Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Don't speak till I've got a camera on you.
Contacting my wish list has been very successful so far. And the list has grown a bit, mainly from the subjects I've already chosen suggesting other people to me.
But, boy, do they get fired up.
I am convinced . now, that I've found a real gap in the system of training actors. The first hurdle is that the people I have mentioned the project to get going at the subject so fast and with a great deal of zeal!
I tried a simple question, "From your point if view ,what do you need the actors fresh out of drama school to know "?
It prompts a flood of words...
The First Assistant Director -
I wish they had some kind of idea who everyone on set was. Who are all those people and what are they doing ? Then I could be certain that the 2nd had asked them questions like 'Have you met with the director today?' Sometimes they get caught in a kind of bubble and are too scared to find out for themselves and I don't have time to do it for them.....
The Director-
The actors walk into the screen test and it takes about fifteen minutes to try to undo the preparation they've made to get to what they are . It's a delicate process and sometimes you wish they'd done nothing at all, and come in open....
The Casting Director-
I wish that the actors would realise that I need them to be their lovely selves first and foremost. Stop all that acting.....
The Actor/ Director/Teacher
It's a massive problem finding a balance between all that technique that they have learned and are so desperate to use and getting a real take on what they are capable of ....
etc etc etc
Each conversation I had to call a halt to because the camera wasn't there yet.
One of the most important things I learned in the nine years on the road interviewing folks for lifestyle TV is to NEVER talk about the interview before the interview. The subject gets all fired up and the best thoughts on the subject lose their punch when repeated. That spontaneity of the response is all important.
I'm ready for it now. I jump in with the hand up and "Don't speak till I've got a camera on you ' after about thirty seconds.
The next step is a more official invitation via email.
Then, I think I will begin shooting sooner than I thought , starting with some individual interviews. I'm sure that those initial interviews will present more new directions to take the idea than I have thought of so far.
What I envisage is then researching the topics/ people/ methods brought forward in those initial interviews and then planning to shoot additional material relating to those topics.
I'll plan a forum with several people in conversation later , probably for Sept / Oct 2011.
So far, so very interesting.
But, boy, do they get fired up.
I am convinced . now, that I've found a real gap in the system of training actors. The first hurdle is that the people I have mentioned the project to get going at the subject so fast and with a great deal of zeal!
I tried a simple question, "From your point if view ,what do you need the actors fresh out of drama school to know "?
It prompts a flood of words...
The First Assistant Director -
I wish they had some kind of idea who everyone on set was. Who are all those people and what are they doing ? Then I could be certain that the 2nd had asked them questions like 'Have you met with the director today?' Sometimes they get caught in a kind of bubble and are too scared to find out for themselves and I don't have time to do it for them.....
The Director-
The actors walk into the screen test and it takes about fifteen minutes to try to undo the preparation they've made to get to what they are . It's a delicate process and sometimes you wish they'd done nothing at all, and come in open....
The Casting Director-
I wish that the actors would realise that I need them to be their lovely selves first and foremost. Stop all that acting.....
The Actor/ Director/Teacher
It's a massive problem finding a balance between all that technique that they have learned and are so desperate to use and getting a real take on what they are capable of ....
etc etc etc
Each conversation I had to call a halt to because the camera wasn't there yet.
One of the most important things I learned in the nine years on the road interviewing folks for lifestyle TV is to NEVER talk about the interview before the interview. The subject gets all fired up and the best thoughts on the subject lose their punch when repeated. That spontaneity of the response is all important.
I'm ready for it now. I jump in with the hand up and "Don't speak till I've got a camera on you ' after about thirty seconds.
The next step is a more official invitation via email.
Then, I think I will begin shooting sooner than I thought , starting with some individual interviews. I'm sure that those initial interviews will present more new directions to take the idea than I have thought of so far.
What I envisage is then researching the topics/ people/ methods brought forward in those initial interviews and then planning to shoot additional material relating to those topics.
I'll plan a forum with several people in conversation later , probably for Sept / Oct 2011.
So far, so very interesting.
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