"The Alchemy of Screen Acting" The 5-Day Programme
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DAY ONE:
The television business.
The current speed of tv schedules.
Everyone works ‘freelance’ and what that actually means.
Difference between ‘single camera’ and multi camera’ situations.
Challenges of working in the ‘rehearse and shoot’ mode.
What the producer needs from the director and (therefore) what the director needs from the actor in terms of keeping to a tight schedule.
What the editor needs from the director and (therefore) what the director needs from the actor in terms of getting at least one take where all the lines come out as scripted and the continuity is excellent.
Shot sizes and how they impact performance.
Why actors must know the shot size.
How each shot size liberates and constrains the actor.
How to convey thought processes through sight and sound only.
How the camera catches changes of consciousness.
Audition techniques: an holistic approach.
Why it’s important (in tv) not to be ‘doormat’.
Need for flexibility according to which type of audition attended: soap, quality tv drama, commercials and feature films all have different requirements.
The ‘triple whammy’ strategy.
The pace and style of audition readings.
Need to determine any character’s journey as a three-act structure.
How to establish a subconscious motivation even if it’s not in the script.
Typecasting.
Why casting directors say what they say about actors?
What is the basis of type?
What is a screen persona?
How to use typecasting to launch a screen career.
Short 2-hander soap scenes are handed out for reading and study over the lunch hour.
Practice simple audition reading techniques with the soap scenes.
Each scene is worked through and choreographed with special attention to the size and type of environment in which it is set.
Consideration of which location gives the characters maximum to play.
The implication of setting scenes in public vs. private places.
Scripts are learned overnight for the shoot on Day Two.
DAY TWO:
a.m.Conduct on set.
What the director, camera operator and boom swinger need from the actor during rehearsals and shot set ups.
Eyelines.
The master shot and its implications for continuity.
Is it believable? (...’the suspension of disbelief’)
Matching the tighter shots.
Delivering lines off mike and how to deal with fluffs.
Continuity of performance and why actors need to stick to the script.
Why only the director should say “cut”!
Overlaps (and why sound editors hate them).
Rehearse and shoot each soap scene in turn, taking 45 minutes + per scene (ie. normal tv soap production schedule).
NB. Soap scenes are shot on the normal 4:3 TV ratio.Selected takes from each shot are played back and analysed.
Feedback given to the actors concerned.
The editing process and why good continuity is so important.
2-hander feature film scenes are given out for overnight reading, study and learning.
(Participants are all cast with new partners.)
DAY THREE:
a.m.Why screen actors must read scripts and what they should learn from them.
The UK film “business” and how to find opportunities within it.
How to recognise a great script and how to repair one if it’s not so great.
The difference between deep psychological structure and ‘typing’.
Three-act structure and why Aristotle’s ideas are still important.
Mythic structure.
How Jung’s ideas impact story structure.
How the Alchemical elements are a practical help in delivering a complete performance.
Further practice in giving effective (and job winning) audition readings, this time using the feature film scripts.
What the director is listening for during the reading of a quality screenplay.Detailed rehearsals of the feature film scenes, including use of any appropriate props and business. (Participants will get get maximum value from this session if they are already off the page.)
Final line learning to produce an accurate but spontaneous performance.
DAY FOUR:
The whole day is devoted to shooting the feature film scenes, taking 90 minutes+ per scene. (The extra time allows for more shots and takes than with the soap material.)
NB. Feature film scenes are shot on the wide screen 16:9 ratio.
DAY FIVE:
a.m.The post-production process (... and why it’s not always possible to cut between shots where the director planned.)
A rough cut of the soap scenes is viewed and analysed.
Selected takes from each of the feature film scenes are viewed and analysed followed by a rough cut viewing of the scene (done overnight). Feedback given to the actors concerned.Common misconceptions about what showreels are supposed to achieve.
Why do actors need showreels? And why most actors have ineffective ones.
There’s showreels and SHOWREELS(!) and a variety of them are shown to illustrate both good and bad points.
Practical advice on how to get a showreel together even if the actor has no broadcast credits.
Why actors need to remain proactive in terms of marketing themselves and networking.
The difference between casual networking and power networking.
What is an effective CV.
The holistic approach.
Pulling all the threads together cultivating a positive frame of mind.
All information and book references laid out in an extensive reading list covering: screenplays, story structure, acting for camera, body language, Jungian psychology, self development, practical philosophy and (for those that are interested) alchemy.
