Directing Performance - How to Talk to Actors

1. Introduction: Hi, my name is Sebastimttiaz Weisbach and welcome to directing performance, how to talk to Actors. I'm an actor and director from Bowl in Germany. And in this course I'm going to be your instructor as we learn how to direct performance, AKA how to talk to actors. I recently completed my first indie feature film, Stutter, and teach camera acting at Catalyst Institute for Creative Arts and Technology. So I not only have experience working with seasoned actors, but also with young students who haven't had the chance to gather that much experience yet. Directing performance is one of the trickiest parts of being a filmmaker, because making adjustments to how an actor approaches apart and giving meaningful feedback isn't as straightforward as adjusting the color temperature on an LED fixture. Not only newcomers, but even seasoned filmmakers, will often get that crucial element of being a direct or wrong, resulting in subpar performances. And here's the thing, a few tech people on the Youtube comments might be able to tell you that you're underexposed by one stop and introduce noise into your footage, but everyone immediately can tell the stilted performance. So how do you get it right? How do you communicate with actors effectively? And how do you make sure that you turn your film in a collaborative effort to get the best results? In this class, I'm going to teach you the same techniques that actors use in classes, studies, and workshops. We are working with techniques from some of the biggest acting practitioners, such as Constantine Stanislavski, Stella Adler, or Li Strasburg. And because this is an online course and not a cult, we don't strictly adhere to any one practitioner. We just mix and match and see what works. Through these techniques, we will get a better understanding of the journey of the actor and we'll be able to provide better feedback and dynamic results. You will learn to speak the same language that actors do, because directing is all about communication. Like every other profession, actors use a very specific language. And after this course, working with trained actors will be a breeze because you as a filmmaker will speak the same language. You'll be fluent, an actor so to speak. And if you're working with actors with less experience, then you will be able to help them grow throughout the lessons in this class. And while there are great resources out there by Hollywood directors on how to direct, I find that most of these classes are only really applicable if you are directing a Hollywood budget movie. The techniques you will learn in this class will be applicable on any level, on de, film sets, stage productions, coachings, acting classes, or even if you want to improve your own delivery of keynotes. Directing actors isn't merely one of the most fun and most rewarding parts of the work of a filmmaker and director. It's also free production design, lighting set ups, even best catering. All of these things cost lots of money. But if you can truly leverage the time spent with the actors, either rehearsals or on set, you can create more. With less. At the end of this class, you are tasked with producing one of two scripts. One suitable for one person and one dialogue scene for two. If you read these scenes now as they are on the page, you might be inclined to say, well, there's really not that much there. It's a bit bare bones and that's exactly the point these zero text scenes could swing in either direction. They are designed to be a playground for your creativity and for the creativity of the actor. Open it, open it. This is open. They are to paraphrase the great Stella Adler, the mere skeleton. It is the job of the actor and the director to slab some muscle onto these bones. For this project, you can keep the set up fairly simple. The less you think about the tech, the better want to do the scene in one long one. Take great one simple set up on a tripod. Perfect. This course isn't about blending the technical and visual aspects of filmmaking or the work with the actor just yet. It's really focused on communicating with actors, delivering better directions, and offering clearer guidance. Of course, this online class is not only valuable for directors, but also for actors workshop instructors, tutors, and coaches. If you're an actor, just film the project as you would film, self tape and use the techniques from this course to learn to better direct yourself and level up your work from the very moment you put your hands on the script. So let's get you started on your journey at becoming a master communicator and well rounded director. Action. I don't know. So I should really slate before I say action by the action, no action. 2. The Objective - Character Motivation for Actors: Chapter two, the objective. It's one of the biggest cliches in acting and it dates back to the beginnings of what we would now consider modern acting theory. An actor asking what's my motivation? Or in other terms, why am I doing what I'm doing in the broadest sense? And speaking in Konstantin Amizlavski's words, that is what we call the objective. Each character has an objective in every scene and a super objective for the overall play or screenplay. Sometimes these are also referred to as the scene objective and the overall objective, but the meaning behind them remains consistent. Here's an example from pop culture. In Empire Strikes Back, Luke wants to defeat the remnants of the galactic empire. That is the super objective of the character. And that super objective in turn informs all the other objectives. Because Luke knows he needs Jedi training. As soon as he crash lands on Dagoba, his objective is I want to find Yoda, the Jedi Master. What exactly does objective mean though? What do I, as my character want? All of the actions within a scene are driven by that motivation. And changing that objective alone can massively impact how an actor approaches the scene and drives an organic performance. Organic, in this context means a performance that is natural and logical within the confines of the script and the genre. It's a better term to use than