Acting Masterclass - How To Be Natural On Camera

1. Introduction To Your Teacher: Hi, my name is Cynthia cherry and I'm writer, director, and producer of actors. Real thrill. Welcome to our acting sessions. The points that I would like to go over with the actors are reaction shots. How to bring your emotions to the forefront without saying a word and being fully present when listening. Making compelling asking choices. The difference between good and great acting are the choices you make within a scene, using props effectively to add depth and texture to the storytelling. Blocking. It is imperative that the act or move within the scene with confidence as that character. Character building, transforming your inner and outer presence as an actor while adding the objectives of your character in a scene and inserting that into your behaviour. Thank you for tuning in and check out our videos on Skillshare. 2. The Originators Of The Acting Process: Hi, my name is Cynthia cherry. Today I'm gonna talk about the acting process and the teachers who forged them. The first teacher I want to talk about is constant in Stanislavski. He was a Russian theater actor back in the late 1600s and going into the early 1900's and back in the 1990's, himself and a troop of actors came to the United States while they were doing a theatre. And it took the United States by storm. I mean, actors and non actors alike were just spellbound by their performances. They seem so real even on stage. The industry here wanted to know more about constant in Stanislavski, the method that he used to bring such wonderful performance out of his actors. And what they went on to develop. And no, now today is the Stanislavski method. Now it's not used like it was maybe a decade or two ago, but it is still alive and well. There was a young actress by the name of Stella Adler. And she was really drawn to the method, but she found it a little difficult in her studies and her processes as an actor to bring forth the dramatic performance that she wanted. She decided to go seek out Stanislavski at the time, who was in Paris, I believe at the time. And she studied with him for about six weeks. And her questions cause Dan philosophy to develop a revised method on his system. Where instead of the original where you would go back to traumatic experiences, let's say in your childhood and relive them all over again, which tended to cause some emotional issues with the actors at the time, they decided to incorporate the use of imagination and also what's called emotional recall. So instead of recalling those traumatic experiences, what you would do is you would recall the emotional experience, meaning how you felt at that time. Let's say when you were a child, you lost your favorite pet. If you're not gonna live through the actual trauma of the experience, you're going to go back and remember those feelings that you had when that traumatic experience happen. And you bring that forward into your present performance. But also still Adler incorporated the use of imagination in her teachings where you could imagine certain things happening outside of the narrative of the script that you could incorporate and pulling to your performance. Now let us say the best-case scenario is to actually use the narrative and the story and the character to create the ultimate performance for that narrative. Sometimes it can be very challenging to do so. You have the Stanislavski method and using also emotional recall, using imagination as a part of that method. And a lot of actors still use it today. Now let's talk about another teacher who followed closely the Stanislavski method. And his name was Lee Strasberg. Now he adhered to the method very closely and was definitely passionate about teaching the old-style method, which a lot of actors still followed and sat under that teaching. So throughout Lee Strasberg career, he did teach method and it was very well-received and it really brought forth the fruit of a great performance. Now there was another teacher who rejected the standard philosophy method altogether, and his name was Sanford Meissner. Meissner developed his program based on action and reaction. It's about living in the moment. It's about being connected to the actor. And it wasn't so much about you, but it was about reacting to the other actor and what the other actor was saying and doing within the story value or the same. Let's say there are two actors in a scene and they're having dialogue. Both factors focus in the scene is in another, not themselves. When you're in the moment, when you're in that scene is not so much about what you're saying, but it's about what the other actor is saying. And your reactions to that. Meissner in fact, was very passionate about what he called the repetition method. There will be two actors in a class, and they would repeat a word back and forth, back and forth, back and forth until that words somehow changed. So by doing the repetition method, one actor was sort of leading the other actor. And as the words changed and developed, the second actor would follow suit. And this helped strengthen that muscle of listening and reacting to that first actor. And then they would change and sweet. When it comes to dialogue, that is definitely a challenge where an actor is basically listening for their queue line. And as I've talked to many actors over the years, their number one fear is losing their lines. Well, with the Meissner method, it helps you just to let go of that fear and let go of checking out of the scene and having your mind so much engaged that you're forgetting to engage your heart in your emotions as well. Stella Adler had trouble realizing her best performance and she felt like it was taken a toll on her emotional. Also, Stanislavski went on with Stella Adler to create what's called the method of physical action. Now I do use this a lot with the actors and I'm working with, again saying that through your physical action, you should be able to tell the story without dialogue. What you do is you incorporate the method of physical action, meanings, storytelling through mood, through tone, through facial expressions, through body language, every fiber of your being a connected to the story. It's not just speaking words, it's not just reciting lines or speaking dialogue. It's about telling a story. And also the method of physical action helped the actors focus off their own indulgences to create a more cohesive environment where their actions impact the characters and the world around them. Now, actors are free to use whatever method they want to be able to create those performances that are going to move the audience. Again, it's not so much about reciting dialogue. Anyone can memorize lines, but it's about making believable performances that impact the viewer, draw them into their world. So they can be a part of the story route for the character root for the hero, and just follow them on the journey of self-discovery and a story that is going to resonate with the viewer for years to come. Great actors don't just happen. You're not born with this awesome gift that never requires honing are sharpening. That's simply unrealistic. What you have to do is study, go to countless auditions where you may not get the part, but you get a great experience on sometimes what not to do. But I would say to you, keep foraging, keep going, Don't quit. It's not easy but it's worth it. It's not about the accolades, is not about the awards and it shouldn't be about the money. It's about telling stories, countless stories where you can portray character after character, after character. We'll talk a little bit more about Stanislavski, the method to revise method from Eisner method. Stella Adler outta hogging and Stella Adler once said, life beats you down and crushes the soul. But art reminds you that you have one. Take care. 3. Live Coaching: Identifying The Genre and beats: Interior dark room night, a woman, Diane Baker, a prostitute, bruised and battered, sits in a chair or handshake if she tries to light a cigarette, a detective sits across from her. There's no smoking in here, ma'am. Well, I'm having a really bad day as you can see. Just trying to make things a little lighter besides the one who was raped. What you don't believe me? Because I'm a prostitute. Could you tell me what happened shortly before the rape? Because that's what it was. I was on my way home. The guy he was all customer. He followed me home. He must have thought he was entitled. He forced his way into my apartment. My kids were asleep home by themselves. My oldest daughter, Shawn does she's 16. He had a gun. He put it to my head and told me that he will pull the trigger if a screened. That's how my kids to go back into the bedroom. At the he finished. He said that he wanted to go. My daughter my daughter must be a **** because her mom he went into the bedroom, Graph Shonda about a neck. He don't want to couch. He started ripping off her clothes. I couldn't let that best to write my baby. I took the gun. He left it on floor. Went up behind him. Pull the trigger. You know, the worst part was say my baby's