Lessons
Shot Sizes
16:46 2Free Preview: Camera Placement
11:38 3Camera Movement
14:06 4Actor Critique: Speed
19:09 5Actor Critique: Motion
10:35 6Actor Critique: Size
14:49 7Dynamics of Rehearsal
11:53 8Dynamics of The Shoot
18:51Dynamics of The Set
14:59 10Keith Gordon Interview
28:30 11Kasi Lemmons Interivew
32:54 12David Morse Interview
32:17 13What Makes a Good Collaboration?
20:52 14The Three Myths of Film Acting: Don't Blink
37:08 15The Three Myths of Film Acting: Speak Softly
14:44 16The Three Myths of Film Acting: To Move or Not ..
11:36Lesson Info
Actor Critique: Motion
Let's move on to another point a craft motion actually ready okay if you forget words make them up I don't care about that didn't matter shakespeare's dead whatever you know he's not coming back okay, so I want you to just do your piece but said an island for okay I like that I line whatever she's doing I like it so whatever I line is yours okay, so stand by we're going to look at a new technique device to see how it works the motion before we talk about what motion is I want her to do her for a lot of love for the first time so standby so actually going to do her piece I may cut her off it's nothing personal quiet please roll camera this is actually is monologue for motion seen one act one scene one take one and take it away what would you d'oh? No it doesn't matter you don't know yet he doesn't know yet don't you understand he's out there I can't find him I know he's out there I feel him he's about to make the biggest mistake of his life ok stuff before he makes them ok so great love...
ly really great actors are our staff here got some amazing folks thank you guys for throwing yourself up not knowing what's going on you're really both great thank you this is not about town, but I'm just saying we happen to have, like, people who are actually doing stuff, okay, so I want you to do that much again. We kind of recorded that in general, ok, every gesture and everything your body wants to do, let it too, in the sense of charlie chaplin once said something really great. One of the great film actors to study is chaplain and it's unfortunate, you know, we don't think of him in terms of that kind of craft. He said something great about movement, he said it's not that film acting. I don't act in a smaller way because of film acting because I have to it's because I want to we'll examine that a little later when we talk about size, but now we're going to talk about what he means, these of emotion, everything you do amplified so every gesture, if you want to touch you here, I want you to really flip your hair. If you move, I want your hands to go I want you to create motion in this performance if you need to move, alex will find you okay? I don't want you to move throughout the room. Here is your limit, okay, walter white here to hear, okay, you need my island what? Thank you say my line and every every form of movement or everybody impulse honor it. And if it's not big enough, we're going to reset. Do it again. So what we want to see is that performance when I saw it, when emotions added, okay, motions to stand by. So this is part two we're watching here and again, I'm asking her to do something that's counterintuitive to her skill set, you know, welcome to film school. Okay, roll camera, this's ashley, take two scene, one motion. Increasing. And actually, what would you d'oh? No, it doesn't matter. You don't know yet. He doesn't know yet, but he's out there, I can see him. I just can't find him he's there and he's about to make the biggest mistake of his life for this moment. I want to I want to know what this mistake is. What's the mistake he's gonna propose to somebody else. Oh, anyway, tragic. I'm ok. Come here with negative. So just on a level of basic feedback and you give her some reference for the two takes differences. Things thatyou thought worked better things that were less clear. Any any feedback from you all I thought there was more emotional versatility when there was more movement. Okay this is tricky this idea of motion I mean turn on any john cassavetes movies watch the first thing fifteen minutes of a woman under the influence that's everything and actors taught not to dio motion like I could see I mean ashley is a good actress she's a smart actor she's this more person on dh her first performance is about what film acting is but it can those two side by side of fast and you felt the expression in the second one other thoughts again this isn't about a love a love a thon do you feel like anything was lost in the second one what did you think I think if anything it was only hunts on was enhanced yeah the body body language will help to get that dialogue across a lot more acutely ok other thoughts I just thought that um this second performance it was like a life and death kind of situation over steaks were higher okay let me ask you another question we're going give actually the fair shot of looking at it and judging for herself do you feel was the intent when was the enhanced motion because this is the give back of motion was a distracter did you listen to her different way did you did you listen to the story was a story less clear I think every the bits of dialogue where she was doing something you sort of it sort of punctuated it if the