naturalistic or realistic spider Man shooting as web slingers or me and Sebastian bursting into a song in Lala Land aren't realistic actions, but they are organic. They make sense in the context of the films and worlds that were set up. How does an objective transform a performance? Take a scene where a character sits down at a piano to play a song for another character. Now, that's a fairly clear action and straightforward enough, but why exactly does our character enter the scene and start playing the piano? Let's say our pianist wants to seduce the other character so they play their song and can smoothly fall into the keys, maybe keeping playful eye contact as they do so. Or let's say they want to impress the other character because they've taken piano lessons and secret and now they want to show off. When you imagine both scenes back to back, can you see how vastly different the body language of the characters would be even if you were to change nothing else but the objective? Or imagine this. Our pianist knows that their spouse was murdered in a jazz club while a particular song was playing. And now they want to incriminate the murderer by playing that song back to them. Perfect mouse trap. Here are a few neat tips when it comes to objectives. First person is encouraged. When actors talk about their objectives, they should speak in first person. I want this, I want that using the character as a linguistic barrier. My character wants to have a biscuit, only creates unnecessary distance. I, as my character, want a good objective and a biscuit. Specific inputs lead to specific outcomes. A good objective should be clear and precise. Try and be specific. When you talk to your actors about objectives, I want to show you how much you hurt me is a clear objective. I want to tell you something is a vague objective that would fit almost any character in any scene. Make it visceral, where possible. Acting isn't just an intellectual process. It's emotional. It's about instincts and gut reactions. If you create visceral objectives, you are more likely to spark emotional reactions and spontaneous impulses in your actors. As to how much an actor will lean into the objective within the confines of a character and scene will depend on various factors. But think about this, which objective sounds more interesting? I want to walk out of the room as quickly as possible, or I want to escape. I want to be mean to you, or I want to destroy you. Even I want to destroy you can look vastly different depending on whether said destruction is delivered by JK. Simmons and whiplash, or in the form of a sick burn by Alicia Silverstone and clues. Because the objective is one of the foundational aspects of scenic analysis, it'll be one of the starting points for a script breakdown. Usually the first thing an experienced actor will map out, granted, some more. Experienced actors won't commit their objectives to paper, but just vibe with the scene, but they will still know even if they know instinctively rather than intellectually. The core of dramatic conflict usually lies within the incompatibility of two characters objectives. One cop wants to abide by the law, the other cop believes in revenge conflict right from the get go. Just because these two characters that were tossed into a scene have objectives, setting them on different incompatible paths and isn't that interesting. In conclusion, the objective is the structure map that outlines the scene without too many specifics. Without this initial plotting of the course, working on the details won't matter too much. If a plane can't take off, you don't have to worry too much about the inflight menu. Directors and actors should both know what the characters objectives and super objectives are. And then you can both figure out which ones work best for the plot and create the most dramatic and compelling conflict. 3. Actions - Actionable Verbs, Beats, and Tactics: Detector three, actions. Okay, now we know what we want, but how do we get it? In order to become better actors, actors will need to learn better verbs. Because every new verb will allow an actor to think action in a unique and creative way. And the same goes for you as a director. Let's look at this idea for a minute and what the implication here is. A lot of times rookie filmmakers and rookie actors alike will think in adjectives, do the scene again but angry and now happy, and now sad. Perfection, but acting as an act of process, act as our actors, not emots. It's not about the emotions. It's about the actions. If done right, the emotions happen as a mere side effect of the actions and interactions with other performers. In order to truly craft an organic performance, you would be looking for transitive, actionable verbs. But this isn't a grammar course. What exactly does that mean? Well, a transitive verb is a verb that transitions from one person to another. I something something you. Common examples are, I teach you, I threaten you, I seduce you, and so on and so forth. They are actionable because they can be turned into meaningful actions. They create a clear action for an actor to execute and something that they can do in the scene to their partner. The emotions and reactions are merely a welcome side effect of the actions. It is through the actions that we create a dynamic and interesting scene. These actions, particularly in a dialogue, also add an element of unpredictability to the performance. Not everything can be mapped out in great detail, and thus the performance truly comes to life with the objective being what you as your character want to achieve. The actions or tactics map out a trajectory for how you want to achieve it. The process of breaking an objective down into various actions is also referred to as actioning. Talking to your actors and actions will help you guide them more precisely through the journey of their character, and yet maintain a certain element of surprise. But what are actionable verbs? Pretty much any verb can be actionable. There are a few great resources available, like actions, the acts Thesaurus. But to get you started, here's a few examples to challenge, to question, to console, to