face, when he fell on her. There was a price to pay, but it was worth it. Very nice, very nice. Loved the tone, Very nice. Now, I usually ask the actors that were coaching. They're basically five genres and film. Drama, comedy, thriller, a horror, and fantasy. Everything else like romance, Western. They're all styles of film making. But they're basically five. When you get a side like this, Let's say you get an additional, wow, okay, I gotta side, which is this, with script or part of the script. The first thing to do would be to identify what the genre is. What do you think the genres for this? What do jaundice? It's the tone of the piece. Like, is it a serious piece? Is it a comedic piece for this here is a serious piece, so it will be a drama, right? Yeah, so we're gonna say, Oh Jerry, got one more here. Remember? We're going to write that it is a drama. That's the genre. Now I'm going to tell you what's not running. Press the top until the current that comes out. Yeah. Okay. So I'm going to tell you a little bit of a difference, the differences between the genres. Drama, serious, again, the tone is very serious. I call it the execution of tension is supposed to make the audience feel a little tense. The beats, meaning. Think of it like a tennis match where the tennis ball goes back and forth. But when you think about beats in the scene, the beats in the scene are going to be slower depending on the genre or faster. With drama kinda goes like this. Bump, bump. So they're hitting it nice back-and-forth, right? Comedy, it's like this bump, bump, bump. Have you ever noticed when you're watching a comedy and people are talking real fast and it really animated. And then we had above. All right, Any other person like, yeah, I get it. That is kind of like the tone of a comedy thriller. The beats are a little bit slower. Slower. Thriller. Thriller is suspenseful, makes the audience feel really tense, like what's gonna happen, right? Horror is made meant to scare you. It's just scary. The beats are all over the place. They can be very slow when it's a buildup maybe would've killers behind her, then it speeds up. When something generic you okay. Do when something happens, something. Like it's chasing her down a hallway, then the beats get really, really fast. Fantasy is basically like Star Wars that can be accommodated. It's a comedy, drama, call it a dromedary, which is a mixture of both. This is definitely a drama. The beats are, yes, I was moving a little bit. We're gonna go from sort of like the pavement and then start building up. I believe that the secret of great acting or number is one-to-one choices. Number to building a believable character. Okay? It's not about emotions. Because that's what a lot of actors wanted to do was they wanted to a lot of emotion. And it gets old after awhile, doesn't it? Just once somebody's just yelling during the whole scene, I want to pull my hair out. It was like, Okay, it's about creating characters that are interesting. Maybe when they get upset, they don't yell, maybe they just shut down and just look at you. They want to kill you. Every person is different and how they react to the world around them as very different. Everybody's unique. With that being said, we're going to look at Diane, who she is. We're also going to diagnose some of your ticks. I hope you don't mind. Some of the things that I would say could maybe a hindrance in the future. Okay. Alright. When you first read it, and I thought you did great. You have great vocal tone. Is you can kind of use your head a lot. I use my hands. Yeah, That's the hands and the head. Those are the two things. What I find is when I tell the actor or ask them to steal their head, meaning don't shake it so much, it brings your emotions in. I don't know why it's connected. Like, you know, when you're doing this, you know, and yeah. And then when you're just like this and you talk and you will see yourself pool in, which is great, and you just have to learn to train yourself not to do that. Now I'm not saying this is necessarily you, but they're also the rolling of the eyes. Rolling your eyes a lot. Some actors feel like, well, what am I supposed to do? I got to do something. Well, why? What makes you want to do these things is because you feel like you're not doing enough. Activism, going over the top or doing too much. It's about being that person, just being that person. Who is that person? A lot of actors don't know who they are portraying. If you're a certain age or if you're a certain, if you grew up in a certain socio economic area, you're gonna be totally different from somebody who grew up in Australia or you can't be the same, your motions cannot be the same. The same we're going to discuss if you're coming back the emotional makeup of a character. What does that character like emotionally? Not everybody's the same. You can't get mad the same way. Everybody is different. I'm gonna get mad differently than you get mad. What we're gonna do is we're going to break down those things and start building a character that's gonna be believable and not a caricature, a cartoon character. That's kind of what we're going to try to stay, stay away from. This is good for you, I would say because this is a dramatic series piece. So that's going to make you bring yourself in with your emotions. And Diane, I think, is a type of person. She'll get raw when she needs to. But a lot of times because she is a hooker, she's a prostitute, she has to be in control and she has to be looking everywhere because the guys who come to see her might get violent. She has to learn to handle it. So she's not gonna be this emotional bag of she's going to be like almost sort of disconnected. Okay. So we're gonna read it again and I want you to pull it in quite a bit more and slow down and watch your, I don't see where you're doing your eyebrows. Some some, some people they act with their eyebrows. So just kind of relax your eyes and your eyebrows. Gonna do it again. This time. Not so much inflection either. There's a tendency to go up. You see what I'm doing? I'm going up. I want you to just say the words. 4. How Actors can be storytellers: Today we're going to continue our talk about the actors process and more specifically, being good storytellers. No one can ever forget the fateful story of rows and Jack's romance in the Titanic, Jack was a free-spirited character until meeting Rose gave his life, love and purpose, and Rose found the freedom to be who she really is when Jack touched her life. So as you can see, acting is all about relationships and how the characters touch one another. And in turn, they touched the audience. As we touched on last week, being a good storyteller as an actor is all about creating a robust full body character that will take the audience on a journey that they'll never forget. Yes, acting is about B-natural and looking as though you're not acting. It is also about bringing the text and the subtext of the story to life. It's everything and actor does on film that tells a story and moves the audience. The words only come to life off the page when you bring life to your character. These words have been given to you. As a steward. You are entrusted with the vocal and non-vocal expressions of your character. While plays are about words and ideas. Film is about image and storytelling. Your soul is your mind, your will and your emotions, and all of these are tied to your heart. Now we do have speech centers in our brains. But really if you think about it, we really don't think about what we're gonna say until we say it, it just seems to come out. That's because our hearts in our mouths are truly connected. I always tell the actors that the words, the dialogue, the expressions of the character, should be in your heart and not just in your head. It's not about listening for the other characters Q line. It's about truly being in the moment, letting that go. And I know most actors, the biggest fear they have is losing their lines, especially in front of the director, the crew, and whoever else is there other actors. But if you let go to just be in the moment, listen to the other actor. I mean, not just the q lines, but the whole totality of what they're saying. And doing, the method of action is about doing. It's about telling the stories and making connections with the world and the other actors in nonverbal ways. If you as an actor has a soul, then so should the character you're portraying. Most of the time, we as human beings have an inner life that is directly contrary to our expressions are afterlife. If we are portraying a character that isn't who they really are on the outside, then we need to create those things through relatable visual ways to the audience. That could be in a look. It could be hidden anger, it could be something within your eyes. The way you look, the way you talk, the way you walk, the way you laugh. All of these things are an integral part of creating believable character that has an inner life, that has inner emotions. And sometimes how it's expressed is very different from what they're feeling on the, and why. I believe that