I just stumbled across this resource very much by accident, and really I have not spent a moment looking into it, except for the demo video on the front page. The concept as I understand it is like an online video dating service for directors and actors, or rather casting directors and actors. I like the idea so far, have any of you heard of this? Can some people leave their impressions in the comments for everyone else to see, thanks : )
ps click the image to go to their site
While I was at NYFA I met my buddy Neil Champagne. Neil is a Saskatchewan, Canada native who moved to NYC to pursue his filmmaking dreams and had the misfortune of running into me. We quickly made a Canadian alliance and although I ended up dropping out and leaving NYC because I didn’t think NYFA was for me, Neil and I have remained friends and have kept in contact ever since. Neil still lives in NYC and was recently working at the Producers Guild as an intern. In this guest article Neil talks about his experiences with NYFA and how it has set his course for the future. Neil’s production company is Pop The Cork Productions.
Film school is an interesting question for most, especially if you are interested in becoming a part of one of the largest, and most illustrious businesses in the world. Is film school right for me? What school do I attend? Or do I even need to attend film school to be a filmmaker? Well all the answers to these questions are circumstantial to your situation. Paul Thomas Anderson dropped out of NYU film school to go on to be nominated for an Oscar. While Eli Roth used his time at NYU to build relationships and go on to make multi-million dollar films. I can’t answer those questions mentioned earlier no more than you can, nor can I speak on an experience at NYU, but what I can do is speak about experience at an alternate film school and my experiences starting out in this business.
Being Canadian, and more so being from the middle of nowhere Canada I needed to venture to a larger market to encourage the filmmaking habit. After attending a mediocre Canadian film program that I will leave nameless, I ended up in New York at the New York film Academy. The four year more expensive alternate New York film school was not an option for my bank account. So there I was learning hands on filmmaking as the poster says. Now I know Nyfa has had received a bad rap in the past, and I am here to give my opinion (not right nor wrong just a opinion). Now NYFA has things wrong with it like any other school or business. I guess that is the question school or business? It says school in all of there adds and has a course calendar, but don’t be fooled it is run like the cash grabbing business that it is. I’m sure with the emerging times where everyone wants to be a filmmaker the wise owner thought, “Shit this is a great way to make moneyâ€. He was absolutely right and money he makes. With that said, there is part of the problem. There is zero screening process to attend other than a bank statement. This leaves your classmates up to chance. You may get a dedicated filmmaker, or just a rich kid who needs an American Visa and wants to fuck off for a couple of years. To be honest with you and whoever is reading this the school is filled with more rich kid fuck-offs than not.
The administration is run very business like as well. It is very hard to get a straight answer for whatever you need when you need something. A lot of people are there for their paycheck and paycheck only. It is a very chaotic place, where you have to have a repoir and personality to benefit or get any of your needs taken care of. Now don’t let me paint this awful picture because I enjoyed NYFA and it has been very beneficial for me. Not all admin are awful. Some are the most helpful people I have met in the city and I have become good friends with many of them. It is this handful of people who make things a pleasant experience and a good place to be. Take into mind though you have to build relationships with people in order to get anything you need. Let’s say it is good training for the real world where you have to sharpen your social skills. This business is all about relationships and ability to Network and NYFA in a backwards kind of way prepares you for that.
The teachers in my opinion are your most useful asset. Like anywhere else some are morons and are there for the paycheck, but others are working professionals who are getting a paycheck between gigs. It is these working people who have helped me and made me a better filmmaker as well as gotten me work. I’m a believer in latching on to people who know more than you, and NYFA once again has a handful of teachers who are the perfect people to learn from.
I have heard complaints about equipment in past reviews and yes once again your not working with top-notch gear. But let me ask you this; are you ready to use a techno crane? The equipment they have are excellent starting tools to show you the basics and to help you learn. Now yes like everything else in life, if there was only more to go around it would be a better place, but I think making do with decent supplies helps you get started and this is what NYFA is; A starting block.
Now like I have said earlier everything is circumstantial. There are some awful things about NYFA and some truly amazing things. It is a gamble when you enroll if you will hit the jackpot or lose all your money. It is what you want to get out of it, if you work hard and are smart, and use the opportunities the city and school gives you like I did then you’ll be fine. But if you’re a floater you can join the rest of the pack and best stay away to let the real serious people work (trying to help you dedicated people 
. I can say my experience was not perfect, actually far from it, but it did give me the opportunity to build relationships with professionals, as well as to learn. I would not say it was bad because I still got a lot out of it and it put me in a better position today. I am still far from where I want to be, but coming from the middle of Nowhere I am a lot better off because I attended a film school.