tempt, to confess, to intimidate, the list goes on. I would recommend not shying away from using really strong physical action verbs, like shield or assault, as they can trigger an initial reaction in your actor and create an interesting physicality and psychophysical process. Working with actions has one added benefit. It brings a scene to life, whereas an emotion is static. To ensnare someone is an active process. A tactic that can help a character achieve their goal. And then when it runs into a break wall, needs to be swapped out for a different tactic to break it down. Here's how to talk to your actor about the character and make sure you're on the same page. Every character has one super objective, that is what the character wants throughout the entire film or play. For every scene, a character will have one objective. There are a few exceptions, most notably scenes around the act break. So whenever something crucial for the plot happens, there is a good chance that a character's objective will change mid scene. But normally one scene, one objective. An objective tells us what a character wants. An action tells us how they are going to get it. Here's your mini exercise for the class project. Break the script down per character and identify the objective and at least three actions the character takes in order to achieve said objective. Ask your actors about their objectives and actions and see if you want to create a performance from your idea, from theirs, or find something entirely new in the process, some practitioners, coaches, and actors will break their script down into one action per bit of dialogue. I personally think that that makes a character too changeable and malleable, resulting in an almost predictably schizophrenic performance. I'd much rather see an action carried out to its natural conclusion. But that's me, Find out what works best for your vision and collaboration. The next thing to know about is beats. A beat signifies a shift In action verbs, often actors will literally draw a vertical line, mid dialogue to indicate a beat. Depending on how the script was written, it might also indicate the beats. It'll literally say beat or caps. Because these beats are such crucial character moments, it's important to find the perfect spot and pacing for them. Strong and sudden beats are perfectly suited for fast paced comedies, whereas beats and dramas tend to be a bit softer, more meandering. In conclusion, actionable verbs or tactics are what is used in order for a character to achieve their objective. A good rule to work with in order to craft a compelling journey for a scene is the rule of threes. An objective should be broken down into at least three actionable verbs or tactics, because that creates a beginning, a middle, and an end. 4. No More Text - Exercises Without Dialogue: Chapter four, ditching the text. If you take nothing else from this course but this following bit, I will still have done my job. If a scene works without dialogue, it works. If it doesn't work without dialogue, the words aren't going to do you much good. Take any great scene from throughout movie history and rewatch it. Worth the sound off, I promise you. What's going on will be just as clear without the dialogue. When rehearsing or blocking, how do you make sure that you can achieve a similar clarity? In this chapter, I will suggest three different methods that will help your actors better understand their characters and have a reason for everything that they do in front of the camera or onstage. These methods will help you, as their director, create more compelling narratives too. The first method is particularly useful for stage productions, but can also work on a film set. For this, you need to be further along in production. Your actors need to know their lines and their actions. Maybe you've even put on a show already. Instead of using the text, actors will engage in a narrative run through. They will narrate their actions to each other and create something akin to a novelized version of the play. I'm charming you, a character could say as they flirtily dance around their scene partner. I find this kind of run useful late in rehearsals for a play or a few shows in, when the actors might feel like they've lost the characters motivations. This can also help the actors discover something new and come up with surprising new actions. The second method is a silent run. The dialogue is completely banned from this run. All actions are played silently. Actors need to find other means of communicating. They can use meaningful looks, body language, distance, and proximity. Anything non verbal goes. This will ask a lot of the actors and they will need to stay attentive and responsive to the actions of their scene partner. If done right, this can create a truly unique interaction between the characters. And showcase that most of communication isn't verbal and doesn't rely on words. This technique can even end up in the final film, or this class project, dare to be silent. And dare the actors to be silent too. Dialogue is always a safe shore. But the marvelously interesting things happen when we're not sure what life has in store for us. This is my grandmother's. It means a lot to me and I want you to have it. Want to do a variation on the silent run. Well, here's a great exercise that comes straight out of Strasbourg. And method acting, this exercise is also really great if you are working with children or younger actors. It's called the gibberish exercise. Your actors will play the scene as they would with the text, but instead of using the actual words on the page, they will simply create a language on the spot, made up language like if your actors are communicating clearly, if their body and voice do all the talking, the words are. But a nice added bonus gibberish exercise is a really fun warm up and make sure that your actors will not only know what they're saying, but also know what's underneath all the words and how they are trying to reach their scene partner. Just try, Let's do the scene again, but this time without the words. Here's the challenge for the course project. Run your entire scene without any dialogue. Focus on blocking and communication. You'll see that marvelous things can happen when we're not thinking too much about the words. In conclusion, the text is just one tool for actors to communicate their intention. And it shouldn't be the main focus of the actor. Removing the words from the equation can really help create and craft a dedicated nuanced and compelling performance. Want to run the classroom project without words? Show me what you can do with just actions in a monologue in given circumstances. 