the lines are Dialogue of a character are expressions of their inner life filtered through their outer core. Drama is about hiding who you are. Comedy is about revealing who you are. Comedians tend to be very humanized. They have flaws that are visibly seen and laughed at. But in drama, characters work very, very hard to hold themselves together when it comes to dialogue. Learn it so well. That is second nature to you. That way you're free to listen to the other actor, not for the Q line, but everything that they're expressing. Now once you know your lines very well, you incorporate those natural things that are a part of your character's core. All of this is incorporated in the method of physical action. For instance, if you enter a scene and you understand the tone of a scene because you've done your work in seeing study, then you can decide and make choices on how your character is going to react to that tone within the scene. Now when making these choices, make sure first and foremost, that these choices that you're giving your character help serve the story. They shouldn't serve the actor or the individual character. Remember, your character is a thread woven into a wonderful tapestry of a storyline. I believe that these are elements of great storytelling. And also making note of what your character could be thinking at that point in time. And remember, Be sure to identify your objectives within the same what do you want and how will you react if you don't get what you want? And that's based on the emotional core of your character, not anyone else's. This is all a part of your craft and I know I put a lot of stuff out there, but I'm going to go more in depth into certain processes and techniques as we move into the next videos. Remember Meryl Streep once said, The difference between good actors and great actors or their choices. 5. Live Coaching: Be That Person and Stop Acting: There's no smoking in here, ma'am. Well, I'm having a really bad day. As you can see. Let's stop hating him. But there's a lot of animation in your voice. So we're going to see, as you can see. Now, I'm going to just show you something, okay? Okay. So this is showing is better so you can get an idea. Yeah, Well, I'm having a really bad day. You can see just trying to make things a little lighter. Besides I'm the one who was raped, was very, very pulled back because she did go through through something traumatic. And when your rate and we I think a lot of people, if they go through trauma, they disconnect. They don't start having fits and crying until probably later. But right now there's kind of like that disconnect, that numb feeling that allows the human psyche to deal with trauma. Alright? So I want you to be more pulled back in your character now. Right now you're being Kim. Yeah. Well, I want you to give me another choice for that. Pull back from Kim. Fallback. Diane Diane is more like I'm taking care of business. This is the way it is. If she is sleeping, strangers, she's got to be have a certain a lot of disconnection with her body, her mind, everything. All right. I want you to go well, now, I want you to I want you to give it to me. Emotionless and they will build up from there. Motionless, emotionless, emotionless. And you do your very animated with your mouth and again ticks. But don't, don't take it. I'm just kinda diagnose There's some great things about you too, and don't forget that. Okay. All right. Watch her. Yeah, you can do this a lot. So just again, diagnosing. Okay. Okay. I want you to relax your mouth. I don't want you to open it too much like this. I want you to just kind of speed through your lips like this. Yeah, you did. All your emotions are right here. They're not appear like some actors as all here with eyebrow they do. But yours is right here. So you have to train yourself to kind of bring it in when you need to. Okay? Okay. We'll do start from the top. There's no smoking in here, man. I'm having a really bad day as you can see. Just trying to make things a little lighter. Besides, I'm the one who's right. We're gonna stop there. I don't feel I do this with all the real, don't I was off the real actors. This is real. What did you get? So you just have to learn to just okay. I see. And then you have to grab it. And there is a certain point, Kim, where the actors grab it and they get it. It doesn't happen in five minutes or ten minutes or even a half an hour over like we were here usually about ten hours. There's at some point they clicks this like their head. It's something in their head. Just, it just happens and it clicks and they settled into the characters, like sitting into the character. Right now, this is cold. You don't know who she is learning, and I get that. But I'm definitely going to let you know some things that you're doing that maybe you're bringing to every character that you're doing. And you're thinking, okay, well, I need to do this, but you need to be that person rather than anything else. On top of gestures. The **** of the head, the movement. Just think about who she is and what she's going through. You doing great. On n Now. Watch your inflections because what you're doing is, yeah, well, well, what is she thinking? What's going on in her mind right now she was ripped? Yeah. All right. There's no smoking in here, man. I'm having a really bad day. As you can see. Beats are real fast and as you can see, slowed down quite a bit and watch it again. Your lips or your mouth is very animated. So we want to definitely get you to where I'm not gonna be looking at your mouth the whole time. I want to look at Diane. Do you know what I'm saying? Slow it down. We're gonna, we're gonna work on this part because we got to get your K1s a lot slower because you are naturally, I think, comedy, leaning towards comedy. But since this is serious, we got to slow it down. We've got to slow down. So I'll stop you over and over until you clicks and saying, Okay, I'm going way too fast. Or you can hear yourself saying, I'm I'm talking way too fast, then you'll slow yourself down. But I don't want it to be this conscious thing like you're listening to yourself talk. You are Dianne. Dianne doesn't do anything fast. She rarely laughs. You know, she rarely smiles. She's had a hard life. There's no smoking in here, ma'am. Well, I'm having a really bad day. As you can see. Now what you're doing. But this is what we do. I'm having a really bad day. You sound pretty happy. Okay. Do you see what I'm saying? When you're talking and you're being Kim, you're not animated. I think it's sometimes an actor's minds. They feel like they have to do something. I'm having a really loud over-the-top obviously, but feel it feel through it. I'm having a really bad I know you feel like that's actually will say I feel dead inside. What does that? But you're being who that person is, not acting. You're being that person and that person has had a hard life. She's disconnected. Okay. That was good. I know you probably didn't do anything. There's no smoking in here, man. I'm having a really bad day. I did it again. You went up on the inflection, you heard it. I think you'd go off on a good day, right? Yeah. Okay. Especially in drama and you want a lot of people go up or they go down at the end of his sentence. That's just then. Okay. All right. Let's do it again, but you caught it. That's a good thing. There's no smoking in here, ma'am. I'm having a really bad day. As you can see. Just trying to make things went. Just trying to make things lighter. What will add inflections when you can just stay almost like a tenor. Just trying to make things a little bit. Yeah. Besides the one who was right. Let's do it again. Much better. I know it, but again, study that person, be that person. That's why I gave you this is so important. So you can get to know her. There's no smoking in here, man. I'm having a really bad day. As you can see. Just trying to make things a little lighter. I'm the one who was raped. You don't believe me? Because I'm a prostitute. And that's a statement. Watch making everything. A question too. Let's go back to that. I want you to look at my expression like, I don't believe you, then you're like, I want you to say that line again. When I say I'm the one who was raped on the ambulance and then I'm gonna react to you. Again. Meissner. You know, it's about you looking, giving me the energy, reacting to what I'm saying. It miser it's all about the other person. About the other person. What we're doing here it is about the other person, but guess what? There's a whole other fourth wall here. And it's about your craft is an actor. And what's your job? Job is to do is to make them the people who are watching casting directors, whoever, if you're in a film, an audience, feel something for that character, make them want to go on the journey. With that, can we ever watched something that you just didn't really care what happened to these people. Yeah. Yeah. A great actor takes you the audience along with them for the journey to an awful lot of giving you a once, but let's whilst crisis, alright, so I want you to start with the end of, I'm the one who