Acting Non-Actors
by Steve Parlini

Dealing with first-time actors with a DVX100 movie production budget is no easy task. Most of the time they become too self-conscious of their appearance on a digital mini-dv camera (a big no-no), grow impatient during film production hold-ups because they don’t understand the process or just don’t deliver their lines or actions properly. But – beggars can’t be choosers, right? So here are a few simple pointers to keep in mind when directing your undiscovered talent towards your onscreen vision.

Tee-Hee! This is Fun!

First thing’s first on a small film and video production. Get rid of the jitters. Most first time actors are going to feel weird “acting” in front of strangers - assuming that they’ve memorized their lines, of course. A possible case of the giggles, a little blushing here and there, quick and nervous delivery of dialogue…get ready for it. There’s a good chance it’ll happen, especially on a DVX 100 digital movie scale. A good way to help remedy this is to rehearse. Rehearse your actors with their dialogue until they get so comfortable with it that they’ll have a more natural-sounding delivery and not one that sounds forced or fake. Rehearse them in front of the DVX 100 to get them used to it. The more comfortable they are with their lines, the more confident they’ll be in their performance. And when they’re confident, they’ll begin to make it theirs. Little by little they’ll be adding a touch of themselves to the dialogue and the character. Before you know it, they’ll start sounding a lot more natural then they did at first. And a smooth movie production is a happy movie production.

I’m Ready for My Close-up!

The next step is to get them in front of that digital DVX100 camera. When you’re ready for your low-budget film production phase as you prepare to shoot their scene, have them do some rehearsals in front of the mini-dv camera. Not to mention, they’re probably a bundle of nerves knowing that it’s THEIR scene that’s going to be shot. They want to do a good job. Again, most first-time actors are intrigued by the “magic” of the video production process and what’s going on around them that they forget to concentrate on their own performance. So have them go over a few takes with the DVX 100 camera to let their nerves die down. You’ll find that their anxiousness will simmer down to a good performance pace. And don’t forget to roll tape during rehearsals…you just might be surprised by what you get!

Gimme More Energy!

Okay…now that your actors are good with their lines and feel comfortable in front of the lens of the DVX100, the next step is to be mindful of your actor’s on-camera emotions. This is important because if you end up shooting details of the scene later, you’d want the actor to keep the same facial expression AND ENERGY LEVEL! This will keep good continuity in your digital film and also when editing different camera angles together.

For example, let’s say you shoot a scene where your actor’s character has just been shot and is gasping for air. Then, because it’s the end of the film production day, you call “cut”, send everyone home and get ready to continue the scene next day. The next day comes, you pick up the same scene, but your actor’s expression and energy level is slightly off. Then when you go to edit the scene, you finally realize the cuts won’t match because in one shot, your actor is breathing heavy and in the other shot, your actor is calm. So beware! Be sure to take note and communicate the exact emotion and/or expression to be delivered by the actor on every take during your film and video production phase. Establish your desired emotion AND ENERGY LEVEL and roll tape!