5. Given Circumstances and the 9 Questions: Chapter five, Given Circumstances. The idea of given circumstances was created by Constantine Stanizlovski, and it basically boils down to what's going on around me, what's the vibe here? To fully understand why something that seems so basic is of such historical significance, you have to understand that in Stanizlovsky's time, one of the issues with acting was that actors would just hop on stage and show off exalted emotions without any deeper understanding for the logical journey of the character or the play for that matter. It's like people mimicking emotional lines from movies on Tektok, he coins something called the given circumstances. One of the first analysis techniques any actor needs to undertake just to get a feel for the scene and to make the right logical choices. Sometimes these circumstances are given and sometimes they need to be created. This is also where some Sherlock Holmes style work comes in for actors or directors asking them to deduce what exactly is happening in the scene. Actors will often have to do that for auditions because they only receive a few sides. But directors also need to be flexible with the given circumstances. Because latent production, moving car shoot, might turn into a bike ride. Part of the given circumstances is what is around me. What time is it? Where do I come from as I enter the scene? Where do I go after? What is my class? Gustan az Laski was very much member of the early 20th century Russian bourgeoisie. A very precise way to break down the given circumstances was created by actress and practitioner Utter Hagen the nine questions. If an actor or you as a director can answer these nine questions, then you are pretty much good to go. Number one, who am I? This can be very simple and superficial, like name and age, or broken down further. Physical traits, scars, ethics, psychological history, et cetera. Don't overload your actors with backstory. Keep it straightforward. What matters for them, in the scene, in the play, or in the film. Number two, what time is it? This two can go from abroad, the not too distant future. To more specific, it's 09:15 P.M. time for the train to arrive. The time can also give actors a great research tool. How did people act in the 1950s? Number three, where am I? This can be an office, a cozy child at home, a police station, et cetera. The country and region can also play a massive role in this. Number four, what surrounds me? This is a perfect exercise for actors straying around on set, because it will allow them to take in the sites and see if there is something they can use or get used to. This will also be your job to fill in under certain conditions if you are patching together the space in the editing, for example, where you now see the scenic green screen, we will see the beautiful landscapes of Arizona. Number five, what are my circumstances? This refers to past, present, and future. What happened right before the scene, what is happening in this scene, and what will happen in the next scene? It's important for actors and directors alike to map out and pace the journey of the character. Number six, what are my relationships on a surface level, this refers to the relationships that characters have with each other. But every time an actor enters a space or touches a prop, a new relationship is established. Fine tuning these relationships and ensuring that every relationship to objects and characters as meaningful can fill a performance with life. Number seven, what do I want? This one is quite simple, we've talked about it. That's the objective. The way that actors will typically phrase the objective is a good indication on that. I want something, something, number eight, what's in my way? Ah, the obstacle. In other words, if a character wants something, why don't they just get it? That's where the obstacle comes in. Something that's in the way that forces a character to employ different tactics. An obstacle can be external, something, or someone else, or internal, a fear, a phobia, hesitation, et cetera. Your actors should know about their obstacles, and if you feel like their journey is too straightforward, throw a spanner in their works. No, actually you can't just confess because if the other character finds out, they'll tell your mom. Adjustments like these can easily create contrast and conflict in a scene number nine. How do I get what I want? Well, this question follows a clear trajectory. What does a character want? Why can't they just get it? Well, then how do they go about it? This is all about the actions a character is willing to take to fulfill their objective. To give you an example, in an interrogation scene, a police officer and a suspect sit in a dimly lit room. The police officer wants to solve a crime, but the suspect won't confess just through the objective and the obstacle. We immediately have a conflict set up. Let's kick it up or not, shall we? What are the actions the police officer could take? They could threaten the suspect, intimidate them, negotiate with them, console them, ensnare them. And all of a sudden we have a meaningful transition of actions and a scene with different beats. But thus far, we've only looked at one character and one actor, let's say in this imaginary script. It's quite evident that the suspect won't talk. Maybe that's because they want to protect their sister, whom they know committed the crime. Now the obstacle is quite apparent. They will face consequences if they don't talk. So they can't just straight up protect their sister through shielding themselves, avoiding the police officer, then confronting them. We can