was raped. And then I want you to look at me. Yeah. Okay. 6. How to use props to convey emotion as an actor: Hi, This is Cynthia with actors, real surreal. Last week we talked about actors being great storytellers. In addition to the dialogue, we touched on nonverbal storytelling, such as facial expressions and body language. Now we're going to explore the world that the characters exist in the way the actor as the character relates to his world is a very important part in his skill as a storyteller. Here's an excellent example of how characters relate to their world as created by James Cameron, Aliens. What made Aliens one of the greatest sequels of all time is that James Cameron took the world as created by Ridley Scott to create a world that had never been seen before and depicted quite this way. The atmosphere seemed not quite right. Even the weapons that the Marines carried, We're not just crops, but they were extensions of the character's fighting Marines. Drake and Vazquez played brilliantly by Mark Ralston and genetic Goldstein had the bigger, more intimidating guns the way they looked at one another and agreement gave an intensity to their characters and the commitment that they're ready to go all out in the fight. And it also gave an hour of them being just a tad overconfident in what they were about to face. I only need to know one thing where they keep getting anytime anywhere. Another character in aliens who I just loved. I mean, I thought, I thought the guy was just brilliant. And he was, the comic relief was played so brilliantly By the late Bill Paxton. He's coming in. I feel safe. Not only was his dialogue smartly written, most of it add Live By the way, we express elevator going down, but also the way his character interacted with a very hostile world on LV 426, who doesn't remember the knife trick? Now, the knife is merely a prop, but when used in a very dangerous game played by Bishop and an unwilling private Hudson, it comes across as funny but yet dangerous Hudson's facial expressions and reactions to bishop playing this dangerous game shows the audience that Hudson's character is not as tough as he seems. Though Paxton portrayed Hudson is having an almost over the top arrogance and self-confidence. You can see by the handling of this knife by bishop, that he was a little less than that following his fear during the game show the part of him that was vulnerable, even perhaps fearful of the life that he carved out for himself. There is another scene when private Hudson, portrayed by Bill Paxton, picks up an object which is a part of the wreckage from the APC. If you just looked at the way that Hudson handled that prop, you knew that he was immersed in fear, doubt, and hopelessness. These types of interactions between the character and their world can be resonating and compelling to the audience. I mean, I don't want to rain on your parade. We're not going to let 17 hours now when the actor, so Guarani Weaver talked about her choices, she did mention when she handled the pulse rifle, she wanted Ripley to not feel comfortable with handling such a weapon. She was far from the elite fighting squad that she was drafted into the first time she fired the gun in the standoff in the part two climax, she was fearful and taken a back by the power of the weapon that show the contrast between Ripley as an outsider and the rest of the fighting team. But later in the film when the aliens took her surrogate child, newt, something rose up in her. It was an anger that she had probably never experienced before. And if you look at the way she handled the gun during that sequence, it's very different than the Ripley that first fired the pulse rifle. Ripley's character use the gun as an extension of her anger towards the Xeno morphs. Props can be a very powerful ally and storytelling. If a character smokes and she's troubled by her addiction, She really wants to stop. How does that translate when she's looking for a match to light her last cigarette, a Christmas present that she bought for her, a strange child that she hasn't seen in a couple of years, and she handles it with such care. She places under a small Christmas tree. What are her feelings at that point? How does she feel about her daughter as she handles that gift? Or in addition to the real huge if scene, Here's another real that we shot with our first state series. There was a woman reacting to her blind dates, impetuous behavior, and the way he unmercifully flirts with women walking by the table, see how she handles the menu to either convey or hide her annoyance and perhaps even anger. As you can see, the most ordinary items within a scene can be used to help convey emotion and tell a story. Now this is a monologue we shot with another actor. We decided to use an object that was on the desk. This pen could represent a disconnection from her emotional trauma, or it could also symbolize the story she's telling about a comb she found under her bed that she used as a weapon to attack her rapist. There are many ways that you can look at props and how they tell a story. That's the great thing about art, is that the audience or the viewer, we're have a different interpretation of what they see. Remember how an act or manipulates a prop can give insight into the story and the character. A great actor will use meson song, which means all the elements in the scene such as props, wardrobe, set, everything that involves the images that you see in storytelling. He is or she is the master storyteller. The way that an actor uses the props or all elements in a scene may not be written in the script. Those are the choices that you can make as an actor and collaborate with the Director will talk more about an actress choices in the next video. See you then. 7. Live Coaching: Different Choices: Apart with the end of I'm the one who was raped. And then I want you to look at me. I'm the one who was ranked. You don't believe me? Because I'm a prostitute. Now I want you to go back again. My heart, does that make us feel? How does that make her feel? It makes her feel me. It makes her feel angry because you don't believe her. But it doesn't have to be blatant anger. You don't believe me. It's almost like disgust with okay, so, so how does that make her feel inwardly? It's all about Stella Adler says we live life. She's acting teacher from the inside out. As adults, we live it from the inside out. Most kids, they live it from the outside. Everything is bombarding children. So they're absorbing everything that's happening in the world where the product of what we absorbed when we were little, whether it's trauma, abuse, yelling. We're living our world through what we believe on the inside. And when it comes out, sometimes it doesn't come out in a good way, it comes out sideways. Or sometimes we tried to be the life of the party when we're totally destroyed on the inside. She was more into the complexities of the human psyche and thought. We're gonna get into that later. But it's about, I'm trying to bring the foundations of just building who this person is. I want you to go back. I want you to react to me again with a little bit of anger, but a pull back kind of anger. You know what I mean? Try to resist the head, keep it, keep it as still as you can. You can do it. Okay. So let's go from I'm the one who was right. Okay. I'm the one who was very you don't believe me. Why? Because I'm a prostitute. Let's go back again now this time, choices, we're going to insert some choices. First we're going to just do it. Then we start building. Let's do some choices. What if you just mark at him a little bit? That's a choice. That's the acting choice. Some people they get mad. Don't believe me. Because I'm a prostitute. You see those little things make your, your, your, your perform, not perform you portrayal of Diane so much more powerful. Instead of just like going at him because I'm prostitute, smoke at them a little bit. That's just one choice. So we're getting into some choices here. Okay. So let's go back to I'm the one who was raped. I'm the one who was right. You don't believe me? Because I'm a processing. Good. Now this time I want you to, we're gonna build again, let's do another choice. I want you to say it again this time I want you to lean in. Now, you can't do that onset usually on a set like if you're doing a real I would say as a director, I wanted to lean in because it affects the shot. Right. Okay. Got it. Okay. Let's start with I'm the one who's right. I'm the one who's right. You don't believe me. Why? Because I'm a prostitute. See how movement can add so much to your performance as well. Okay, now we're gonna go back to the beginning. We're going to add that in. We're building. We're building. Who is Diane? Diane, She's got some nice dinner. She killed somebody, I guess you would write. Alright, so we're gonna go back to the one to the beginning. And we're going to keep building until we can I don't want to rush it because I can tell you're good. Yeah, Good. We're going to tear it down and then build it back up. Click Okay. All right. No smoking in here, man. I'm having a really bad