Book Description
This guide for actors and directors develops a valid method for training performers to act from their core--whether they are cold reading, auditioning, or performing for film or television. This book teaches actors how to achieve and respond to believable and honest emotions before the camera, and it maintains that the key to a successful performance lies in how the actors relate to one another and to the circumstances. Exercises, including script examples, throughout the book give readers an easy resource for practicing the principles outlined.
The Art of Film Acting applies a classic stage acting method (Stanislavsky) to the more intimate medium of performing before a camera, teaching readers to experience an emotion rather than to indicate it.
Table of Contents
- Cover
- Half Title
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1. The Exercise
- Transcript of two actors doing a scene in class. Jeremiah interacts with them and guides them through the scene using the Five Arts
- Summary
- Actor Practice
- 2. Stage versus Film Acting
- Preparing for a Role
- The Demands of Performance
- One Good Performance
- Projecting
- Film and Theater Close-Ups
- Emotions and Feelings
- Subtext
- Camera and Proscenium Arch
- Personality and Character
- Dialogue
- Monologues
- Film Experience versus Stage Experience
- Reacting
- Summary
- Actor Practice
- 3. Becoming a Great Actor
- The Actor’s Responsibility
- Casablanca
- Acting Is Being and Awareness
- The Five Arts of Film Acting
- The Power of Relating
- Acting “On the Nose”
- Listen to the Other Actor
- Acting Is a Profession
- Summary
- Actor Practice
- 4. Sight Reading
- How Sight Reading Works
- How to Sight Read
- Importance of Sight Reading
- Second-Guessing the Director
- Multiple Auditions
- Helpful Hints
- Summary
- Actor Practice
- 5. The Art of Concentration
- Concentration
- Internal Rap
- Interest Is the Focal Point of Concentration
- Feedback
- Emotions
- Happiness, Sadness, Anger, Fear, Love
- Differentiating between the Emotions
- Laughter and Sadness
- Focused Concentration
- How to Increase Your Concentration
- Summary
- Actor Practice
- 6. The Art of Not Knowing
- Everything Happens As If for the First Time
- Being Intimate without Taking It Personally
- Beginner’s Mind and Logical Mind
- After the Scene, Forget It
- Opinions and Beliefs Will Destroy You
- Play the Character, Not the Stereotype
- Judgment Is a Trap
- Leave Your Feelings on the Set
- Self-Criticism
- Use Your Beginner’s Mind to Not Know
- Summary
- Actor Practice
- 7. More on the Art of Not Knowing
- The First Time
- Bad Acting on Film Is the Triumph of Logic
- Don’t Be Safe
- The Power of Not Knowing
- Memorizing and Not Knowing
- Repeating an Emotional Experience
- Discover Facts by Concentrating on the Other Actor
- Judgments Ruin Your Acting
- A Genuine Experience
- Summary
- Actor Practice
- 8. Still More on the Art of Not Knowing
- The Director’s Ideas
- Ideas and the Actors
- The Director’s Vision
- Good Actors Make Things Happen
- Directors Use Blocking to Elicit Responses
- A Director’s Scene Preparation
- Importance of the Art of Not Knowing
- Summary
- Actor Practice
- 9. The Art of Acceptance
- Acceptance
- Play the Game
- Trust the Roller Coaster
- Having Fun
- Sets and Locations Are Real
- Summary
- Actor Practice
- 10. The Art of Giving and Receiving
- Giving and Receiving
- Giving, Receiving, and Subtext
- Accepting Responsibility
- The Relating Exercise
- Different Emotional Levels
- There Are No Officially Sanctioned Responses
- Summary
- Actor Practice
- 11. The Senses
- See through Untainted Eyes
- The Abilities
- The Maestro’s Ears
- The Sense of Touch
- Touching to Relax
- Touching to Stimulate Love
- Touching to Provoke Anger
- Touching to Stimulate Laughter
- Smell and Taste
- Summary
- Actor Practice
- 12. Intimacy, Empathy, and Intuition
- You Are What You Are: The First Ingredient of Intimacy
- Intimacy: The Quality of Good Actors
- Memory and Fear: The Enemies of Intimacy
- Empathy
- Intimacy and Empathy
- Scenes “Not Worthy” of an Actor
- Physical Actions
- Intuition: Your Sixth Sense
- The Creative Inner Child
- Words That Prevent Good Acting
- Act, Don’t Think
- Summary
- Actor Practice
- 13. The Audition
- Getting Ready to Audition
- Casting for Type
- Film and Stage Casting
- Auditioning
- Film Audition
- Acting in Plays
- Approaches to Acting
- Physical and Emotional Aspects of Characterization
- Imagination
- Subtext
- Types of Actors
- The Message You Send
- Summary
- Actor Practice
- 14. More on the Audition
- The Casting Director
- The Job
- Acting Is a Business
- Why Actors Don’t Get Cast
- The Differences between the Relating Exercise and the Audition
- The Art of Not Knowing
- The “Where.”
- Sides
- Fear
- Relaxing
- Benefit of the Relating Exercise in Audition
- Skills for the Audition
- Preparation for Audition
- The Audition
- Commercial Improvisation
- Comedic Improvisation
- Dramatic Improvisation
- Summary
- Actor Practice
- 15. The Comedy Audition
- Comedy and Exposition
- Characterization
- Absurd Situations
- Environment
- Comedy Patterns
- Auditioning for Comedy
- Find the Humor
- The Elements of Comedy
- Comic Actors
- Physical Comedy or Farce
- Punching and Undercutting
- Rhythm, Tempo, and Pacing
- Rehearsal
- Emotional Ideas
- Preparing for the Comedy Audition
- In the Audition
- Summary
- Actor Practice
- 16. Conclusion
- How It Happens
- Summary
- Afterword
- How to Get in Touch with Jeremiah
- Bibliography
- Videography
- Index