create another meaningful transition of action verbs and more importantly, conflict. In conclusion, the given circumstances turn a screenplay into a novel filled with rich inner life. Only the director and actors really need to know about. The audience might never see what's hiding underneath the bed of a character, but the actor needs to know. 6. Improv Exercise - Given Circumstances: Chapter six, Given Circumstances An Exercise. Here's a little exercise I like to do with my students. You might also find this useful when you're working with a group of actors to use as an improv warm up, or if you're working with younger actors or children. It's an exercise derived from improv theater that once again, goes to show how flexible the words in a text can be. Pair up two or more actors and give them their lines. They may only use these three lines, but they may say them in any order or repeat them as many times as they want. The lines are, it was right there. Where is it? It's gone. Now give them a set of given circumstances to create a playful little improv scene. Here are some of my favorites. Someone at a dinner party in the 19th century realizes the diamond necklace is gone. Two people stranded on a rescue boat for a week in the middle of the ocean spot a helicopter, Two people on a commute in the subway when they discover a dog sized rat, someone willing to pay ransom to a kidnapper in a park, but they've lost the ransom money. Do you see how wildly different a scene based on the same script can be and how wonderfully imaginative we are when we challenge ourselves in conclusion the given circumstances and utter Haagen's nine questions might sound a bit basic, but that's because they are knowing and understanding. These fundamentals of a scene, though will enable actors to deliver a more nuanced, more organic performance. And make choices that are true to the character and the setting. Uterhagen's nine questions are particularly useful because they give actors a checklist of items to simply tick off one after the other. Sometimes actors will receive an unnecessarily long character bio taken straight from the Bible of a series. But how is anyone realistically supposed to keep all of this information in their heads? Also realistically, what does it matter whether your parents gave you that pony you always wanted when you were six? If the scene just sees you ordering coffee, the nine questions do a great job at streamlining the information needed for actors to give their performance with clarity and dedication. It's a matter of choosing the things that matter and sorting out the ones that don't. Clarity on the circumstances will help your actors, but also help you as a director. 7. The Magic If - Imagination for Actors: Chapter seven, Emotion memory and the Magic If. How can you help your actors bring props and circumstances to life without being too intrusive? Even in the beginning of modern acting theory around the early 20th century, that was a question that the practitioners asked themselves. And there were two schools of thought. One is the school of personal experience that branched off into method acting. This boils down to remember how you felt when. Now, please, could you feel that again? This can be a powerful technique, but reliving traumatic experiences can obviously be harmful for actors. As a director, you shouldn't ask actors to reliver personal trauma. You might not even have the slightest insight into their personal lives. So how would you even know? And then there's the obvious thing. It doesn't always work. It doesn't always work for the scene. And it flat out doesn't always work. Acting workshops that create a comfortable, safe space and afford the actors the time to prepare and set up the scene. In my experience, working with effective or emotion memory can be a true revelation and a mind opening exercise. But onset with the lights all around the actors. The AD fiddling for the shop list, makeup, giving final looks and a boom pole right over their heads. Also, this can be fairly limiting because you'd rely on the personal experiences of the actors you're working with. Remember that moment in your life when you were chased by a bunch of alien robots? So here's the other school of thought, engaging the imagination to some degree that is going to be necessary for actors anyway, simply because there's crew on set lights stands, there might be a green screen. The other actor might not even be on set that day. Nothing too outlandish. One of Stanislavsky's techniques can be particularly useful in leveraging that imagination. It's called the magic if. And the beauty of that technique is it respects actors as thinking beings and doesn't require them to delude themselves into a stupor. The magic if can get actors to ask clever questions about any interaction and spark a unique process in their heads. I'll give you an example. This is a glass of what I'm holding, but what if it were expensive whiskey? And what if I were a coving alcoholic? And all of a sudden without too much background work and without a dedicated preparation process, simply because I can now start going through a list of questions in my head and let my imagination wonder, we have filled the simple action, holding a glass with life. And don't feel like you are obliged to just use naturalistic ifs, either. Imagine if this glass were to give you a static shock every time you touched it. If this glass were the Holy Grail, but you didn't want your friends to know about it. Keep it fun and playful. In conclusion, the imagination is a powerful tool in acting and in directing. Learning how to use the imagination of your actors, how to guide them, how to inspire them, is going to be invaluable for your journey as a director and as a storyteller in general. The magic, if is a fantastic technique because it allows you as a director to give a simple prompt and then see where your actors go with their imagination. 