day. As you can see. Just trying to make things a little lighter sense. I'm the one who was right. What you don't believe me? Because I'm a prostitute. See what she did? Yes. Okay. Do you see the difference? Yes. This is where we're getting to. We're building, we're building. Now. I want to go back. Very, very good. That first part. Yeah, wow. Really bad day. You could see, you see, give it a little lightness to it. A little bit, very little. But it's almost like I just got the crap beat out of me and break. What do you expect me to? Some people, they can go to **** in a hand basket and they still will keep coming at you. Almost keep living. I want you to just be like really bad days you can see. Alright, so let's go back. So let's just choices again. There's no smoking in here, ma'am. Well, watch it. Watch it. Because it isn't true to who she is. It's true to who Kim is, but it's not true to who Diane is. Okay. There's no smoking in here, ma'am. Yeah. I'm having a really bad day. As you can see. Just try to make things a little lighter. Besides, I'm the one who was right. Weren't you don't believe me? Because I'm a prostitute. Good. Now just resist that. Need to feel like animated. You know what I mean? Now if you look at the actors that are out there, look at Denzel, Sidney Poitier, look at whomever, the grades, I call them Viola Davis. They're kind of set apart from now. We're all African-Americans. Black would have one call us. They are different levels of actors, just like there's the a list to be List. See this? Denzel, you know what he told his his, his manager or his agent, send me all the roles that Harrison Ford is turning down. What we're, what we're doing here is it's like you can play any role if you want to be an error. Why not? If you want to be a scientist, why not? You see that's why we don't, we don't do a certain industry type. We're gonna do whatever. Most of our clients are all black. But we haven't played all kinds of different things because we are all kinds of different things. We're not just drug dealers, right? Not just pushers or that's not who we are. And it's not even just were not that I'm very passionate masking sidebar. Let's go back. Okay, we're gonna build on it. We're gonna go into the rape. Could you tell me what happened shortly before the rape? Because that's what it was there. Watch your mouth though. You have a tendency to purse your lips a lot. You know what I mean? Learned to relax just right there like that. Learn to relax your list because you'll, you'll, you know what I'm saying, you know what you do. You're person a lot even when I asked him, I see you doing it. And that's good as Kim. But as Diane try to refrain. So we're gonna go back to one. We're going to go all the way through which he starts telling the story. I was on my way home. The guy, he was an old customer. You need to know what you mean by that. We mean by that. Okay. So we're gonna go from the beginning. 8. Acting Choices: Hi, This is Cynthia. Today we're gonna talk about acting choices. As I said before, there are no good or bad choices. Some simply serve the story better and others serve the actor. And being a great actor means knowing the difference between serving the story and serving the character. The choices you make as an actor form the relationships between your character, the world around him or her, as well as the other characters. All of these relationships enhance the storyline that I believe acting as a deep and intimate struggle and a triumph to create a character that will fit into the story arc. You're asking the audience to come along with you for the journey. When an actor makes a choice for a character and usually has to do with the following elements. Does your character have certain ticks? Perhaps it's the way he walks or talks, or twirls or hair around her finger. Does your character laugh when they're nervous or get violent when they're mad, or do they disconnect and show no emotion at all? All of these actions or behaviors go into creating your character choices while building your character is all about the story arc. Now these choices tend to be long range and are very prepared by the actor. But there are choices that can be moment-to-moment within the story value or scene of a film. These moment-to-moment choices, sometimes influenced by the environment around them. They also make your character more relatable to the viewer. Now, it has to be said that any choice that you make should be discussed with the director who has the full vision of the story and the film. Because the storytelling and shooting and production schedule can be long and arduous and sometimes things change, but that doesn't negate the fact that you have to do your preparation. Really, really dig deep when it comes to creating your character or those physical things that we talked about. It's not something that you can just come to set and try to create right at that moment. Now I know sometimes you don't get the whole script and you may get only your scenes. You have to try to fill in the blanks. If it's based on a book, you can definitely purchase the book and read it to get a more comprehensive view into the characters and what the overall story is about being an actor means being a good researcher. Dig deep. If there's something that has to do with astronomy, then learn about it. It's that kind of passion that we'll come across so powerfully when you're portraying your character. Like I said, there are no right or wrong choices, but choices that more so serve the character or the actor will stick out like a sore thumb. And no one wants that type of attention. You want your character to strengthen the storyline and to add to the protagonist's journey. Now if it's a comedy, this genre tends to be about the antics of the protagonists. The story may loosely be told at times, but still there must be a story behind it. Now we're going to talk about moments within a scene. Let's look at some of the choices that actors have made over the years in the film hustlers. Jennifer Lopez made a choice To do the pole dance rather than the insinuation of just finishing the pole dance in the scene for decision was based on the desire to show the audience who her character was, why she was so valuable to the club. And also by gaining the experience of dancing on the pole. She added so much to her characters truth within the film, leukopenia and Django, one of the greatest young actresses of our time, stresses two actors to do your homework, like we said before, really dig in. You can't come to a set without any knowledge of who the person is you're portraying. You cannot deliver lines with just emotion. It has to be felt from a real place of knowing. You can never totally play another person, but you can add to the volume of their life and how it speaks on film. Now it's up to the actor to get as close as they can to the character's point of view within the narrative. How far in the rabbit hole do you want to go as far as knowing who this person is? Now when an actor is making a moment-to-moment choice, these choices can be changed by some of the following circumstances. The shoot location, does the environment around you cause you to make a different acting choice? Is the environment hectic busy. Another external reason for you making a different choice is simply the other actor you within the scene perhaps, or energy is not giving you that push, pull kind of tension that you need to get to a certain place. Or perhaps even if you got to the certain place, it would seem off because where they are simply not where you are. These are the things that you need to kind of feel out, especially if there has been little to no rehearsal between you and the other actor. If it's simply not the energy that you really, really need from the actor or the intensity, then you need to go into your arsenal, your toolkit as I put it, and be prepared to make choices that are ultimately going to serve the moment, the scene, the story. Let's take a scene from the Titanic on the deck. Cow and Rose are having breakfast that morning. Cal explodes at rows for stealing time away with Jack. Now this was written in the script for Billy veins character to throw the table across the room and hover over rows in an intimidating manner. Now after that, the action in the script was to stay agitated until he walks away. But Billy Zane, the actor, chose to bring his performance way down in such a way that it caused fear and intimidation in Roses reaction. And of course, by Kate Winslet, the actors reaction who plays Rose, gives proof of an effective performance by Belizean in the film, the help Viola Davis gives a slight nuance. In a very moving scene. At the end, she's simply exhales. There were so many emotions behind this very simple gesture. The wonderful thing about the choice that she made is the audience can feel and interpret her moment that feels right for them. And after Biola is character leaves the house, little main Mobley begins yelling and screaming after her nanny. So much so that Ms. Davis again made another choice that was not in the script. She bends over almost an agony about leaving this little girl only to gather her strength and begin walking again. You see the script is only the beginning. Great performances and great choices can take the script to another level of storytelling and bringing your uniqueness and who your character is. Where the words leap off the page and onto the screen and into the hearts of the audience. 