I really know very little about acting. My only time in front of a camera was to drive a truck up to a curb so a small dog could jump into it. But I did direct our six Modern Parables films and we regularly get complimented on the good acting. To set the record straight, I am not responsible for the good acting: the actors are. Yet the process of directing six unique films back-t0-back with over 60+ different actors gave me some helpful insight for directing actors in front of a camera. We’re about to shoot a short film on marriage roles in a few weeks, and the casting and rehearsal process has gotten me thinking about how to get good performances on film, so I thought I’d give my two cents on it. If you’re an experienced director, this will be elementary and not worth reading; but if you’re not, perhaps you might find something useful in it.
1. Choosing actors is far more important than choosing cameras. I often hear aspiring directors talking about the type of camera they’re going to use, especially in the HD world since the options are constantly changing. I personally think camera quality is a lot less important than acting quality. Not that you should use a bad camera, but if you’re spending a lot more time worrying about the camera than you are your actors, I think you’re in trouble.
2. Take an acting class if you’ve never acted before. I did this. It was a bit uncomfortable at times. And although I probably didn’t learn much about acting, I immediately sympathized with the unusual straits actors have to steer through to get to a good performance. Sympathy with the challenges of real acting is an important thing to have. It’s not easy to get in front of 10+ people and a camera all staring at you while you cry, laugh, scream, die, or whatever. Sympathy is a useful thing to have.
3. Study the way film actors work, both in books on acting and books on directing. There are lots of good books on acting and directing. One that I personally have benefited from is Judith Weston’s Directing Actors. She gives sound advice about listening, honesty, freedom, choices, action verbs, and many other useful things. If these things don’t mean anything to you, I recommend you take a look at her book.
4. Find a discriminating casting director who knows actors, as well as how to tell a real actor from a non-actor or model. There are lots of people who want to be actors. Unfortunately, most of these people are not actors – they just say they are. Then there are real actors. It’s likely you won’t be able to tell the difference at first, since almost everyone you meet is very eager and nice and wants the part. But you want good acting, therefore you have to find real actors who have experience. To do that, you need either a good casting director who can teach you about choosing actors or a good actor friend who can do the same. Just think: you wouldn’t want someone fixing your engine who had never worked on cars before, even if he was eager to do so. Don’t let someone work on your film if he doen’t know how to act: he can royally mess it up, even if he doen’t mean to.
5. Pay your actors as well as you can. It is true that some actors will work for next to nothing because they just love acting and can’t find paying jobs. But it is wrong to pay them as low as you can just because you can. The Screen Actors Guild was set up to protect actors, and even though I am not a big fan of unions, I can sympathize with needing to protect oneself. That said, all small productions have small budgets, and actors realize this (as do the other crew members). But just because they don’t have major name value doesn’t mean you can take advantage of them. Pay your actors as well as you can.
6. Choose good actors, then give them freedom to work with the material. Don’t over direct. Doing less is better than doing more – your job is to get a good performance on film. Just imagine: what if you showed up, said ‘action,’ everything looked great, said ‘cut,’ and at the premiere everyone commented about what a great job you did directing. Would it be true? Yes, even though in your mind you did nothing. Give actors the freedom to do what they do and sit back and relax. If something needs adjusting, just focus on one thing at a time. And be simple. Over directing confuses things and ensures you get a mediocre end result: and you will get judged for that.
7. Don’t settle for bad actors, hoping they will look better on film. They won’t. In fact, they will be frustrating to work with and will likely look worse than you expect. This may sound obvious, but having made the mistake myself at least once or twice, I know it’s true.
8. Always encourage; never discourage. Don’t say “no” or that’s not right: it can be one of the quickest ways to get a bad performance. Of course there are directors who bludgeon and hammer actors, but this is just bad management and bad practice that can’t be justified artistically or ethically. If those directors end up with good performances, it’s likely in spite of themselves. And if you’re a Christian, you certainly can’t justify it! Rather, always try to find something to compliment an actor on. Keep it light and fun. If it’s not going well, take a break and relax. It’s just a movie. Chances are, if you chose a good actor, coming at it from another direction will probably break up the problem so you can get through it.
9. Encourage theater actors to internalize their acting. A lot of times the best actors in non-film communities are theater actors (and sometimes in film communities, too). That said, some theater actors are used to performing for the back of the theater. This is too much for a camera that can literally pick up someone thinking. In this case, the issue really isn’t acting, but just bringing it down. A director can give a good actor the slight and necessary feedback to adjust their performance for the camera.
10. Realize film is a collaborative medium and the actor is bringing 50% or more of the story to the table. I produce, write, and direct all my short films. But I honestly think that’s only about 50% of the work; the actors bring the other 50%. I know that if I had cast non-actors in all my films, they would have gone over like lead balloons. After all, if you chose your actors well, rely on them. Actors are not putty in your hands; the best are workers who have spent years on their craft and who have as much (if not more) to bring to the table than you do. All the actors I’ve ever worked with have been great collaborationists. Sure, there are stories about actors with big egos who get paid many millions of dollars and pretend they are royalty. But who wants to work with an egoist? They’re part of the Hollywood system that, if you’re reading this, you’re likely not a part of yourself. If an actor is living and working outside of mainstream media, they are normally doing it because they love acting.
11. Find counterweights to your thinking. In other words, have a regular and constant second opinion. Perhaps it’s the person doing continuity, or someone who’s watched lots of films that doesn’t care about giving her honest opinions to you. In many ways it’s better if she doesn’t agree with you or isn’t trying to please you. Recognize at the forefront that you’re not always right, and that having one or two additional perspectives is helpful. But don’t take this too far and let everyone give their opinion. They will, and it will be useless. Choose people who don’t have a horse in the race, but who seem like good judges. You may not always agree with them yourself, and in the end you’ll have to go with your gut. The nice thing about shooting digitally is you can always do multiple takes in different ways. Which brings us to…
12. There’s no one “right way.” Rather, there are lots of ways to a good performance. Relax and let actors try out different directions. In fact, this will keep actors from getting in a rut. Keeping things real is always easier if it’s not rote. Furthermore, by playing things opposite of what you expect, or trying a variety of directions, you will likely unearth much more interesting performances than just playing it straight and as expected. God created people with an endless array of personalities and peculiarities. Good actors enjoy exploring different ways of doing things, and it’s usually good to let them do so.