8. Text and Subtext - What's Underneath the Text: Chapter eight, text and subtext. It's not what you said, it's how you said it. Sometimes I find both, in my experience as an actor but also as a director or teacher, that using actions can be a bit vague. Particularly when working with text. You can instantly tell when an actor doesn't know what to think or isn't sure what the meaning behind the words is. Better actors can sometimes bluff themselves through a few lines of dialogue, but this isn't a sustainable approach to a scene. This is where working with subtext comes into play. Stanislavski uses a nice distinction between subtext and in a monologue, but sometimes the terms are used interchangeably. It doesn't really matter which terminology you use, because what they mean is the same thing. What does a character think? Stanislavski uses subtext when the character is text, and in a monologue when the character doesn't typically one line of dialogue coincides with one line of subtext. Because it's really hard to think at a different pace than you speak. Subtext is a tool that I would describe almost as a shortcut. When you feel that an actor's lines sound off, you can always ask them, what's your subtext? Here, I'll give you an example. We use a super simple line, maybe just one word. Maybe the subtext for maybe could be no. It could be yes. Or it could be, maybe it could even be, I hate you, the sky is the limit. If you really want your actors to line up subtext and text, just have them say the subtext first. No, yeah, I absolutely hate you. Subtext can almost be used as a hack, a quick way for actors and directors to ensure that they are on the same page when it comes to what a character is saying and thinking. In practical use, I often find the subtext to be a bit more precise than an actionable verb. The action might be, I apologize to you, but the subtext could be, I know that I hurt you and I know I can never make up for it. A lot more specific, isn't it? And you will find that when an actor nails their subtext, they will also nail their text bonus point. Subtext is really easy to annotate because you or the actor can simply write down a line of subtext right next to the text in the script. It's a blessing that scripts give us that much empty space to fill. Here's how this can work and practice. Ask your actor for the subtext or the opening line. You can ask them, point blank, What's your subtext? Or you can sugar coat a question. But what are you really trying to say? Characters with a rich inner life will also have a rich subtext. Or as Stanislavski puts it, an audience doesn't go to the theater to hear the text. They can read the text at home. They go to the theater to hear the subtext. And here's your exercise for the project. Ask your actors to write one line of subtext for every line of text. If you are working with the monologue, ask your actors to perform the scene after they are done, but they don't perform with the text. Instead they give us the subtext only. This may sound blunt and far more overtly honest than any of us are in real life. So tell them to lean into it and have fun with it. This is the chance to let it all out if you are working with the dialogue. Tell your actors to create the subtext as a partner exercise. Very often actors will have no one to work with and will have to prepare alone at home. And that's not ideal. While you have two actors in the room, they should prepare the subtext line by line for their respective characters. Because in real life we are masters at picking up on subtext. If someone comes into my shop and says hi with the subtext, I want to file a complaint about you. My reaction wouldn't be hello with the subtext. So nice to see, Make it a fun and interactive preparation exercise. And then let them hit each other with their subtext. Guiding the subtext can be an extremely useful tool for you as a director. In conclusion, text and subtext don't always have to be drastically different. But bear this in mind. The subtext affords you to produce a layer of meaning that isn't in the script, instilling the film. Or play with a life that previously hasn't been there. A good example for this comes from the cult classic, The Room. When the store clerk tells Johnny, you're my favorite customer, the line sounds wildly off because there is no subtext. Imagine if she actually told him to write off, or this is my last day and I'm just working my way through company policy. Subtext is a wonderful tool to use the collective imagination of all creatives on set and to make easy and quick adjustments while filming or while rehearsing. 9. Casting - A Director's First Choice: Chapter nine, Casting, Directing Actors, starts as soon as you start casting actors. And that choice might not always be completely up to you. Think about it along the lines of scouting locations, your mind might see one thing, but the production reality forces you to make do with something else. Or you go to work in a surprise location that exceeds all your expectations. The same is true for casting actors. For this lesson, we are going to presume that you will be in charge of, or at least partially responsible, for, casting. You might be the one putting up the casting call and organizing the audition. You might look at reels and self tapes. Or you might reach out to local theaters or ask around in your friend group to see if someone is interested in doing some acting. You can include Dame Judy Dench and Gary Oldman in your Pitch Deck, but you're most likely not going to get them to be part of your film when writing the casting call. Be relatively specific, but not overly so. You'll need some flexibility anyway, so there's no need to scare off the perfect cast with an overly descriptive care taken straight from the screenplay. Ben, 25 years old, is a two meter tall man with gray hair and a scar on his right cheek. We're looking for a tall act in his '20s is good enough. Also, try and be gender inclusive in your casting calls whenever you can. Sometimes a certain part calls for a certain gender, but not always. If you have a wider pool of actors to pull from, it'll only increase your chances to make a better film. And if you audition an actor for a role they might not be a great fit for, maybe they're a better fit for a different part, or you work with them in the future. When you're looking for the perfect casting, be open to