're stuck with ameteur actors? Well, you could use the action verbs and tell them that their character is "persuading another character to..." or "begging another character to..."

The difference between those two will make a difference between performances, but not telling the actors how to feel.

 

[rightfrog]

I think that there is no "right way" to direct actors because each person is unique and will work better with different approaches. Just like every shooting situation is different and sometimes you need to get the scene done because you don't have a permit or the sun is going down, etc. In a perfect world, you'd have totally pro actors who don't need much direction because they've spent the last month figuring out their character and the past 20 years honing thier craft...anyone who's been out on an indie shoot knows that this doesn't always happen...in fact, it rarely happens.

Sure, if you're Woody Allen, you can afford to hire great actors because they all want to work with you...and you can afford to take your time with a scene and shoot it 40 times, if you need to get it right...but for the rest of us, sometimes telling a not-so-seasoned actor that he needs to be bigger or smaller is an easier way to just get the scene done, especially if the sun is going down or a cop is walking up looking for a permit.

 

[-zach-]

What about rehearsing a scene?

 

[brianluce]

What about rehearsing a scene?

Rehearsals are great, but when you deal with amatuer actors it seems like every take is different--they can never do it twice the same way. Pro actors? it's like hitting the "rewind" button. Impresses the hell out of me actually...

 

[Zak Forsman]

i've made a few low budget shorts and features. the last two have been largely improvised. if there was a script, I made a strong effort to throw away the words. i've had opportunities to make all kinds of mistakes. and in my opinion, telling an actor what emotion to have doesn't work very well. personally, ive never been able to choose to feel an emotion. and i've yet to meet an actor that can. in my experience, actors tap into an emotion through their actions and are best served by a director who can guide them down a path toward a result, and not simply asked to deliver it.

for example, i once had an actor crying and emoting in a scene recently that called for restraint. in the past i've given direction like "don't cry" or "dial it back". and i consistantly saw a brief look of bewilderment or confusion on the face of my actor, followed by a take lacking all the naturalism and reality i was looking for because i didn't know how to thelp them to get there. but now when faced with this situation, i gave the adjustment of "hide your feelings from him. protect him from what's in your heart." that gave her a playable objective, or a path toward the performance i was looking for. and it was real. and complex. and human.

 

[thematthewbone]

i think spontaneity has lot to do with performances. the moment you get the actor to let their guard down and put "the method" into practice it seems almost golden from there.

 

[Charli]

I watched the Actor's Studio recently and one of the actors said, sometimes
I just need the director to be honest with me and tell me how he wants me
to say the lines.

So yes and no to result directing. Sometimes it's needful, just wouldn't do it
all of the time.

 

[Loki]

Directing is hard...

and this is a big reason for it.. not only do you need to worry about the movie as a whole, but your the one that needs to be able to get performances from your talent.. no always an easy thing to do.

It is so different for each actor.. and it has been said.. but the difference between a trained actor.. and an amateur is huge... your job is made much more complex by amateur actors..

directing is a very interesting job.

 

[Zak Forsman]

Directing is hard...

and this is a big reason for it.. not only do you need to worry about the movie as a whole, but your the one that needs to be able to get performances from your talent.. no always an easy thing to do.

It is so different for each actor.. and it has been said.. but the difference between a trained actor.. and an amateur is huge... your job is made much more complex by amateur actors..

directing is a very interesting job.

i find trained actors can be a challenge too. they often have a certain schtick or use familiar turns that they have come to rely on. these are the moments where I can see the actor "acting" -- they are inside their own head, not in the moment. for this reason it can often be harder to get a natural perfomance from a professional than from a non-actor.

 

[Billy Pilgrim]

When it comes to creating art, I don't think there is only black or white, there are those shades of gray. It all just depends.

 

[Zak Forsman]

When it comes to creating art, I don't think there is only black or white, there are those shades of gray. It all just depends.

if there is any black or white... it's bad art.

 

[stan harrington]

I always reccomend that directors take acting classes at reputable schools or with reputable teachers...there is a way to communicate with actors and I agree with many on this thread that you have to treat each actor independently. Although a few directors have an innate ability, it is of great benefit to experience for yourself what you are asking actors to do...


My other suggestion is that spend time casting...whether they are amateurs or not, if you cast correctly, it can save a lot of heartahce...

Stan Harrington

http://igfdb.com/news.php

http://www.xristosproductions.com/html/e107_plugins/eplayer/eplayer.php?cat.1.0.10

 

[cool_splash1]

I always love to hear how John Sayles Directs actors. I remember hearing in one movie he pulled an actor over and told the actor that he was trying to get away from another one at by all means work your hardest to get away from that person. Then when he was done with that actor he went over and pulled the other to the side and told that one to by all means stop the other actor from trying to get away.

 

[Mark Harris]

i gave the adjustment of "hide your feelings from him. protect him from what's in your heart." that gave her a playable objective, or a path toward the performance i was looking for. and it was real. and complex. and human.

This is a good example.

The simple fact is, no matter how many acting techniques people around here say there are, ALL acting theory for like the past 100 years boils down to the same basic principals: an actor should not play an emotion, an actor should play an action.

And the point made in the original post, I think, is that it's useful to learn how to talk to actors in this manner, rather than "be bigger" etc. you are more likely to get better performances, more consistantly, if you can give the actors actions they can play over and over. Actions are something actors can repeat reliably. Emotions are not. Many actors can take "be bigger" and interpret that into their own technique to do it well. But it doesn't hurt to know how to speak in terms that actors can actually play.

 

[brianluce]

This is a good example.

The simple fact is, no matter how many acting techniques people around here say there are, ALL acting theory for like the past 100 years boils down to the same basic principals: an actor should not play an emotion, an actor should play an action.

.

I just don't get it. what do mean an action? Can u give more examples? I think of an "action" as something physical, like running. an emotion is an emotion. Happy for example.