My good friend Jen Dolynchuk has been out in Toronto now for a while, I’m not sure exactly how long to be honest because I forgot to ask her, but she is out there to act. Jen has a lot of experience as a tv personality interviewing bands, actors etc, as well as experience acting for the camera. Jen was kind enough to fill us in briefly on what to do when you first get out to Toronto, I’m sure a lot of this advice will carry over to other cities as well though.
Hooray! You have arrived in Toronto, one of the great Canadian acting hubs. Home of the legendary Second City, Toronto has been home to some amazing actors such as Martin Short, Sarah Polly, Eugene Levy and Rachel McAdams.
It can be a bit daunting to a new actor when they first arrive in the city. The very best place to start is to get an agent. Make sure you choose an agent that is recognized by Actra. This list can be found on the Actra website. Make sure you have your professional headshots and current resume ready. You can submit yourself online but it is also a good idea to mail in hard copies to the office as well. Agents can be particular about whom they want on their roster but as an actor you have a right to be just as picky. Try to find an agent who best understands your acting goals. Have a plan for yourself and decide which venue you would like to pursue whether it is musical theatre, commercial, television, film, or all of the above. Once you do find an agent you should be on your way to auditions in no time. Remember when it comes to auditions you must always be completely prepared and on time. An audition is like a job interview and in order to nail a gig you have to blow away the casting director. Remember you will not get every role you go out for so try not to take anything personally. Just be happy for the experience and move on to prepare for your next audition. Also be sure to sign up online for the Casting Workbook, which lists auditions, posts sides and gives you a chance to apply for auditions online.
If you would like to gain more acting experience there are some fabulous places to study such as the Actors Studio, Ryerson University and Second City. Toronto is also a great place to find independent film projects. There are many young directors and writers who are eager to get their projects off the ground. Check out Craiglist.com and Mandy.com to submit yourself for short films that may be of interest to you. However if you do use these websites just beware and use your street smarts. Unfortunately there are those who are more than happy to take advantage of inexperienced actors trying to make it. Be sure you are paid for your work on any independent project. Acting is an extremely difficult career choice to pursue but if you are determined, patient and professional you should find success. Good luck out there!
This is the second part of a two part post that was contributed by Jeremiah Daws, co-director of “Dangerous Calling†alongside his brother Josh Daws. Visit their website Adventures in Filmmaking to follow along in their journey to super stardom. This part includes Jeremiah’s review of “Directing Actors†by Judith Weston.
An AD on one of our short films suggested I read a book called Directing Actors by Judith Weston. Initially I took offense at that because “I knew how to direct actors.” So for 3 years, I rejected the idea of reading that book. But after directing my first feature film and learning a lot, I realized I had a lot more to learn.
I’d like to go through just some of the main points and take-aways I got from this book. Please remember this is only my interpretation of the information so if I spin it or embellish the points, don’t get upset. If you want it word for word, go buy it and read it.
The first and main thing the book talks about is the enemy or opposite of good direction – Result-Oriented Direction. And I think all directors are guilty of it. It’s looking at an actor after a take and saying, “Can you be more angry next time?” The problem with directing the result, from what I can tell, is that this makes the actors focus on their performance rather than the life of the scene. They are constantly wondering, “Am I being more angry?” Plus, they don’t know exactly how to be more angry. The good actors can take that result-oriented direction and process it to be more playable, but that makes them have to work a lot harder.
The book outlines 5 tools to shape performances. And let me tell you, these are awesome. How many times have I wanted an easy way to shape a performance, but the words failed me?
1) Verbs – The book points out the importance of using playable action verbs rather than adjectives (like angry.) Instead of asking an actor to play it sexy, ask the actor TO FLIRT with the other actor. This encourages the actor to engage with the other actor, rather than be focused on being sexy.
And the best thing about verbs is you can play with the intensity. If you want more energy or intensity, give a stronger verb. If at first they are playing “to complain” about something and you want more, ask them “to warn.” If that isn’t enough ask them “to punish.”
2) Facts – Don’t explain a character. Give the actor facts about the character. Give creative back-story. Instead of saying, “She’s a bitch,” invent a back-story. Say, “She poured paint on the windshield of her ex-lover’s car.”
This is where the magic “What if” comes into play. If you have a scene where a boss has to fire someone, ask “What if the boss’ father was fired from his job when the boss was a child?” This creates subtext and texture. A result-oriented direction of the same scene could be to say, “Act nervous.” Not nearly as effective.