changes, change the character, just the script if necessary, Don't try and force something onto an actor that simply doesn't work. If you are looking to cast someone in the early '20s but can't find a suitable actor, don't try and bend a 40 year old actor into a different he bracket without proper hair and makeup. Be open to making adjustments to the character to reflect the appearance, type, and general aura of the actor that you've cast. Because film is a rather naturalistic medium, whatever an actor brings to the table will be visible to the audience. There is no pretending that an athletic actor will be something other than an athletic character, no matter how often the other characters call them nerd. When casting stutter, most characters were gender neutral, with fairly few exceptions. The role of a therapist, as I envisioned it, was a more distant bureaucratic man, slouched away in his armchair. But when we cast our actress, Viviana in the part, she not only brought a natural warmth to it, scene suddenly took on undertones of maternal care and very inappropriate behavior. What kind of a fool would I be to throw that away instead of working with it? Here's how I audition actors when I'm looking to cast apart. We meet over coffee. First, I want to meet the people that I'm working with. Because I not only work with the actor, but also with a person. Making a film is a personal experience and it's about a shared vision and being on the same page about the filmmaking process. I don't need to be best friends with every actor I work with, but I have a certain style. When I work, I'm spontaneous and will often suggest wild inputs or barely related directions to spark the actor's imagination. Don't expect a perfect collaborative relationship with every actor you ever work with. But I think this is an important factor of the casting and filmmaking process and one that you should not overlook on set. The actors need to trust you and vice versa. So meet them as people first added benefit. It tends to get the nerves out of the way a bit. So the first read is going to be much smoother. In the next step, I let the actors perform the scene as they have prepared. Ideally with another actor reading in the lines. Ideally the actor who has already cast in the role. This will generally give me a good overview over their instinct. How does an actor prepare? Do they get the general vibe of the character? And do they bring something to the table that I previously hadn't seen in the character? And for the final step, I'll give them some directions, not necessarily what I want to see on the day. Maybe I'll toss them a curveball. Mostly I'll just riff off what the actor has presented me with and work with that. Performing the scene again is my test to see how the actor handles directions, if they can make quick adjustments on the spot, if they are flexible and fun to work with. Now, this isn't a magic one size fits all recipe, but it's worked for me so far. So maybe it'll work for you too. In conclusion, to quote a 19th century German general, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. The same goes for filmmaking. It is the mark of an amateur to stick to ideas that you simply cannot pull off on the day. Maintaining flexibility and being open to the solutions that your collaborators will offer you isn't going to harm your project. In fact, your project will benefit from it growing beyond its original scope. Finding the perfect cast for a film, a scene or a play can be daring under any conditions. But working on a no or low budget level, it becomes even more difficult find good people that you want to work with and use their unique personalities in your favor. It's an asset. 10. Creative Collaboration - The Filmmaking Effort: Chapter Ten Collaboration. The beauty of the filmmaking process lies in how collaborative the process is and can be. If you are an illustrator, the entirety of your work will depend on you. You are in charge of the entire process from the moment you devise an image in your head to the last stroke of the brush. But as a filmmaker or director, sometimes you can just kick back and relax. You work with an experienced gaffer. Great. Immediately all your images are going to look more professional, talented sound engineer. Everything you film will sound so much better. And if you have talented actors, then they will bring their own suggestions and directions for the character. And then crafting the performance collaboratively becomes a matter of negotiating the best moments for the character and the story. Any experienced actor will be open to directions because they know that in the hands of a good director, they will look so much better. But as a director, you too, should be open to suggestions. You should listen to the actor and watch their performances carefully. Don't try and force your vision on the entire set, because you believe you are destined to be the next Tarantino Cubric. Maybe you are, and if you are good on you. But directing performances is also a matter of finding out how other people can enrich your vision. Because, and that's the crucial reason why AI filmmaking won't ever produce something worth watching. You don't really want what you want. An AI will give you exactly what you want. But what you actually want is for your film to be the best it can be. And in order for that to work out, you need to consider your unique vision to be the lowest bar to clear. And that bar might be pretty high. But if someone brings in a better suggestion, if an actor presents you with a unique twist in the characters arc that you hadn't anticipated before, then you'd be pretty stupid to say no to that offer. It's like free production value because in the end, that's what makes your film look better and reflects positively on your own work and you as a director. Still sometimes filmmakers, particularly young filmmakers who simply know they are set out for greatness, will ask me how they can get actors to do exactly what they want, how they can pull all the strings and make the actors repeat. Line reads, that's when a director shows the actor exactly how lines should be performed and be obedient. Little puppets. Well simple. You just have to pay them a fair rate. And then you'll find actors to be far more receptive of directions than are commands, not suggestions. In general, I would advise against using line reads either way, because all you really do is limit your possibilities because then your actors will simply repeat back to you what you just did. And you miss out on the chance of getting a better offer from them and seeing their unique perspective and spontaneity reflected in your work. In conclusion, a good direction is a suggestion. It's a pass. Everyone on set is on the same team. You play them a pass. They play a pass, and then eventually you score a goal. It's teamwork. We're all in this together, not knowing exactly where the journey is going and how it's mapped out step by step is part of the beauty of the filmmaking process. 