9. Live Coaching: Visualizing It: No smoking in here, man. I'm having a really bad day. As you can see. Britain, make sure you, what am I going to stop you on really bad day, a bad day. Having a really bad day. Because you can see it doesn't have to be like the sad, but you're like, I'm having a really bad day. As you can see. There's no spoken in here, man. I'm having a really bad day. As you can see, just trying to make things a little later. Besides, I'm the one who was raped. And I want you to give me a beat after lighter. And it's shorter. A little bit means it's a little chuckle like just trying to make things a little lighter. And then take a beat after that because now it's going to get serious again, besides I'm the one who was right. Let's go back to the top. There's no smoking in here, ma'am. Well, I'm having a really hard on why don't we start with what you don't believe me. What? You don't believe me. Why? Because I'm a prostitute. Could you tell me what happened shortly before the right? Because that's what it was. I was on my way home. I was on my way home. The guy there was an old customer, a little bit fast, slow down. He was an old customer. He followed me home. He must he must have thought he wasn't entitled. So he then that's when you use your imagination. Storytelling like this. You kind of imagine, if you close your eyes, you think, OK, picture yourself. It's a dark street. We see the row houses and their streetlights, sidewalks, and it's dark. You're on your way home, you're walking. The guy. You look back, you see him following you. It's kind of creepy. Then you recognize them. It's an old customer. Biology all the way home. So just kind of visualize that as you're talking about. Start with could you tell me what happened shortly before the right? Because that's what it was. I was on my way home. Bring it down all out on home. Is that allowed? Was on my way home. I was on my way home. The guy was an old customer. Follow Me Home. Must have thought he was entitled. And he thought his way into my apartment. My kids were asleep home by themselves. My oldest daughter, Shonda, she's 16. He had a gun, put it to my hate and told me he will pull the trigger. If a screen, that's all my keys, go back to sleep. To go back to sleep? No. I told my kids to go back into the bedroom. Say it again. I tell my kids to go back into the bedroom. He finish bring it down because he just rape you. Finish. He said he wanted to go at the finish. He said that he wanted to go in my daughter. My daughter must be a slip customer. Mommy wanted to do bedroom and grab Sean, rather neck on the couch. He started ripping off her clothes. I couldn't let that best to write. My baby took the gun, he left on the floor. Behind him. Pull the trigger. You know, the worst part was say my baby's face when he felt there was a price to pay. But it was all worth it. Good. Now we're gonna, we're gonna do some more work here. Because again, making that audience feel like it's so real, real. And that requires some visualization. We're not gonna do Stanislavski where all depressing, but use some what-ifs. Use your imagination. What if you had a daughter, you know, what if that happened? This is your child run some crazy drunk and just interim and he goes in. Any drags your own your child out and those are on the sofa. But it wouldn't be your your your recalling something. And usually when someone's recalling something traumatic, there's a disconnect. But very good work. See the adjustments you made, right? Yes. Okay. So very nice. Oh, wow. But just the adjustments that you made were very, very good. So we're gonna go through the first part again. I don't know if you're coming back next week, but if you do, I'd like you to have This whole thing memorize Docker. Then we'll start building on the character even more. So we have fake cigarettes in the back, will add a prop. We'll start building on and move probably shoot like in the interrogation room next time. Where you feel more like you're in the environment around you. That is integral to the actor in being able to be a part of the universe that the director and the writer have created. Slow down. I would say what we're gonna do the first part one more time. If you want to make notes and what maybe you need to work on or just indicate there needs to be a beat there or you need to slow down a little bit more in this area. Let's try it again. Good work though. You took the adjustment is very well. Thank you. There's no smoking in here, man. I'm having a really bad day and you can see just trying to make things a little lighter. The sides. I'm the one who was raped. Going to stop there now I want to give you an adjustment. When you say yeah, well, I'm having a really bad day as you can see. Just trying to make things a little lighter. Besides the one who was right. They should be in a little playful even though she just wanted to ****. But she's a survivor, right? Martin Cave. You can even do a move right there and just kind of sit back. There's no smoking in here, ma'am. Well, I'm having a really bad day. As you can see. Just trying to make things a little light. Besides that was a little rushed. Try and make them see how you'd be in that moment. Don't worry about. It seemed like forever before you talk. The greatest acting happens when you're not talking, right? There's no smoking in here, man. I'm having a really bad day, as you can see. Just trying to make it a little lighter. Besides I'm the one who was right. Weren't you don't believe me. Why? Because I'm a prostitute. I was getting to engage. Could you tell me what happened shortly before? And then you cut me off the rate of rape because that's what it was. I was on my way home. Are you imagining? I was on my way home? The guy was an old customer. He followed me home. He must have thought he was entitled. So he forced his way to my apartment. My kids were asleep home by themselves. My oldest daughter, Shonda, she's 16. He had a gun. 10. Research and Development: Do you do any research when you're developing your character? For instance, let's say your character has PTSD or schizophrenia. Do you do research on those conditions? What kind of experiences are they really having? The next thing I want to talk about is, are you a good observer? Do you observe people, even the people that you know and love? And also of course, strangers. As an actor, it's imperative that you observe human nature. Watch people very closely. What are their chicks, what are their behaviors? What type of resting phase do they have? And by that I mean, when they're not talking, Do they have a face that looks angry? Do they have a face that looks worried or sad or Glad? These are things you can use in your arsenal for developing the emotional state of your character. Now that we touched a little bit on the physicality of a character, let's delve into the emotional and inner life of your character. But before that first, let me ask you a question. Do you know who you are on the inside? It's kind of difficult to try to portray a character and get to know that person inside out if you're not even aware of your own emotions and what motivates you as a person in establishing an emotional and inner thought. Like it's not enough for you to say of your character. I'm angry. What has to happen and what the actor has to understand is what makes their character angry. What are some of your own emotional triggers? Then you're able to apply them to the character. What triggers emotion in your character? Is it injustice? Is it racism, violence? Is it certain social issues? What makes your character happy? These are things that you need to explore instead of just in your mind or in your thoughts while you're preparing for a scene, stating that you have a certain emotion. That's great and that will probably be effective to some extent, but it's great to delve a little deeper to understand why your character is happy. What makes them happy, what makes them sad, what makes them angry? One of the triggers of anyone's emotions is their belief system and their thought life. Thoughts are very, very powerful. They create seeds in your life and choices that you make, and habits and lifestyles. Now these are some of the questions you should ask yourself about your character. What do they want out of life? What drives them? What truly motivates them? What do they think of themselves on the inside? What do they think of the world around them? What do they think of others? That makes all the difference in the world? Age is definitely a factor in creating your character experiences that your character has had over the years. If you're playing, let's say an 80-year-old woman in prosthetic makeup, you're gonna move differently. You're going to