Sylvia Syms Mirren Burke Rollo Weeks Claire Garvey

Diary

Sunday, November 29 2009

Working With Actors

I finished the last of my acting classes this week and want to write up what I have gleamed from being on the course. I attended it from the point of view or being a writer/director so my observations have more of a leaning in that direction. Hope this is useful to any other budding directors out there.

Actors vs Crew

I think a lot of crew probably think that actors are pampered and a lot of actors probably think that the crew don't respect their craft. I think it was quite apparent to me that the two areas are quite unique and need to be treated differently on set to achieve the best results.

Watching people act in scenes and doing some improvisation work at the class it reinforced the fact that to produce a believable acting performance then the actor needs to be fully prepared and able to go to lots of emotional and hard places within themselves.

Compare this to a crew member who has to be in a certain space to be able to produce their best work. I think both are quite different but the ultimate goal as a director is to ensure that both groups of people have the optimal conditions to work at their creative peak.

Fight...

Not really anything to do specifically with acting but more with being able to pursue and realise your goals that you will have to fight and work hard to get there and to be prepared with the knowledge that you will fail lots of times in the way but that way you will learn and the overall result will be worth it.

Personally I tried to tie this to my crusade to make this film and everyday to wake up thinking about it and making it happen. If I stop for one second then it feels like it might not happen. I wrote down in my notepad "Fight like your life depends on it!". I also drew a picture of Totoro from the Studio Ghibli film as I think he embodies this spirit!

Build The Characters

It is crazy to think that an actor will be able to make the character come to life straight away. They have to work out how to get to the character themselves and as a director I need to lead them along the path to get there. I see it as adding more and more layers on top of each other until you have the desired result. I do think there is also a possibility of adding too many layers so that the overall jist of the character is lost in the midst of their complexities.

Environment

This builds on all of the above points really but I am fascinated and intrigued after being on the course to think of how I can create the right environment with the actors in order to allow them to be able to find the characters and to perform as they want to on the film set. My initial thoughts are around how I structure and work with them during rehearsals, how their dressing rooms are on set (if we can afford to have any!), how the crew interacts with them. I have some ideas in this area but want to keep them to myself but will share later once I have been doing them as I want things to be fresh for my actors!

This diary provides an indepth look into the trials and tribulations of making Booked Out.

Click on the months or entries below to view historic entries.

  1. 2010
  2. July
  3. [26] Top Foreign Language Films
  4. [23] Production Diary - Shooting Day 2
  5. [21] Working with the DoP - Camera Movement
  6. [09] Production Diary - Shooting Day 1
  7. [08] Casting - Rollo Weeks as Jacob
  8. [07] Production Design - Colour Palette
  9. [06] Costume Design - Jacob - played by Rollo Weeks
  10. [05] Working with the DoP - Selecting One
  11. [03] Booked Out Blog Blasts Off
  12. April
  13. [01] Shooting Wrapped
  14. March
  15. [06] Filming Begins
  16. February
  17. [28] 1 week to go - lets book this film out
  18. [24] 10 days to go - storytelling
  19. [23] 11 days to go - all guns blazing
  20. [20] 14 days to go - Jacquelines Day
  21. [18] 16 days to go - Imagination is key
  22. [17] 17 days to go - Prep prep prep
  23. [16] 20 days to go - dolly mixtures
  24. [16] Crew Additions
  25. [16] Rollo Weeks is Jacob
  26. [15] 21 days to go - Stylissimo
  27. [14] 22 days to go - script locked
  28. [12] 24 days to go - crewing
  29. [11] 25 days to go - location location
  30. [10] 27 and 26 days to go - Script nearly locked
  31. [08] 28 days to go - Things becoming clearer
  32. [07] 30 and 29 days to go - The story
  33. [05] 31 days to go - on the road
  34. [04] 32 days to go - Soho streets
  35. [03] 33 days to shoot - Auditions
  36. [02] 34 days to shoot - more meetings
  37. [01] Bryans Sabbatical Day 1 - 35 days to shoot
  38. January
  39. [31] 5 weeks till shoot
  40. [03] 2010 - The year of the book
  41. 2009
  42. December
  43. [22] Facebook Fan Page Updated
  44. [21] Gabriela Is Back
  45. [20] Revs Short Film Day 2
  46. [19] Revs Short Film Day 1
  47. [17] Jacob Auditions
  48. [16] Booked Out Financing Halfway
  49. [15] Lindy Hopper Richard Pucci Joins the Cast
  50. [08] My Top Five Films of 2009
  51. November
  52. [29] Working With Actors
  53. [25] Welcome on Board - Andrew McEwan
  54. [24] Sylvia Syms
  55. [16] Welcome On Board - Jordan Cushing
  56. [15] Calm Before The Storm
  57. [10] Meetings Meetings Meetings
  58. [01] Style
  59. October
  60. [25] Today I met Mike Leigh
  61. [17] Poster Artwork
  62. [14] First Tasks Underway
  63. [01] Replan
  64. September
  65. [27] Sam And Bryan Production Meeting No 1
  66. [01] Producer Found
  67. August
  68. [07] Simon and Kirsty Selmon Join the Cast
  69. July
  70. [30] Props Required
  71. [25] Scheduling The Shoot
  72. [23] Company Incorporated
  73. [21] Equity Investment Proposal
  74. [19] Final Script Updates
  75. [18] Character Soundtracks
  76. [15] First Production Meeting
  77. June
  78. [24] Jacqueline Cast
  79. [19] New Crew - Derek and Ellie
  80. [16] Watching Audition Tapes
  81. [14] Basecamping
  82. [13] Auditions - Casting website summary
  83. [12] Auditons - Actors Summary
  84. [12] Auditons - Filmakers Summary
  85. [10] Jacob Cast
  86. [07] Warehouse Week - Day 7
  87. [06] Warehouse Week - Day 6
  88. [05] Warehouse Week - Day 5
  89. [04] Warehouse Week - Day 4
  90. [03] Warehouse Week - Day 3
  91. [02] Warehouse Week - Day 2
  92. [01] Warehouse Week - Day 1
  93. May
  94. [31] Warehouse Week Preparation
  95. [31] Fundraising Fancy Dress Party Artwork
  96. [30] Fancy Dress Costume
  97. [21] Fundraising Gig Night
  98. [19] Fundraising Comedy Night
  99. [10] Gig Venue Found
  100. [10] Micro-budget Production Course
  101. [05] Warehouse Date Rearranged
  102. [03] Jeffrey Brown read the script
  103. [02] Warehouse Double Booked Scandal
  104. April
  105. [22] Signed up for spotlight
  106. [21] Find Actors on Casting Call
  107. [08] Warehouse Booked for Fundraising Events
  108. March
  109. [15] Signed up for Shooting People
  110. [14] Swing Dance Promotional Video
  111. February
  112. [26] Jeffrey Brown actually replied
  113. [22] Week 4 Progress
  114. [18] Website and Film Inspiration
  115. [15] Week 3 Progress
  116. [01] Week 1 Review
  117. January
  118. [26] Planning - Yawn
  119. [24] 1st Film Meeting