- "Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character…"
How to communicate with actors, develop character motivations, and create believable performances on camera.
Script Analysis: Understanding the characters, plot, theme and relationship dynamics of a script to effectively direct actors.
Casting: Finding the right actors for the roles and understanding how their physical and emotional qualities should fit with the script.
Pre-Production: Discussing the script with the actors and preparing them for the shoot, going over the schedule and the plan for the shoot.
Rehearsals: Setting expectations for rehearsals, leading effective rehearsals, brief introductions to rehearsals, preparing the script for rehearsal, and offering constructive criticism.
Areas of Focus: Understanding the different areas of focus, such as the eye focus, and how to guide actors to adjust and control it while acting.
Blocking: Mentally blocking actors' movements to enhance the scene and setting the scene's mood.
Language: Breaking down the language used in scripts and working with actors to accurately and effectively communicate it.
Emotion: Various techniques used in directing actors to achieve the desired emotion in the scene.
Subtext: Understanding the hidden meaning behind words and how to convey it to the actors.
Camera Angles and Lightening: Knowing how to properly arrange camera angles or lighting to create a powerful emotional effect and how to guide the actors to the required physical positioning or emotional response to fit the setting.
Improvisation: Understanding how to effectively use improvisation techniques to obtain better performances from actors.
Mediation: Knowing when and how to mediate between actors, working to resolve conflicts, and enabling actors to deliver expressive and great performances.
Post-Production: Understanding the concept of post-production, such as editing, sound design, color correction, etc.
The Director's Vision: Developing a clear vision of what you want to achieve and communicating that vision to the actors.
Leadership Skills: Leading the team, delegating tasks and managing conflicts, and being decisive in taking necessary actions.
Authoritative Director: This type of director maintains complete control over the set and actors. They tend to be very specific and confident in the way they want their actors to perform.
Collaborative Director: This type of director works in close collaboration with their actors. They encourage open communication and feedback, and encourage actors to bring their own ideas and input to the project.
Technical Director: This type of director emphasizes technical precision and accuracy over performance. They focus on ensuring that the camera shots, lighting, and sound are all precisely coordinated to achieve the intended effects.
Impressionistic Director: This type of director is more concerned with the overall emotional and aesthetic impact of a scene rather than technical precision. They focus on capturing moments of emotional resonance that will resonate with the audience.
Motivational Director: This type of director focuses on motivating actors to give their best performance. They are highly skilled at building rapport with actors and are skilled at using positive reinforcement to bring the best out of their performers.
Subtextual Director: This type of director is interested in exploring the subtext of a scene. They are highly skilled at reading between the lines and understanding the hidden motivations and emotions of the characters they are directing.
Method Director: This type of director focuses on the Method acting technique popularized by actors like Marlon Brando and Robert DeNiro. They encourage actors to immerse themselves completely in their character, and to draw upon their own life experiences to inform their performances.
Actor's Director: This type of director is highly skilled at working with actors. They are able to communicate complex emotions and motivations in simple, straightforward ways that actors can understand and relate to.
- "Acting involves a broad range of skills, including a well-developed imagination, emotional facility, physical expressivity, vocal projection, clarity of speech, and the ability to interpret drama."
- "Acting also demands an ability to employ dialects, accents, improvisation, observation and emulation, mime, and stage combat."
- "Many actors train at length in specialist programs or colleges to develop these skills."
- "Actors and actresses will often have many instructors and teachers for a full range of training involving singing, scene-work, audition techniques, and acting for a camera."
- "Most early sources in the West that examine the art of acting discuss it as part of rhetoric."
- "Most early sources in the West that examine the art of acting discuss it as part of rhetoric." (Note: The term 'hypokrisis' refers to acting in Greek.)
- "Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode."
- "Acting involves a broad range of skills, including a well-developed imagination…"
- "Acting involves a broad range of skills, including… emotional facility…"
- "Acting involves a broad range of skills, including… vocal projection…"
- "Acting involves a broad range of skills, including… clarity of speech…"
- "Acting involves a broad range of skills, including… the ability to interpret drama."
- "Acting also demands an ability to employ dialects, accents…"
- "Acting also demands… improvisation, observation and emulation, mime, and stage combat."
- "The vast majority of professional actors have undergone extensive training."
- "Many actors train at length in specialist programs or colleges to develop these skills."
- "Actors and actresses will often have many instructors and teachers for a full range of training involving… singing, scene-work, audition techniques, and acting for camera."
- "Acting is an activity… in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode."
- "Acting is an activity… in any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode."