Storytelling for the screen
Part 8
Three Act Story:
Production
Share Your Storyboards for Feedback
Welcome back. Today, we're going to start out with sharing your storyboards for feedback.
Just to remind you, here's the feedback rules:
Feedback rules
1. The filmmaker sets up their goals for the project.
It's important for the audience to know what the filmmaker is trying to achieve so that they can give good feedback that will help the filmmaker in that goal. Sometimes, audiences project their own goals and then the feedback process can go wrong.
2. Start with the positive.
You need to help encourage the filmmaker. You want to see the good in their work. It could be the potential for good or a good idea. It’s always about supporting the filmmaking.
3. Be specific.
Try to not just say, that’s good. But what about it is good. They need to know if they are going to replicate that.
4. Limit the improvements to the most important elements.
What step or steps can they take to make their work better? It’s not as helpful to give then a long list of areas they can improve, but try to cut to the most important area they can grow in.
5. Filmmakers choose the feedback that helps them.
It's up to you what you want to go with. It's your film!
Production and Acting
Today, we're going to focus on how to get a good performance in your film. After going to multiple film festivals and listening to judges about what makes a film successful, I've found the other major factor besides story is acting. If the acting is not working in your film, then the film will not work.
Before we go into acting techniques, let's talk about the big picture of acting. Let's check out some of these famous actors who became stars because they won their part with these amazing auditions:
Activity: Who Are Some of Your Favorite Actors? What Makes Them So Great?
Think about actors that you admire or feel do great work. What makes them that way? Why is the acting so great? Or maybe you remember a performance that was impactful. What was it about that performance that stood out?
Also, have you done any acting? How did it go? What worked? What didn't work?
How To Make Your Actors Relax
Acting is not easy. Often, when you put someone in front of the camera, they start acting very unnaturally. This is normal. Being filmed for many people is terrifying or at least, strange.
Here's a fun fact. When they surveyed people about what their worst fear was. Can you guess what the top two were? Public speaking and death. Why are people so afraid for public speaking (and acting is a form of public speaking)?
It's the fear about what others think of you. We want to look good but when we are at the center of attention, we begin to feel that fear that they are judging us. And this fear creates a physical response. Our palms sweat. We have a hard time speaking. We feel nervous and fidgety.
This is because our perception of this situation is that we are in danger. Our animal brain responds by filling us up with adrenaline which is great if we're trying to fight someone or run away (which made sense in the wild) but this response is not good for acting typically.
So how do we help our actors avoid this response?
Now, some actors are very relaxed in front of the camera because they are used to it or whatever the reason. But if you have actors that are not relaxed, then, here's some tips:
1. Film multiple takes and get them used to the camera.
I think if you film a nervous actor multiple times and tell them not to worry, they just need to do their thing and you'll pick out the take that's the best. They just need to focus on the task at hand. That can help. It takes the pressure off doing it right the first time.
2. Give them a specific physical action.
If you have an actor commit to a physical action that's relevant to the scene, it can help them take their focus off the camera. If they are supposed to do jumping jacks before the scene. And then they go into the scene.. This action of jumping jacks is very physical; so they'll be focused on that and it'll relax them and help them be present.
Or in the scene itself, it can help to have a physical action that they can focus on, so that they aren't thinking about the camera.
3. Take deep breaths before the scene.
Breathing is the simplest and most effective way to relax. If a person breathes deeply, the oxygen will help them think better and relax their body.
Activity: Try To Relax in Front of the Camera
So with your partner or if you don't have a partner, yourself, try one of the techniques and see if you can relax before a shot.
You can try multiple takes, a physical action and take deep breathes. Or you can combine them.
I want you to practice this so you can feel confident when you are shooting your scenes that you can get actors to relax or if you're an actor, you can relax.
Try filming for about 15 to 30 seconds of one action. It can be anything from walking into a room and sitting down to playing on a video game. The key is to get a relaxed performance.
When you shoot actors, there are two things you need to say before the actor can act:
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First say, "Camera rolling". This means the camera is recording.
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Then, say, "Action!" This means the actor should go ahead and act. They should keep acting until the director says...
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Then, say, "Cut!" This is the signal for the actor to stop acting. The rule of thumb is to go long in your takes. A take is that specific shot you just videotaped or filmed. .
Acting, Empathy, and Emotional Prep
We're going to talk about one of the most important tools of an actor: Empathy. If you can empathize with a character and her situation, that is the foundation of great acting.
We're going to watch Meryl Streep, the legendary actor, talk about this empathy. For those who don't know who Meryl Streep is, let me break down some major facts about her.
