We’re currently casting for our independent feature film entitled Lullaby for a Lunatic.
Out of the roughly 500 submissions we’ve received for the roles of the film, we’ve called in roughly 60 actors for an audition.
During our first auditions we’re looking for the following:
1. Professionalism
2. Presence / charisma (as it relates to our character)
3. Physicality (as it relates to our character)
4. Ability to take direction
5. Connection to the script / character
6. Ability to LISTEN and naturally respond to the other characters and not simply recite their lines as a stand alone component to the script. We want to see genuine interaction.
Essentially we’re looking for 2-3 good fits for each character. Once we have a few candidates we’ll call the actors back in for a second audition (known as a “callback”) and we’ll start working with the actors in a group environment in a quest to build towards our final cast.
During our call-backs we’ll be more focused on analyzing the actor’s ability to relate to the other characters and the story. We’ll also get to see the strongest actors from our initial auditions compete for their roles within one day which will leave their performances fresh in our minds and provide us with the best opportunity to visualize our potential cast.
How to test an actor’s ability to take direction
During our first audition we’re giving our actors “adjustments”. By using adjustments we’re testing our actor’s ability to take direction. This is especially important to independent filmmakers who often work within very short time lines. We may only secure some of our locations for a few hours. We need to come in, set up, get our shots and move on. We can’t afford doing 20 takes. The actors need to be able to understand the scene and communicate that on camera as quickly and effectively as possible. If they don’t give a strong performance then direction is necessary to help guide them towards a stronger understanding of the scene.
The better an actor is at taking direction, the quicker we can move on to our next location. This is why it’s important to test actor’s ability to take direction during the audition process. We’ll likely already be doing 12 – 16 hour days, we won’t have the time to struggle endlessly through a scene.
Adjustments can come in many different forms. It’s common to use adjustments using “what if” or “it’s as if” scenarios. However, for the sake of our auditions we’re using active verbs to adjust our actor’s performances. During rehearsals and filming, direction will take many different shapes depending on the relationship between the actor and director. Every actor responds differently to direction and it’s a director’s job to figure out how to best communicate with their actors. Sometimes it will be with words, sometimes it will be through discussing back-story, sometimes it will require emotional “replacements” & sometimes it will be through the use of images.
I prefer to communicate using detailed back-story. I feel that if the actor understands their emotional arc up until a particular point, as well as have a deep understanding of their relationships to the other characters, then they will be able to intelligently approach a scene.
If their performance was either technically weak or contrasted the overall tone of the film, then it’s the director’s responsibility to adjust the performance.
As discussed above, there are many ways to do this. However, for the sake of brevity let’s examine the use of words and specifically verbs as a directorial tool.
Before we get into the next part of the post let’s do a quick English refresher:
A NOUN is a person, place or thing
A VERB is an action word
An ADJECTIVE is a describing word
A director’s “go to” tools are their action verbs. Bold action verbs allow a director to communicate a character’s relationship to something or someone else. Directing is about taking the actor’s attention off of themselves and allowing them to understand their relationships to ideas, things, places and people. If they properly understand their relationships then their response will be “correct”. It may not be what the director anticipated, but the response will be honest. If a director focuses on a response rather than a relationship the actor is likely to provide a mechanical response to what they think either a director or an audience is looking for. This creates “dead spots” in your story. The actor engages in little mannerisms that they think the audience is looking for rather than honestly engaging in a scene. This is called “result driven direction” and it’s used by directors who are trying to make their actors force a feeling they want their film’s audience to feel. This is why direction such as “be sad”, “be happy”, “be mad”, “be angry” all lead to 2 dimensional acting. As does calibrating an actors emotional levels. Telling an actor to be more sad, more less angry etc, doesn’t’ help establish a relationship to anything meaningful. Simply trying to turn up or turn down the actor’s emotions will have very little impact on the emotional fabric of a scene.
Instead, Directors need to look to active verbs.
What is an active verb?
An active verb is found in sentences that have something “doing” an action and something “receiving” an action. The thing doing the action is the subject and the thing receiving the action is the object.
[Thing doing action] + [verb] + [thing receiving action]
subject verb object
The producer berates the actors
Action verbs give the actors something to relate the direction to. It gives the actor “context” while at the same time being open ended enough to give freedom of interpretation. For example, if you want your actor to be “mad” you might give them the direction to “blame”. This helps put their concern on the other actor (rather than themselves) and it will likely lead to a more honest interpretation of their “being mad”.
Other active verbs include:
Clarify, justify, accuse, seduce, blame, punish, shame, scold, reprimand, condemn, berate, attack, menace, surrender, badger, browbeat, bully, intimidate, coerce, suppress, deflect, teach, challenge, arouse, assure, apologize, flatter, forgive, confront, provoke, dare, support, cheer, torment, warn, admonish, threaten, remind, ridicule, console, appease, suffocate, cooperate, mock and the list goes on.
At the end of the day there is no one right way to direct. It’s important that you develop trust with your actors. You need to respect one another and have trust in one another’s abilities and vision.
I’ll paraphrase a line from a book written by “Judith Weston” entitled “The Film Director’s Intuition”
“The director is the guardian of the story; the actor is the guardian of the moment”
It’s important for a director to respect the unique character interpretation of an actor while at the same time the actor must understand that the director has clarity for the overall vision of the film. An actor must respect that a director is looking out for the heart of their story. If an actor gives a performance that a director feels either contradicts or doesn’t quite fit into the story, then an actor must trust that a director’s involvement in a scene is for the betterment of the story as a whole.
But there are many technical things directors are not supposed to do which I find myself continuously experimenting with. For instance, you’ll often hear that directors are not supposed to intellectualize a character’s psychology or micro-manage their physical details.
However, I’ve found I’ve been able to get much better performances with some actors when I experiment with these methods a little bit. This just goes to show, there are no right ways. The rules should be studied and understood, but a director’s main concern is working towards the strongest performances and best visuals possible. As a director you’re allowed to do whatever you need to do to see your vision materialize.
Neat article. It’s always interesting looking at a scene from a directors perspective, and then an actors perspective.