11. Communication - Clarity on Set: Chapter 11 communication. Initially, I didn't want to include this, but I've recently been on a film set and it's been a while since the following happened to me. But it wasn't the first time. And I want to prevent you from making that same mistake. I was cast for a part in a film and at no point unset did I ever really know what was going on in the scenes. Because no one told me which part of the scene exactly would be shot. And this isn't exclusive to younger and inexperienced filmmakers. Even well versed crews will often forget to talk to the actors and get lost in every other aspect of filmmaking, from lights to sound, to production design. Well, the actors stand around like glorified props. Yes, actors can read shot lists and should in fact do so. But a shot list will only tell you so much, and an action outlined in the script will often not survive the production reality. Remember that epic landscape on page five, Or that's someone's grandpa's backyard now, and instead of running a few laps, you do a few jumping jacks easy. Tell your actors what they need to know for every shot. Tell them where the scene starts and where the scene ends. This is the big break up or this scene five just isn't good enough. Walk them through what they need to do. The clearer you are in this part of the communication process, the more efficient you will be at working with actors on set or on stage. We'll need you to come in, you look around, you pick up the glass, take a swig. And then you notice your mother sitting in the arm chair. You confront her with your eyes until I yell, cut. Now, this is also the part where actors can ask questions. Why exactly do I come in? Well, you want your magic wand back and you suspect that your Uncle Frederick has it. Great. Say no more. Any information the actors don't need, such as lens choices or camera movement or color scheme, et cetera, et cetera, won't be needed. It's great to communicate these things up front and pitch your movie, but right before I take, an actor won't need to know that this is the one anamorphic shot in the film. Proper rehearsals are great, but clarity on set is key. If your actors don't know what they're doing, they'll just be swimming. And you can always tell and because you can always tell, you can't really use any other footage. This is where you start, this is where you end, this is what happens in between. That's all you really need. All the best acting techniques and the greatest coaching abilities won't get you anywhere. If you can't communicate clearly what is happening in the scene and what is happening in the shot. In conclusion, there is nothing like clarity in communication. Actors will need guidance, blocking, and marks to deliver the best possible performance. Setting up a shot takes more than enough time to talk to the actors and tell them what's next. You can sit down with them and watch them run their lines, provide some loose feedback or rehearse in depth, depending on how much time you have. This clarity and communication is also part of the trust relationship that you need to have with your actors in order to get the best performance out of them. 12. Conclusion - How Directors Can Learn to Work With Actors: Chapter 12. In conclusion, this brings us to the end of our course. I'm planning on doing follow up courses. So if you enjoy this one, stay tuned for more courses focused on different aspects of directing and working with actors. In follow up courses, I will talk a bit more about the technical aspects of directing performance for the screen and the physicality of performance. The only thing left for you to do now is to wrap up the course with your class project. And let me reiterate, this really isn't about the level of production and the look at all. It's about working with the actors. Set up a camera, film it as you would an audition. Keep it super simple if you have or want to. We've gone through quite a few things in this course. So let me briefly summarize that you have a refresher to know what to work with, the objective actions and beats subtext the magic. If use these techniques to prepare the script as a director, what is each character's objective and what actions can they take to achieve their objective? Use the beats to pace out the actions and make interesting choices. And create a rich subtext for every line of text if you need a starting point. I've provided some additional materials suggesting given circumstances and objectives to work with. Ask your actors to do the same as they prepare the scene, run the scene, block the scene, and go for a set up that you feel comfortable working with. Really try and make this exercise all about working with the actors. Once you've nailed that, you can always introduce or reintroduce all other aspects of filmmaking and add the varying layers of complexity to you shoot. It's been really fun compiling this course and I'm looking forward to seeing what you, your imagination and the imagination of your actors do with the world's blandest scenes. If you add something interesting to these two scenes, then you can certainly find unique layers in every scene that you are going to work with. Oh, I cat like this. Should I should slate first and then say cat and also, this should be a tail slate. So thanks for watching.