Unit 307: Acting for the Camera - Emily Sliwka 4545

Physical and Vocal Skills  Since film acting is very different from theatre acting, it requires different use of skills, both physical and vocal. Whilst theatre requires skills such as loud volume and exaggerated movements, film acting is more subtle in many ways. However, this method of acting is just as complicated to master.  Where lines must be completely memorised for a theatre production, the use of camera equipment means that you can do more than one take in film acting to get the scene right. The lines should still be memorised, however mistakes can be fixed through editing.  In addition to this, where a stage production is performed in one run-through, a film production will take longer to complete, with many scenes often being filmed out of order. This means the actor will have to be flexible and adjust to contrasting scenes quickly and efficiently.  In our lessons, we looked at how different actors used both physical and vocal skills to portray their chara...

Understanding the Role:  For this performance I chose to perform a monologue by Al Pacino in the movie "Any Given Sunday". In the film, Al Pacino plays an American football coach (D'Atamo) who leads a struggling team to victory, but has to overcome many hurdles in the process.  In addition to this, D'Atamo has also had a difficult relationship with one of the players, which makes things more tense for him and his team.  Sheets/research:  To understand my role better I decided to do some research on the film and the character. I then made some notes on these, as it is important to know both the character and their feelings and objectives in the scene.  Who am I?  I am an american football coach for a struggling football team, the Miami Sharks.  What do I want?  I want my team to win their upcoming football match and improve their reputation.  How does this impact my character?  He is stressed and desperate for his team to win. He would do...

 MICHAEL CAINE SCREEN ACTING NOTES – finish film about halfway (check exemplars) + add link to film In our lesson we watched a video of the actor Michael Caine giving advice on acting for the camera. The link to the video can be found here .    We took notes on the different techniques:             Ignore crew and any audience – focus only on people in the scene            Eyes are IMPORTANT – focus on other characters’ eyes            Have to get to certain spots on set in front of camera – remain on marks to keep camera focus -           Have to make sure people can see your eyes -           Don't change eyes when looking into someone’s eyes – only look at one eye and keep focus on the same one – the best eye changes depending on what side of you the camera is on     ...

Physical and Vocal Skills:  Forrest Gump  In this performance, I was performing a monologue from the film "Forrest Gump", by the title character, filmed in a mid shot. The purpose of this was to demonstrate effective skills in acting on film, both physical and vocally.  This was a very emotional scene, so I used vocal skills such as a low volume and sad tone, as well as an upset facial expression.  I also used physical skills such as a slightly hunched posture and closed-in body language. I tried not to move or sway too much in the scene to stay in shot.  I also decided to have a fixed focal point for my performance, to ensure I am consistent in my focus and do not distract the audience. I decided to make this just past the camera, at around eye level, as though I was talking to someone just offscreen. I felt this would make the scene feel more realistic.  I also annotated my script with rough details on what skills and actions to use on specific lines, to ...