2.2 Demonstrate rehearsal skills including the technical skills required of a screen actor

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 give myself a better idea of how to perform. 

I believe I used my physical and vocal skills well in this performance, as my emotions were clearly conveyed, however if I were to do this again I think I would try to memorise my lines more, as when I rewatched my monologue I noticed that although my focus was good when I knew my line, I had to keep looking down at my script, which I felt broke up the focus. 

The link to my performance can be found here. 

Shot Types: 

Alfie 

In this performance, I performed a piece of dialogue from the film "Alfie", filmed in a close-up/mid shot. The purpose of this performance was to demonstrate physical skills in performing to camera. For close-up shots, it is important to remain as still as possible to stay both in shot and in focus. Especially if the film is showed on a large screen, swaying may cause an audience to feel sick due to the motion. 

In addition to this, it is important for the actor to have a consistent focal point, whether that is a camera, another character on or offscreen or a combination of them, to keep the audience's attention and their movement consistent. This includes keeping blinking or looking down or around to a minimum, especially in a close-up shot, where the audience will be able to clearly see the actor's eyes. 

They will also have to remain on their mark and not step over it in order to remain in the camera's focus. 

I believe I was successful in my use of physical skills in my performance, as I managed to convey what my character was feeling, as well as clearly show who he was talking to despit the other character beng offstage. I conveyed a clear difference between my lines using direct address, and my lines speaking to the other character. However, I think I could have worked on my facial expressions a bit more, to make my performance feel more natural and believable. 

I also annotated my script with actions and characteristics I felt would be fitting for my character, to improve on my continuity, as well as helping me to split my focus between the camera and the character I am speaking to offstage at specific points, to keep my focus. 

The link to my performance can be found here. 

Meeting the Mark: 

When working on a film set, marks are placed on specific parts of the floor by crew to indicate where the actors in the scene should stand and move. They are used as a guide for the camerapeople to keep the actor in focus and know where they are going to move next. It is important to not go over the mark, as this can cause the camera to lose focus. 

A mark commonly consists of pieces of tape in the shape of a T (to indicate where the actor's feet should go), across different points in the set. The actor will move across them 

They will often have differently coloured marks for different actors to make it clear where everyone has to stand. 

Here is an example of where the marks were placed on the floor, with other members of my group and I standing on one each: 

We had to think carefully about how to move to each of these deliberately, but whilst making the movements seem natural and gradual. 

In our lesson, we were tasked to perform a monologue in a wide shot. Whilst doing this, we would need to move to each t-mark during the scene, at specific points in our script. This was for the purpose of hitting the mark correctly, as that is what screen actors have to do in legitimate productions. It is important to multitask making sure that you are aware of the camera and where you are focused, whilst also paying attention to the marks and moving across them whilst making the movement feel natural, as this creates a more realistic performance. 

Moving consistently to points at the same time in each take is essential for a scene, as it makes editing much easier in post-production as all the takes are similar. It also means the camera is more likely to stay in focus when shooting the scene. 

We had to consider what changes to make to our facial expressions, body language and vocal skills when performing in a wide shot compared to a mid shot or a close up, as we will have to make sure the audience can clearly see our emotions and intentions in the scene. 

I made sure to annotate my script with which marks I would move to and when, to ensure I was consistent in when and where I moved in different takes and had a better understanding of my role: 

I believe my performance was overall successful, however if I were to do it again I would try and learn my lines more strongly as I feel like the focus was slightly broken due to me having to look down at my script. It would also mean I can focus more on hitting my mark without having to look down, allowing me to make more eye contact with my "audience". There were also times where I looked down at the marks to see where they were, where I should have tried to use my peripheral vision instead. 

A link to the recording of my performance, where I performed a monologue from the film Any Given Sunday, can be found here. 

Understanding Shot Types 

There are many different types of shots used in film. Each can help to convey different atmospheres, emotions and levels of tension. The most common shot types are: 

Extreme long shot: This is where the camera is zoomed all the way out on a scene, with the characters far away and in less detail. This creates more focus on the backgrounf of the scene, providing contextual information on the setting and atmosphere. It is mostly used at the beginning of a scene. 

Long shot: This consists of the camera being slightly closer than an extreme long shot, but with characters' full profiles still in view. This type of shot is used to compare the characters to their surroundings, combining focus on them as well as the background. The camera is close enough for an audience to infer relationships between characters through their body language, but nothing specific. 

Mid shot: A mid shot commonly shows the character from the waist up, which allows the audience to observe more details about them, such as facial expressions combined with more subtle body language which cannot be observed through wider shots. This helps us to get an idea of the character's emotions and personality. It is commonly used in dialogue shots for this reason. 

Close up: A close up commonly shows a character's face, from the shoulders up. This is also a shot commonly used for dialogue as it clearly shows characters' emotions through their facial expressions, and the more intimate setting can create a feeling of tension. 

Extreme close up: This is a shot that focuses on a specific part of a character's body or face, putting focus on it to to emphasise it, convey plot significance, or to create tension and heighten emotions in a scene. 

Shot Angles: 

The angles of different shots can also be used to represent different atmospheres in a scene, depending on where the audience feels they are "placed". Common shot angles include: 

High Angle: This consists of the camera being positioned above the focus of the shot, looking down on it. This is done to present the subject as small or inferior, as well as vulnerable. The impact of this shot can be altered depending on how extreme the angle is. 
An example of a high angle shot would be the scene in The Princess Bride, where Wesley is climbing the cliff. 