She has been nominated for 19 Academy Awards. More than any other actress living or dead. And she's won three Academy Awards for best actress. She's also won lifetime achievement awards, Presidential Medals of Honor, and on and on. She has an entire wikipedia page dedicated to just her awards.
Here's a short video of her words on empathy (starts at 1:30):
How do we apply this idea of empathy to acting in your films?
I have used a process that I call "emotional prep" but it's just a variation of the many techniques that actors have used over the centuries. Essentially, emotional prep is a way for actors to really focus deeply on the emotional state they need to create to make their performance believable.
Here's how it works:
Step 1 - Figuring out the emotional state of the character
The actor must figure out what the character is feeling at the beginning of the scene, so that when the director yells, "Action!" the actor is ready and in the correct emotional state. Once she figures out what the emotional state is, she can move to step 2. Here's a list of some possible emotions:
Happy
Sad
Anger
Love
Irritated
Intimidated
Hate
Disgust
Fear
Step 2 - Figuring out a memory, "what if" situation that will generate that emotion
I believe there are two ways an actor can help themselves simulate the correct emotional state:
A. Memory: Memories are powerful ways to generate emotions. When we think about someone who angered us five years ago and we remember their face or something they said, this can trigger a real response in our physical and emotional systems. Because powerful emotional experiences are still buried in our long term memory, we just need to evoke them to help us get into character. This doesn't always work because sometimes, the memory is too strong and you can't deal with it, or it's too weak and it doesn't match the emotional state of the character. But most of the time, it does the trick.
B. "What if" situations: If the memory method doesn't work, then you can imagine "what if" something similar happened to you. Think about the character's situation in this scene and imagine a similar scenario that impacts you. If the character is in love, and you don't have memories of being in love, you may still have someone who you are attracted to and you can access that image of them for this scene. As long as the "what if" situation is something that has a visceral effect on you, it can be a useful tool.
Here's an example of "what if" technique. Dustin Hoffman tells the funny story of how he helped his co-actor, Justin Henry, who was 8 years old at the time, to cry for a scene in the film. Justin was having a hard time crying for this scene but Dustin pulled him aside and told him that Justin should think about how all of the friends he made during the film shoot, all of the people he really enjoyed hanging out, all of them were going to probably not see each other after the film was over. That in the film world, you make friends and then you move on. The boy began to think about this and realized that it was true. He then began to cry and they shot the scene with the boy in this emotional state. Justin went on to be nominated for an Academy award for this performance. If you are in a scene and you can find something that's happening right now that will emotionally put you in the mood, use it. It can be very powerful.
Step 3 - Closing eyes and breathing
Now, before you go into your scene, you need to close your eyes and breathe. This is so important because we must get focused and relaxed. Closing the eyes focuses us. The breathing relaxes us. It helps us get into that otherworldly state that's close to being hypnotized.
Step 4 - Use your five senses to evoke the memory, "what if," or "now" situation
In order to make either of these situations real for yourself, I highly recommend that you use all five senses to bring it to life. The visual is probably first. But sounds, smells, touch and taste all are great ways to provoke an emotional response.
Step 5 - Finally, open your eyes and then bring this emotional state with you into the scene.
Memory Example of Emotional Prep
Here's a video from the Making of Finding Nemo (starts at 15:57 and ends at 18:31) and it shows how the animators use memory to create believable "performances:"
"What If" Example of Emotional Prep
Below is the scene from Kramer vs. Kramer that we talk about earlier:
Another Example of Emotional Prep
Below is a video of an audition for the revival of the musical, A Chorus Line. Thousands of actors auditioned for these roles for the Broadway musical but only a handful actually got the role. One of the major skills you need to stand out is empathy. In this video, you get to see Jason Tam who went on to win the role and his audition that got him that job. Look how he uses empathy is this monologue.
Activity: Try Emotional Prep
With your partner, or filming yourself, let's try emotional prep.
Figure out what kind of emotion you want to achieve.
Pick a memory or what if situation to evoke that emotion.
Close your eyes, take a deep breath and use the five senes to evoke that memory or situation.
Then, open your eyes and start filming. Let's see if you can capture authentic emotion on screen.
Homework: Shoot Your Movie!
Your homework is to make your movie happen. Shoot the scenes and don't forget to save your footage on your computer. You want to protect that so you can edit with ease tomorrow.
Tomorrow, we'll talk about editing again.
Bonus Content
For you folks who want to go deeper in acting, check out the video below about how to use your relationship with your scene partner or with your imaginary scene partner to create believable emotion. It's another good technique to create believable emotions.