3) Images – Use images that evoke emotions rather than asking for emotions. You can use an image from the actors past to create an emotion that is needed in the scene. Maybe recalling a time their father yelled at them to create the result of being “hurt” or having their feelings hurt. This gets into the psyche of the actor. (And it seems they love this kind of thing. Go figure.) But it doesn’t have to be so heavy. It can be simple. Just any kind of image that evokes an emotion that can be useful in the scene.
You can use the magic “as if” here. Maybe take an actor aside and tell them to play the scene “as if the other actor has bad breath.” Another example from the book is playing a business meeting “as if” it were a children’s sword fight.
4) Events -Â “Instead of telling the actors that the scene is supposed to be poignant, tell them that the scene is about a fight between two people who used to love each other (an event.)Â That helps the actors rally the personal and imaginative resources they need to create the poignancy.”
5) Physical Tasks – The book says, “The simplest thing a director can ask an actor to do would be a physical task.” “A Physical task takes the actor’s concentration off the lines.”
We had one scene in Dangerous Calling that was a pretty tough scene involving 3 actors. It could have been a stand and deliver kind of scene but we ended up giving one actor the physical task of making French toast (as it was written) and giving another actor the task of pouring glasses of orange juice for he and his onscreen wife. The life in that scene is so amazing just because we had that simple bit with the fridge and the orange juice. One of the best and most natural scenes in the movie. They weren’t thinking about it – just living the scene.
This brings me to the next thing I learned from the book – the importance of listening. The book says this is the most important thing an actor can do is just listen to the other actors in the scene rather than focusing on their performance and remembering their lines. It says that listening to others is the opposite of being self-conscious. And this is true in life as well. When I’m worried about what I look like or what I’m saying in public, I’m not listening to others.
The book gives several suggestions to get your actors to listen. It warns not to tell them they aren’t listening because they might take offense to that. Here are a few examples:
“Keep it simple”
“Stay with each other”
“Communicate”
“Let yourself hear what she is saying”
“I like it when you play off each other”
“Just talk and listen”
“Watch her eyes”
“Don’t say the lines until you feel like it”
“Its okay to relax. Let yourselves connect”
The book points out that this is language of permission rather than enforcement. That seems to be the best way of working with actors. Permit them. Don’t order them. (I didn’t like it when I was playing Marty.)
Substitutions – Apparently substitutions are a pretty common thing with actors. And if we can get on board with that idea, we can help them out. It’s basically the idea of substituting real things in the actor’s life for what they are talking about in the script.
If an actress mentions her ex-husband in the script, but this actress doesn’t have an ex-husband, she needs to substitute someone. Maybe the ex-husband in the script is selfish so she finds someone in her own life that is selfish and pictures that person when she says the lines about the ex-husband. Pretty cool. This can work with all sorts of elements in the script.
So if you feel the actor isn’t getting the emotion of a line, maybe ask them who or what they are substituting for that element of the character’s life. If nothing, suggest something. If they have something, ask for a stronger substitution.
Adjustments – “If you feel the need to discuss the character’s emotion with an actor, you make the direction less result-oriented if you connect it to a metaphor-type adjustment. So you might say, ‘It’s not like the rage you would feel if a drunk driver killed your child. It’s more like when the phone company won’t come out to fix your service until next Thursday and insists that you be there all day.â€
I just lifted that entirely from the book because it is brilliant. Adjustments seem to be a great way of saying “bring it down” without saying it. Brilliant. I wish I had this tip on our feature.
There are many more lessons in the book and it goes into much more detail than I have here. And as I said, this is how I interpreted it.  The book encourages practice in order to master these techniques so I’m planning a time in the near future to get together with some actor friends and experiment. That should be helpful and a lot of fun.
Go out and pick up a copy. Directing Actors by Judith Weston!
This post was contributed by Jeremiah Daws, co-director of “Dangerous Calling” alongside his brother Josh Daws. Visit their website Adventures in Filmmaking to follow along in their journey to super stardom. This is the first in a two part series talking about directing actors and eventually reviewing “Directing Actors” by Judith Weston.
I’ve been involved in filmmaking since I was 8 years old. My first experience was playing “Marty McFly” in re-creation of Back to the Future. My older brother was the director/camera operator. His directing style consisted of telling me and the other actors what to say and yelling at us if we got it wrong or misunderstood his “eloquent” direction. But he was only 11 and he was a first-born and an older brother. It’s their job to yell at us younger brothers.
Flash forward 20 years and now we direct together. We just finished our first feature film, Dangerous Calling. Over the years I’ve directed dozens of short films (both with Josh and without him.) I got a B.A. in film (by going to three different film schools).