think differently. You're gonna laugh differently. You're gonna get angry differently than you would as a 20-year-old. And another question, where, where were you born? This creates and makes up your social economic status. Where were you born? Were you born in Compton or were you born in a high-class neighborhood and Connecticut? And the big question is why? The why is, why does your character act the way they do? Why does your character react the way they do? All these things can be answered when you begin to delve into the inner thought light of that character. Whether they're male, whether they're female. If a person is distrustful, they might come off as the life of the party to deflect any intimacy they might have with other people. And I don't mean sexual intimacy. Intimacy in friendship and in relationship. Do they deflect people trying to get close to them? Or they just angry and just want to keep people away altogether. These are things that you need to take into consideration when you are developing your character. Now let's do a little bit of an experiment. I want you to take a character that you have seen in a movie or you've played in the past. Now I want you to take a piece of paper and I want you to write down some of the thoughts that they might be thinking. I don't mean emotional thoughts, like I am angry, I am sad. I mean, their thoughts about the world. These are thoughts that will definitely give birth to the seed of a mindset and a belief system about your character and who they are and how they relate to this world. Have you gotten your thoughts written down? What I'd like you to do next is I want you to say it aloud. Now when you hear yourself saying it, it might not be what your perspective about life is, but it may be about the character you've played or scene in a movie. Now think about it. If this person is constantly playing that record of thoughts through their mind, what kind of person are they going to be on the inside? Are they going to be broken? Are they going to be constantly angry or fearful? Fear manifests in so many different ways. Fear can manifest as anger. There's a lot of things that you can incorporate in the behavior based on the thought life of the character. Remember, you're sharing your soul with a character that you created based on a narrative that was created in the mind of a writer. It's not about the words, but what you do with them, how you express them, filtered through the world of your character and how he sees his world or her world. Thoughts are very, very powerful as I said before. And they can take on a life of their own, even in the actor's life. With the Stanislavski system, those actors who follow that system believe in being in character from the time the camera starts rolling till it ends meet and I didn't drop care to two, they've done a DVD commentary. They stay in that emotional thought like, I wouldn't recommend it because it can take you down a dark rabbit hole where sometimes you just won't be able to recover. Circumstances were actors have gone into deep depressions and have even become suicidal because of the darkness of the character that they portrayed. Well, I hope you've been tuning in and are engaged with what we've been talking about as far as the acting process and building characters. I'll see you next week. Take care. 11. Live Coaching: It's not about the words: Okay, now we're gonna stop here. Try not to make it weren't on. The cadence is turning sort of like an a pattern. So be careful that you don't get into a pattern. And it's like he did the data, data, data, data. You can take some words out to, you know, like I would say here, because there's a lot of he's in this one. I was on my way home. The guy is an old customer. Follow me home. You don't have to say he followed me home. He follow me home. He must have thought he was entitled. And then we'll take out. So he said he had a gun. I was trying to get the detective to know, Look, I'm a prostitute, just might have follow me, but he had a gun. I'm trying to get him like some kind of way I want you to believe me, but I didn't get that. So I was like, Okay, how can I get that? You see what I'm saying? You say My oldest daughter, Shonda, she's 16. Like because he's saying He's judging you. Write homebound cells, daughter Shonda, she's 16. Almost like a little ad. Sorry the man again, something like a god. Because what you were doing was saying he had a gun. I didn't get that so far. You have to ask the other character, make me know. That's what you're saying. Well, now, he had gone yeah. He had to go there to go put it to my head and told me that he will pull the trigger. Let's go back one more time and do it. And I want you to just take your time. Again. It's not so much about the words, it's about the feeling behind the words. It's about what you're not saying. Even when you're quiet, you're saying more. All right. Remember slow it down. I know you call reading but you're doing great. Thank you. Wow, for someone who cold read, well, this is a smoking in here, man. I'm having a really bad day. As you can see. Just trying to make things a little lighter. I'm the one who was raped. You don't believe me. Why? Because I'm a prostitute. Could you tell me what happened shortly before the rape? Because that's what it was. I was on my way home. The guy was an old customer. Follow me home. He must have thought he was entitled. So he he forced his way into my apartment. My kids were sweet home by themselves. My oldest daughter, Shonda, she's 16. He had a gun. He put it to my head and told me that he will pull the trigger. If a screen. Good, Good. You got so much better. Ice is very nice, very nice. Watch you don't punch those words though at the end, he told me he would pull the trigger if I scream. He told me he had a gun. He told me we'll pull this trigger and fast gray. So you can go bring the cadence along a little bit faster there. As you grow and learn, you'll instinctively know when you can speed it up just a hair. Because if you feel like you're getting into a pattern, got to change it up. Okay. Very good. Thank you a lot for you. It was a lot. Okay. I'm gonna say this chunk because this is a chunk and this needs to be pulled apart. But I hope you'll enjoy the time. I will definitely be back next week. 12. Character Relationships: Today we're gonna talk about character relationships and the uniqueness of a character's experience in relating to other characters within the narrative. It's important to understand that relationships can be complicated. Oh, that's your characters outlook on life lens to the dynamic of their relationships. For instance, if your character has a traumatic past, his or her relationships may be riddled with distrust, antagonism, or abusive in nature themselves. According to Sanford Meissner, actors react to the other actors within the scene. This is true, but as the character, not the actor in the narrative, there is a deeper connection and how the characters relate to one another, not just react to one another. Just like in real life relationships, connections take time and they deepen with interaction. And these connections are founded on your character's inner life, thought life, and emotional being. One character is perceived as antagonistic by the other character. It could be the first characters inner thought life that brings antagonism into the relationship. Haven't you ever seen people that no matter what relationships they have, they're always very toxic. Well, it starts with that person. If they have toxic inner thoughts, if they believe that everyone's out to get them or hurt them, they are going to create a self-fulfilling prophecy and their relationships will mirror their inner thought life. Also know that the relationships that your characters has with other characters are gonna be different based on the type of relationship. For instance, you would not relate to your mother or father the same way you would relate to your spouse or your child. And also think about if there are strangers that your character interacts with within the narrative, how is he or she relate to these people? Depending on the character, this might be a platform for him or her to act out or to be the life of the party, or to be something that he or she simply is not. If your character is an introvert, for example, he or she might react to a stranger in a way that's very counter-intuitive to who they really are on the inside. Reacting to strangers is basically a blank slate when it comes to your character. Meaning this, your character's inner thought and emotional life will not react to a stranger in the truest way unless provoked. Rarely do you see people interact with strangers as their true self. Now you're asking yourself, why do I have to do all these things? Why can't I just learn my lines? Get in front of the camera and deliver my lines with great feeling and emotion. That may work to an extent, but that depends on how good you are at emoting and making it look like the real thing. That's a great starting place for actors. But you never want to finish there. You want to create a