white man can no act

G

greggy

Member
i need advice. i decided to act in one of my videos (out of necessity) and realize i cannot be natural, my eyes and face do strange things, as well as other things- i feel the camera.
can anyone give me some advice that has helped them- and i dont want to read a 400+ page book, and go to acting class.

(p/s.- i'm just trying to play myself, no character specific>)


( ps/s- hope subject 'box' did not offend you>)
 
Re: white man can no act

If it is obvious that you can't act, then why do you insist on casting yourself? Its one thing to be a bad actor, it's quite another thing to keep yourself in your film and thus prove that you are also a bad director.

The "magic bullet" for acting is talent, and you seem to indicate that you're lacking in that respect.
 
Re: white man can no act

what the hell...that was harsh j_barnes

yo greggy, dont sweat it man, acting is something that can be picked up on through practice, lots of it. just keep putting yourself in and focus. I act in all my films too and I've definetly gotten better each time I do. improv really helps a lot, just listen to yourself - pay attention to how you act, move, speak, and basically understand what it means to be natural. do this constantly...then you will start to get a hang of how to be yourself on camera.

stanislavsky's method in a nutshell is letting yourself believe in the possibility of certain circumstances happening to your character ("magic if") and generating emotion off of that...thats an acting school lesson you might want to look into more when you get tired of playing yourself

good luck
 
Re: white man can no act

I think J_Barnes is just giving his honest opinion, which I agree with.  

Greggy, you seem to think you can learn to be more relaxed, which is entirely plausible.  But why then is your presence a "necessity"?  If you have time to learn to act, don't you have time to find another actor?  I am not trying to dissuade you from appearing in your own work, (it can be both rewarding and enjoyable) I just don't understand your conundrum.   I have appeared in 2 of my own shorts.  The day of that scene came and we were short an actor, so I did it.  It was necessity.  I had no time to get anyone else.  Why are you forced to cast yourself?

Everything has a price.  You want to know how to act, but you don't want to take lessons or even read a book.  You just want a few tips.  It seems a bit odd.  

The possibility also exists that you are being too critical of your performance.  Do others agree with your determination?
 
Re: white man can no act

I was just about to defend my opinion when I found that Jim had already done the work for me.

Here's why I'm harsh: The guy admits he's not good, he continues to keep himself in and he wants to be better...yet he doesn't want to learn anything or put forth any real effort (no 400+ page books or acting classes).

All that adds up in my mind to be a person in need of harsh reality.

Young H states above that acting isn't that hard and it can be picked up with practice. As a person who's worked directly in the education of actors (including stanislavskian method), I know this is not the case. For every person that can "pick up" acting, there are ten who don't have that ability. For every person that "gets better with each attempt" there are 20 that remain stagnant in their abilities.

That's just a fact, it isn't easy for most people and most people can't pick it up through repetition.

The point is that this question was posted in a directing thread, thus I assume the poster has his heart more in directing then in acting.

To him I say this: Be a director. Recast the actor that isn't pulling his weight, even if the actor is you.

If you don't have the capacity to be natural on camera, it isn't something you can teach yourself because you have no objective view of your own work. It's just not possible without an inherrent capacity for the work.
 
Re: white man can no act

I agree with J Barnes.

If you want to act then get in some classes. Like any artform, it takes practice and studying. It's like one of us saying:

"I want to become a filmmaker. Any advice other than studying and actually going out and shooting?"

If you're committed then pursue it. If you suck; then its your decision to use yourself or not.

BTW - Honesty is something that is usally lacking and props to J Barnes for being honest!
 
Re: white man can no act

first of all yes J barnes is pefectly in line (not to mention i didnt even think it came off as harse, oh well)

but my question is why r u acting "out of neccesity"? That doesnt make sense. It sounds like ur making little films where u dont know actors so ur in them urself. IF thats true, the fact that u CARE about ur acting ability that shows up on screen means its time to move on and find some actors, believe me, they're easy to come by. Just check out ur local drama department
 
Re: white man can no act

i didn't realize this was such an elitist forum.
we sadly, are not all aspiring to the same loftiness. i make wedding videos, and music videos for my friends, really i'm low key. i have reasons why i cant and won't use someone else, that's not for you to worry about (i feel like i'm on trial!).

so perhaps i could get some other replies that have more realistic solution for us hillbillies.

p.s. i'm serious about my work- but don't take my self seriously.
 