point of body language that body language can often is a form of punctuation okay, but I felt like the performance had sort of like fluctuation and it's those opposed to the first one which was very just like straight okay, more predictable the first one did you feel like the g was a little more of you? Okay, okay we don't know the peace we don't know if these are good choices or bad choices were just scientists here we want to see what the effect of motion is. Frankly, I do think if you watch cassidy's even even alex are our operators can tell you is it easier to photograph a subject that way you know? Is it right your we have our first day see laughing and you know, he's thinking I'm getting out of this business altogether because yeah, those the movement provides unique technical challenges you know, sometimes you can give an actor mark and they could be, you know, ignoring the living heck out of it this is just science experiment actually takes thinking so let's just watch the second performance, john so we're just gonna watch actually second performance and again keep this in mind does the movement changed the way you listen to it? Does the movement distract you let's watch this is ashley take two scene, one motion increasing and what would you d'oh no it doesn't matter you don't know john can you stop for a second one point of craft and this is very common and also this is a very artificial experiment as experiments tend to be what she does now you could tell me what you think her eyes and her body or not connecting she's doing a lot of this she's keeping her eye line john can we just roll that from the beginning? Sorry man so watch the beginning of it again watch how her eyes stay on the target but her body is in motion so what's just watch the beginning of it this is ashley take two scene one motion increasing and what would you do know it doesn't matter you don't know yet he doesn't know yet stopped what do you think about that? What do you think about her eyes locking and on her or not giving up on her eye line and her body do you think she balances it? Well where is it distracting in any way? I don't think it's distracting it's kind of expected because she's speaking to somebody yes that person's moving then it right there I should be locked on that person I agree I think it's great technique and I'll tell you why it can't be come to constipated into technique e you know like what should I you know that kind of deal you know where you're doing this I love the fact that she did it because she you integrated the words really well you did something that's really important it's really important as we deal with shot sizes never lose who you're looking at it goes back to eyes you know one of our subjects his eyes and you could see everything goes back through eyes when you're acting everything and I love the fact that she kept that's not easy to do and she also kept it very natural and organic natural organic what it did affect though is her breath you see the most of you know actors or human beings now we can start to talk of them or a human effects or breath and some of that punctuation is like the stepping like what would do you do? You know part of it is the cadence of movement let's watch some more john whenever you're ready she's breathing on there I can see him I just can't find him he's there and he's about to make the biggest mistake of his life ok what do you think? Actually watching um it felt it felt too frantic to me like I don't know I felt I felt the the gestures sometimes took away from from the performance I it becomes and I consider because I'm italian it becomes a little italian way top I mean I'm not defending what because I'm in this thing if you use your body too to puncture again, it's, your word to punctuate and you know what you start to, you start acting the subtext, you know motion and this because this idea and we talk about john kasich cassidy's was a theatre actor. All those great cast of eddie's actors general allen's and peter faulk and bengals are you know they would stand a stage tradition and when we talk about movement or lack thereof were really talking about something we could talk about later on today, in our course with david morse and david moore started all all three of our skype gusts started on stage, all three of them and we're going to talk about the differences here, but it is you start, you can easily fall into sub textural acting. Where to your point I can almost take the dialogue away and get it. Does that make good acting or not? I'm not sure I asked her to do something unorthodox. She did it. We're seeing some of the gains in the minus is maybe the subtext enhances. Maybe it distracts again the difference between craft and taste.
Ratings and Reviews
Philip John
I thoroughly enjoyed and became a better craftsman by watching and partaking in this workshop. Congrats Rob you're inspiring and down to earth made this experience a real pleasure. Cheers Mate Phil from Sydney Australia
Carlos Sandoval
I´ve seen a couple of lessons so far, and this is really a great class. Robert know his subject. Just by listening to him talk about Cassavetes and other fascinating filmmakers that rarely get mentioned nowdays, I get on track. The best.
Laura Latimer
Great Class - Thank you!