week 4 working with actors

Acting voice/giving them objectives

*a good directior will use everything in the frame to tell the story*
Use active verbs say:

You will… You are…

-active/activity: going to confront someone, going to confront someone

-someone or something (..conflict)

-for an outcome

Ex: You are going to charm your brother’s wife so she can ask you to stay for dinner.

All Scenes:

Fight, Seduction, or Negotiation

Series of Actionable Goals

Business is a physical activity that reveals inner emotions.

*normally characters don’t want to feel that they are vulnerable*

You’re always going to have characters that have armor and try not to show that armor

Emotional Memory is actions associated with strong feelings.

Whiplash breakdown

-if you are doing something you are going to look comfortable if you are doing nothing you are uncomfortable(most of the time)

-someties inaction is action

Directing Main Character:

In order to fit in you will stand out of the way and still.

Scene 2 - seduction

JK Simmons will seduce the main character so he can let his guard down.

Scene 3- fight

JK will berate him in order to destroy him

-carl shows jk simons face during the fight

-carl shows that everyone has been through what the main character is going through

Cinema vs Theatre

Cinema

Theatre

-cheap seats, they are acting to people in the back. they act big and loud, have people close and somebody with them

-symbiotic relationship with the audience

Dos/Donts

Dos

Donts

-don’t tell them to do something smaller and quieter

Directors have to give feedback.

Subtext within Dialogue

A. Scene Breakdown

Understanding subtext/themes within the screenplay, what is the theme, and overall purpose

Beats within a scene

-determining where the beats are, when there is a change in plot, change in consciousness of the characters(change in what the character knows, what they perceive, and what the characters around them know)

-should have more than 1 beat

-cirsis point is usually the last beat

Dramatic Unit

-sub scene

-there should always be conflict that is moving the character’s forward

-within each scene there should be a crisis point, the last beat within the scene(a major turning point within the scene)

-what is the aftermath

What is moving the story forward?

-not to be boring

-getting towards the end goal

-character development

When a character refuses to grow, even when they know they should be doing better, the plot is still evolving.

Every scene should build to a dramatic crisis point. We must continually build with actors and story.

Subtext

What does the character really mean?

Character comes through action, that is how you develop their character. What they say and what they mean can be two different things.

Have notes for how to speak to the cinematographer, how to direct the film,

Notes in scenes to direct the actors

Ex:

Angela you want tod to stop and get the map

I’m afraid we’re lost (say what you’re afraid)

Through Lines

There has to be something that ties it together. The through line is the main goal, and everything abides by the main goal

All the plots in the through line

Ex: Star Wards

Luke skywalkers goal is to blow up the death star. But in each different film he has a diffrent beat(conflict with darth vader)