One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever gotten was from Sterling Van Wagganen, co-creator of the Sundance Film Festival. (He isn’t affiliated anymore and that’s probably why it’s not “Independent” anymore. But I could be wrong.) I’ll call him Sterling because I don’t want to type his last name again.
Sterling told my brother and me that if we want to be directors, get out there and direct. A lot. And he said it would eventually click. So we went out and directed. A lot! We made about 8 short films over the period of a year and many little video projects. Each film and project, we’d focus on one aspect of filmmaking – the shots, the sound, the screenplay. After that year was over, we started focusing on doing all those things well in one film. And after 3 or 4 really good (and longer) short films, we made the leap to our feature.
But the one thing that has taken the longest time to “click” is working with actors. We worked with our first “professional” actors while I was in my last year of film school. Up till this point, it had been friends, relatives, and ourselves playing the roles in our films. And let me tell you, hiring professional actors is the best thing you could do. If you are a filmmaker that is still using your friends after several years and you can’t understand why your movies don’t get any better – news flash. Your friends SUCK at acting. You SUCK at acting. Sorry. But you do.
So we used real actors for several projects. After the first few, we stopped getting excited when they showed up and knew their lines (something our friends NEVER did) and we started to notice that some actors are better than others. And I think we developed an intuition about actors. This probably has to do with what Sterling said about it all clicking.
Now, let me go back and lay down my experience with acting. I took one acting class in college. A woman who had done some impressive movies in the 80s taught it. You’d probably recognize her face but not be able to name her movies. Also, you might recognize her body from some of the magazines she appeared in after her movie career died. (Though I never saw them. She was my teacher and a sweet lady who probably regrets it.)
I really enjoyed the class more as insight into what actors do. I never had an interest in becoming an actor myself. I acted in several short films directed by my fellow students. They liked using me, probably because I could memorize the lines and I fit the roles that most student films are about – the nerdy, skinny, college student. I also did a monologue from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, which I think was pretty good. (My acting teacher said I have Jimmy Stewart qualities. Cool. He’s my favorite actor!)
All this being said, my experience with “real” acting wasn’t much. Having done a feature and several short films and video projects, I think we’ve gotten pretty good at feeling our way through directing actors. But after being in certain situations while directing our feature where I felt I was unable to help our actors get to where they needed to get, I wanted to look into getting better at working with actors. (Let me just say, the actors in our film did an amazing job and got to where they needed to but in some scenes, they did it without our help.)
I also took a couple of directing classes in college. These were EXTREMELY helpful in working out blocking – which includes working with actors. On this end of things, we do really well in talking to actors. We work together with the actors while rehearsing a scene to figure out the best blocking. And I’ve been really pleased with how our films are blocked and the flow of the actors through the sets.
During these classes, my professor gave her take on directing actors. She said that each beat of the scene should have a new Objective and Emotion. So for years, I’d go through the script and write out the Objective and Emotion for each new beat in the scene. Basically every couple of lines. And that is to be done for each character. As you can imagine, that makes the script very cluttered.
As you can also imagine, using this as a directing technique for actors isn’t very useful. We tried talking to our actors for our film Reading Time in terms of these objectives and emotions and they didn’t respond well. It felt like I was micromanaging their performance. And essentially that’s what I was doing.
Once we found that didn’t work, we took a more relaxed approach, still figuring out what the character’s objective and emotion were but just keeping that in the background. And it has worked for the most part.
So that’s where I was going into Dangerous Calling.
Stay tuned for the second part of this post coming up in a few days!!
I went to see The Incredible Hulk this weekend, and thankfully in spite of my reservations after a terrible version by Ang Lee, I enjoyed this rendition. This was a much more commercial version, and that’s the way it should be really with a comic book movie. This wasn’t an art film like the first one, and it wasn’t crappy like the first one. Edward Norton was a way better Bruce Banner than Eric Bana (where did that guy disappear to?), but Norton is hella mad at the studio.
Why is Norton so mad? Initially he was not interested in doing the movie, but after pleading with him and convincing him that he would have a great deal of creative input, including working on the script, he relented and signed on for the movie. Well after shooting pretty much everything the way Norton wanted more or less, the studio decided to edit out a lot of character development and other stuff that he had put into the story. Now Norton is refusing to do press for the movie according a Fox New story.
The movie is doing well at the box office after winning the top spot this weekend, and Norton is a well established heavy hitter, but I’m not sure you can get away with this kind of stuff, even at his level. I’m curious to see if this impacts his career at all.
UPDATE: It just dawned on me, Edward Norton is just trying to make a point to the studio, it isn’t good to make Edward Norton angry, you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry!
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