character that is believable to an audience that they will invest two hours of their time at least to go on the journey with your character. Now let's talk about more intimate relationships such as family and close friends. How does your character relate, not react to these people in their lives? There's a big difference in relating to someone and reacting to someone. Because with relating to someone you're getting to know them. You're bringing down your emotional walls and you're investing in their life, and they're investing in yours. Reacting to someone is very much a shallow emotional interaction. When you're observing other people around, you, make note of those things and see how you can use ever elements of people's lives to graft into your own character. And also remember when it comes to relating to other characters in the story. It is the characters that are closest to your character that are going to take the brunt of your inner thoughts and emotions because they will most likely find a way out and land on those that are closest to you, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Next week we'll talk about how your life mirrors and life of your character and how you bring bits and pieces of yourself into developing your character. See you then. 13. Live Coaching: Using a Prop: Okay, So we'll do it again. And again. Nothing you extra you need to do as Kim. Just tell me a story. You did great. I see I see Diana coming out. No smoking. I'm having a really bad day as you can see. Just try to make things a little lighter. Besides, I'm the one who was right. You are right. If you don't believe me. Because I'm a processor, because you tell me what happened shortly before the rape? Because that's what it was. I was on my way home, the guy bring it in. I must have been an O customer. That view your activity active? He must have been o customer. Started on I was on my way home. The guy he was no customer. I was on my way home. A guy who was no customer. Follow Me Home. Must have thought he was entitled. So he forces where tomorrow apartment. My kids were asleep by themselves. My oldest daughter, Shonda, she's 16, wash the hand gun. He put it to my head and told me he will pull the trigger if scoring. I told my kids to go back into the room. After he finished. He said that he wanted to have a go at my daughter. My daughter must be a slip because her mommy's he went into the bedroom graph shown above the neck. And through on the couch. He started to rip off her shirt. Best rape. My daughter, walked up behind and I pulled the trigger. You know, the worst part is when he fell on top of my daughter was seeing my baby's face when he fell on top of her. I got confused. I'm sorry. There's a price to pay and it was worth it. I was right. There was a price to pay, but it was better. It was better. But there was at Tennessee you got the struggle going on where you want to you want us to feel like you've gotta do more. And I got to China. I think what I was trying to do was you said a little emotion. So what I was trying to do instead of fighting back my emotions, that's what I was trying to do. And try to steal be like detective light, yellow on the inside. I'm crying, but a mad as **** because he broke my door. Nano I'm trying to be strong in front of you. So you won't see me break down for rape my daughter, but my insides is like, right, all messed up. That's good. And I think you've got a great foundation for how you want to portray the character. That, but it's also all the peripheral stuff, meaning all the stuff that your behaviors, physicality, the head moving, I don't know. It's a little distracting. So you're saying all these great things to me. I mean great. I mean, really deep things. But what's happening is it's a little distracting with the head movements and the inflections and the hand movements. So you got to bring all that in. And what you said was good to leave my hand down and just use the other hand. When you bought the cigarette up. Props are powerful because as soon as you brought it up, it was like your need to do those big gestures and things went away. Just like I'm just sitting here talking to a cop, smoking. So that's, I think we're actors get hung up in performances that are acting is they feel like they have to do for themselves. Like I got to be emotional, raise my voice or do my hands or you have to do is be that person when you were talking to me as the cop, who was so natural, wonder where it was good is excellent. We will find that the camera, think of the cameras like a magnifying glass. So everything that you do is magnify ten times over. What you think is your new and nothing. The camera sees it ten times bigger. If you do something like this, is the camera's going to look at, especially if it's a medium close-up, but it's going to look very animated. So I want you to do it again. I want you to make sure you bring it in. Even on I was on my way home because there's a beat there, but you kinda start coming up on it. The rape because that's what it was. I loved the way you did that. Because you've got that spiciness came out in her. Then what I want you to do when you say the rape because that's what it was. I want you to lean back because that's what I want you to. After you say that lean back, take that beat. I was on my way home. The guy who was an old customer following me home, he must have thought he was entitled. So he forced his way into my apartment. Kids were asleep home by themselves. My oldest daughter is 16. Look away. When you recall and stuff, you can even look away instead of always looking at me. All right. So let's go back. And it should be that I mean, that subdued that down because the intensity will be there. Your performance. There's no smoking in here, man. I'm having a really bad day, as you can see. Shot to make things a little lighter. Besides, I'm the one who was raped. Don't hide your mouth. Besides I'm the one who was ranked. You don't believe me? Because I'm a process. Could you tell me what happened shortly before the right? Because that's what it was. Just a little too closely and welcome. Could you just tell me what happened shortly before the right? Because that's what it was. I was on my way home to go up and down. You're going to take that beat. Currently lean back and relax until the storage. Because what you're doing is trying to go up again. When you're going to come down. Let's go back. I'll tell you I'll say could you tell me what happened shortly before the right? Because that's what it was. I was on my way home. The guy who was an old customer, you're starting to come up and animated down. Okay. Could you tell me what happened shortly before the right? Because that's what it was. Was on my way home. The guy who was an old customer, follow me home. He must authority was entitled. So he he forces where it's tomorrow apartment. Marquez were asleep. I want you to say that again. I didn't believe it and I'll be honest with you when I say I don't believe it. So you can give me we can get to that point where I do believe it. Could you tell me what happened shortly before the rate? Because that's what it was. That was on my way home. I want you to give me a beat. Remember after that's what it was. I want you to set up that was on my way home. Guy. He was an old customer. Must have thought he was entitled because he does. Okay. So give me a beat after that because when you're not giving me that beat, you're not really thinking you're not having that time to recall what happened. Saying you just started saying your lines. You know what I mean? Okay. Okay. Could you tell me what happened that night? Because that's what it was. I was on my way home. The guy who was an old customer, Follow Me Home. Muscle thought it was entitled. So he he forced his way into my apartment. My kids were sweet home by themselves. My oldest daughter, she's 16. He had a gun, put it in my head and told me about scoring. He will pull the trigger. My kids I go back into the bedroom. The finished he said that he wanted my daughter, Shonda. You say to her, does she must be a slept because her mom wanted to the bedroom and gouache about a nick on a couch. Shadow, grab the gun. He left on the floor. Walked up behind him. Portraiture. You know, the worst part, the same our baby face when he phenol top bar. That was a price to pay. I couldn't let that Best of Breed my daughter, but it was all worth it much better. You see what you could do if you stop acting. All right. If you just stop acting and feel like I have to do this, I have to move my head, I have to do something because the cameras watching me. Just you and me. You and me, all the focus should be on me. You're not playing for the camera. Just you and I having a conversation, telling a story. Very good. That was that was that was good. You should really feel good about that. 14. Outro: Thank you for watching. I hope what I share it helps you along your journey as an actor, I will be posting more videos in the near future. If you would like me to touch on a specific topic, leave a comment and don't forget to rate the course. Thanks for tuning in.