Working with Actors

Joops

Joops

Active member
There is a lot of talk in this Directing forum about the technical aspects of filmmaking....how do you as a director work with and handle your actors?
 
my biggest thing is making sure the actor clearly knows their character's motivation for what they're doing and what they're saying. I have them think about how they themselves would get whatever it is that they want.
 
Pick up a copy of "Directing Actors" by Judith Weston. It's one of the most widely recommended books on the subject. I'm reading it now, and it's superb.
 
I think it's best to tell them:

"If you dont get it right, you'll never work for free in this town again"!

Honestly, I think the performances we got out of our 3 were superb...well above what we could have expected. I think keeping them (as well as the crew) on point, even between takes, helps keep the mood going. This seems particularly true when shooting intense or real emotional scenes.
 
For me, it depends.

If the actor is classical, then I tell them what I am looking for and give them pertinent information; if the actor is a method actor, I cut the crap and give them their motivation and tap into their emotional memory for their performance. If I have a stage actor, just getting them not to scream and turn flips takes most of the day- it depends.
 
Ooops,

I forgot to say that no matter what happens, no matter who I have, I stay loose and give freedom while maintaining that I am the director and it has to play to my vision; in a respectful manner though.
 
I too think knowing what it is like to be in front of the camera is essential to success behind the camera. Understanding what your actor goes through and how to motivate them to get the performance where you need it to be.
 
being an actor and a director there is one shall we say "faux-pas" that i consider unacceptable to do to an actor, and that is to read their lines for them. for example, "say it like this....." or "move like this....." that's not directing properly and possibly you've picked the wrong actor. it's an actor's job to bring the words to life. it's the directors job in terms of the actor to get them on tape and help propel the story along. if an actor is not delivering the lines like you intended then maybe his/her motivation is interpreted slightly different than yours. maybe they need to be given a different motivation to give you what you want. and as long as the emotion brought forth is true then you should get true honest acting that both you and the actor can live with and feel good about.
 
Knowing that "I've chosen the wrong actor" when the actor says it wrong doesn't help me when i have a deadline to meet. How do I fix the problem?
 
dg1 said:
being an actor and a director there is one shall we say "faux-pas" that i consider unacceptable to do to an actor, and that is to read their lines for them. for example, "say it like this....." or "move like this....." that's not directing properly and possibly you've picked the wrong actor. it's an actor's job to bring the words to life. it's the directors job in terms of the actor to get them on tape and help propel the story along. if an actor is not delivering the lines like you intended then maybe his/her motivation is interpreted slightly different than yours. maybe they need to be given a different motivation to give you what you want. and as long as the emotion brought forth is true then you should get true honest acting that both you and the actor can live with and feel good about.
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Totally disagree.

I have been told more than once I am an 'Actors Director'. It is the actors job to give the director exactly what they want.

If I have to read it for them or enunciate a line or literally show them exactly what is needed I will and should. Many times, an actor doesn't know what a director wants, becasue their direction consists of 'More intensity!' (That is a quote from a director who several actors I know hate working with.)

seunosewa said:
Knowing that "I've chosen the wrong actor" when the actor says it wrong doesn't help me when i have a deadline to meet. How do I fix the problem?
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Fire him.

Last year, I canned an entire 2 day shoot due to a miscast that literally ruined the film. It was bad, bad, bad. One of the worst actors I have ever seen. To this day, upon the first lines ever read by this person at rehearsal; I regret simply not standing up and firing him right there.
 
dg1 said:
being an actor and a director there is one shall we say "faux-pas" that i consider unacceptable to do to an actor, and that is to read their lines for them. for example, "say it like this....." or "move like this....." that's not directing properly and possibly you've picked the wrong actor. it's an actor's job to bring the words to life. it's the directors job in terms of the actor to get them on tape and help propel the story along. if an actor is not delivering the lines like you intended then maybe his/her motivation is interpreted slightly different than yours. maybe they need to be given a different motivation to give you what you want. and as long as the emotion brought forth is true then you should get true honest acting that both you and the actor can live with and feel good about.
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im pretty much mutual in my thoughts. Having acted for more years that directing, i understand how key it is to be on the same page as the director. This is the directors job of being able to communicate his ideas without explaining how he wants the lines delivered word by word. There is nothing wrong with guiding the actor on how the director imagines the lines are going to sound, but it is up to the actor to perform those lines, and not imitate.
 
In my experience, not all actors are the same. Some can give you many different readings on the same lines with limited direction or motivation and some simply need to be shown and told.
 
The risk of dictating exact line readings to an actor is that you'll get a thought-out,"acted" performance. As I'm sure you know, actors need to be in the moment of the scene, as though it's real, to do their best. Dictating a line reading could buy you a one-way ticket to Fakeville. Sure, superior actors can take "result oriented" direction (Judith Weston's disparaging term from her book "Directing Actors") reasonably well, but almost all of them will not like it (or you, for making them do it), and you'll usually get less than their best.

If the actor is reading a line in a way that is unacceptably different from what you as director want, it's better to discuss the intention/subtext of the scene/moment with him until he gets it, rather than dictating a reading. If the actor understands what's behind the line/moment, he will tend to automatically inflect it properly. Dictate a reading *only* as a last resort after exhasting all other means, and if "all other means" have failed, you might have the wrong actor. Or maybe you're the wrong director...

In a larger sense, I think directors should to be open to actors reading their lines their own way in the first place. They'll will love you for it, and they'll give you more and more as you let them. It's vital that everyone has an understanding of the big picture (what Scorsese calls "everyone making the same film") but once that's in hand, being free in the moment, both for the actor and the director, is the best way to get the magic to happen. Enforcing your expectations, especially when it's right down to the line reading level, is perilously close to the antithesis of that.

Sorry for the rant : )
 
I find one of the easiest ways to make a scene come to life is to give the actors something to do, some physical business, even if it's as simple as washing dishes. I'm also not a fan of line readings because it keeps you the director from really thinking about the emotion behind the lines. It's better to say, "treat the other actor like a dog", than to tell him to say it 'like this'. A director who just says "more intensity" also isn't communicating well enough. Lost in Translation made this hilariously apparent. Telling the actor, "your child will die in 5 minutes if you don't convince this other guy" is a better motivator.
 
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It really depends on whether or not the actor is capable of internalizing whatever you're doing, as a director. If I'm given a line reading (being an actor myself), I will make mental notes of how the director wants the dialog performed. If he or she gives good direction, as in specific goals that need to be reached, then that's great - I will adjust the performance to accommodate that. If the director says "more intensity", then fine. I will change the imaginary circumstances so that there's a REASON for my character to be more intense about the material.

It really depends on whether the actor can interpret your direction properly or not... and part of your job as a director is to know when and how to give specific direction. And pick up a copy of "Directing Actors." It's an excellent book.
 
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