Re: white man can no act

loftiness is what for you? Acting natural on camera?

Your problem is that you're looking for a realistic solution without understanding the problem. There aren't easy solutions to acting problems and you are only proving how ill prepared you are by insisting that someone can give you an easy fix.

Time to take an acting class...or read a 400 page book.

Sorry if you think it is elitist, doesn't change the fact that it's true.
 
Re: white man can no act

PS - dont take anything in these forums as an attack...unless someone specifically says something about how you stink of course. Everyone here is offering well intentioned advice and assessments based on a lot of speculation and assumptions.

If you don't like the advice people are giving you, maybe you're asking the wrong question.

You're the only person that can dispell and solidify the assumptions raised in the discussion of your problem, so instead of bitching about the answers or tone that you percieve, join in the discussion and interact with those that have an interest in assisting you.

Still, the fact remains that there is not an easy fix to the issue you raise. Perhaps you should start to redefine your problem instead of looking for the easy answer.
 
Re: white man can no act

I don't think anyone is being elitist.  The question is difficult to answer.  You are looking for an easy solution where there probably isn't one.  You say that you "cannot be natural"  That seems to be an absolute.  Lots of people look at these posts.  I think that if anyone had any simple tips for you to relax (without the work of learning the craft of acting) they would have offered it.  I'm just thinking that such advice probably doesn't exist.  However, I'm no expert.  Perhaps you could try an acting forum.  They might be able to offer some ideas.  As a director I might have more advice specific to the situation if I was on the set and I knew you and the circumstances.  But as it stands now, I don't have anything to work with.
 
Re: white man can no act

Just spend as much time as possible practicing in front of the camera. Watch the footage, see what you liked and didn't like and then work on correcting your problems. It's not going to be a short process, but eventually you'll see results.
 
Re: white man can no act

Greggy: If we were elitists, we'd mentioned, that not only can white man not act. White man can't spell: Subject line: "white man can no act" . ;) J/k.

Honestly though, you asked for an opinion, you got a bunch of honest ones, and you didn't like them. From what you stated, you really only have two options. Either deal with your bad acting, or find someone else.
 
Re: white man can no act

well the post 'can no act' was intentional, anyways, i found the answer (concerning controlling nervous facial features) on another website. believe it or not, it was not that difficult of a question- i'm just going to the wrong bunch of guys to get the answer. well, we can't possibly know it all. thanks for trying to take a stab at it though fellas.
 
Re: white man can no act

Would you mind posting it? I wouldn't mind having such knowledge just in case I run into someone who might need it! Also, you're correct, the question/problem wasn't difficult. The correct answer was to read books and take classes. But you ruled those out.

If you don't want to talk to people who will give you their honest opinions to help you get better, then I totatlly agree with you; You're definately talking to the wrong bunch of guys/gals. At any rate, if ya could post where ya found that, it would be great. Tim.
 
Re: white man can no act

sure dude. it was on a site 'free. prohosting.com/~jezz/breathing.char.html.

p.s- where i'm from, the word 'guys' includes gals (i.e. womenfolk)
 
Re: white man can no act

[quote author=John Hudson link=board=Directing;num=1106007276;start=15#16 date=01/19/05 at 20:20:45]I've always been a elitist snob  [/quote]

Yes John you are, and for this I detest you! ;)
 
Re: white man can no act

:D Here is how it played out:

I suck at acting; any advice?

Well, you could study the craft; hone your skills perhaps.

You elitist whores!
 
Re: white man can no act

hmm...went to the link. Didn't get anything. Glad you found it though. Saved you 399 pages of reading.
 
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