Don’t forget about your body on camera, actors!
Somewhere along the “acting on camera tips” pipeline, a message has been passed along that has misguided actors.
Classic advice given to actors adjusting to acting on camera is: “Be still. Be smaller. Bring it all in.”
While there are moments in stories and specific genres that invite this approach, this generalized tip of “be small” can really dangerously dampen an actor’s physical instincts.
We do not watch movies only in close-ups. There are wide shots, medium shots, and endless moving shots. We don’t watch an entire film with only the heads in the frames. Your entire body is telling the story in all of the series of images in a movie.
Activate your body on camera. Move during the scene, even if we don’t see it in a camera frame, and then the life of your body will make it into the eyes and expressions in the close-ups.
Physical gestures can be terrific. They energize you and the scene, and they also give the viewer lots of specifics to interpret and understand character and story.
For example, how do any of these physicalities inspire a story? Reaching for something, adjusting in your seat, looking at something in the distance, feeling the cold or the heat in the room, gripping your coffee cup…all these physical gestures bring life into your expressions and also suggest character and story.
Please note, I am not suggesting that actors should always move, or always hold props. There is no single rule that holds true for every actor and every audition scene and every scene on set being filmed. There is no one way—always remember that.
But, I am suggesting that you remember that your body is attached to your head! Breathe life from your toes to your eyes. It’s what can make a difference so that we feel your entire presence on camera…and YOU feel your entire presence on camera.
Quick easy tip: jump up and down, or run in place or throw your arms up into the air, or let out a big exhale…or do anything for a moment that just gets you in touch with your body. Then, act!
I hope to see you in class so that we can bring attention to bringing your physical impulses into your on-camera presence!
Your fan,
xHeidi