Low Angle: A low angle is shot from below the subject of the shot, looking up at them. This is often done to present the subject as powerful and make the audience feel as though they are much smaller than the character, presenting them as intimidating. 
An example of a low angle shot would be the agents looking for Neo in The Matrix.  

Shot angles like these also often represent power dynamics between certain characters, depending on the angle they are shown from. 

Eye Level Shot: This is where the camera is at eye-level with the character onscreen. It reflects how we see people in real life, giving it a neutral perspective, and lets clearly see the character's facial expression, emotions and body language. This allows us to feel more connected to the character by establishing a relationship with them, as though we are also a character in the scene. 
An example of an eye level shot would be the scenes in Deadpool where Wade breaks the fourth wall to talk to the camera. This is commonly used throughout the movie, and creates more of a personal connection between the audience and his character, which is emphasised by Wade's casual, comedic physical and vocal chatracteristics. 

Over the Shoulder: This is where the camera is positioned at shoulder height of a character, but focused on something in the background past them, usually another character. This brings attention to the subject now within the shot's focus, usually meaning it has plot significance. It can also create tension by revealing something behind the character that they have not noticed, or something directly in front of them to create a confrontational presence. 
An example of an over the shoulder shot would be in Star Wars, where Lando is staring down Darth Vader. This creates tension as we cannot see his full figure, and are unsure what he will do. 

Bird's Eye: This is where the camera is positioned directly above the characters or scene. It is usually used to show the setting of the scene from a unique perspective, presenting the focus of the shot (usually a character) as very small and far away. 

An example of a bird's eye shot would be in the film Hunt for the Wilder-People, where the camera shows an aerial shot panning over the New Zealand bush landscape at the beginning of the film. This emphasises the sheer size of the area and how dense the New Zealand countryside can get. It also creates a significance to the location, foreshadowing the plot later in the movie, where the main characters are trying to find their way through the bush. 

Dutch Angle: This is when the camera's horizontal axis is placed slightly off-angle. It is often used in tense scenes to create a feeling of unease in the scene. As the tension builds, the angle of the shot may also increase. 

An example of a dutchangle would be in Mission Impossible. It is used in many scenes in this film, but notably in the scene where Ethan is lowering into the vault and trying not to be seen by the man below. This is a very tense scene, with a slight surreal/comedic aspect to it due to the obscure nature of Hunt hanging from the ceiling, and the use of the Dutch Angle shot conveys both of these. 

In our lesson we looked at some examples of effective use of shot types in films: 

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: 

Wide shots and close-ups are very common within the film The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. The wide shots are used to helpe establish the scene's setting and the characters involved, and the close ups, which are often used side-by-side, are used to contrast this, focusing in on individual characters' faces to show their emotions and create tension. 

In one scene, between the characters Blondie, Angel Eyes, and Tuco, there are many different shot types to create tension. In the scene, they are squaring off against each other, with the scene building to a crescendo as one of them decides to shoot. 

There are many different shot types used in this scene, but it begins on an extreme wide shot, where we can clearly see all of the characters as well as the background, then moves to a wide shot, with the characters still in view. They then move to close ups of each of the characters' faces as well as their hands, creating a feeling of tension and giving us an impression of their relationships with each other as well as their unpredictability. These shots become shorter and more frequent until the climax of the scene, where they end up shooting at each other. This is shot in a mid shot, of each character from the legs up, with their gun out. 

In our next lessons, we then experimented practically with mid shots and close ups, performing a short scene where the character is using direct address to speak to the camera. 

Continuity: 

It is important to stay in character for as long as required during a shoot, sometimes even longer. This is to retain continuity of your character. 

In our lesson we watched some videos of acting coaches talking about staying in character during a performance. Here are my notes: 

Video 1 - Mark W. Travis - link to video 

Interrogation Technique 

• Tell stories as honestly, openly and authentically as possible through your character 
• Keep your performances consistent 
• Stop thinking about what you are doing as an actor & start thinking about what your character is doing - become them 
• Follow Stanislavski's techniques - using your own experiences to become your character 
• You must make your performance feel genuine 
• Strasberg techniques - you can relate your own feelings & experiences to the character 
• You must overcome obstacles in order to become your character: the biggest obstacle is the actor themself, as their desire to become the character prevents them from truly becoming the character - a character does not think about becoming themself 
• The actor needs to stop thinking about it 
• The director must not direct the actor but their character 
• You must question the character: who are they? what do they want? how will they get it? This is where the Interrogation comes in 
• When answering you are not talking to another character - you are answering the voices in the character's head 
• Everyone had voices in their head - what are your character's saying? 
• You must not force anything as this takes away the natural aspect - the actor must discover and stumble upon things 
• Each response helps to build the character - as though they are creating themself from the inside 

Video 2 - The Actor's Foundry - link to video

• Ignore your own instincts as they create bias and separate you from your character - what are your character's instincts? 
• If you use your own instincts you ar emore likely to make mistakes and fumble when playing the role 
• Create a new, uneducated instinct 
• You do this so you can see the script with fresh eyes and have a clear perspective as the character 
• Preparation is important - skills are built over time 
• You cannot expect yourself to be great in the beginning 
• Surrender to the scene and the character - let the character speak through you - become a "puppet" 
• You discover the scene when you stop thinking and focusing on what you are doing and start simply acting 

Stranger Things script: 

In our lesson we decided to practice our continuity as actors by getting into groups and performing a script from the TV show Stranger Things. We practiced our scene repeatedly, trying to use the same physical and vocal skills at the same points every time, to make sure our performance was the same. 

I made sure to annotate my script with my character (Lucas)'s lines, as well as my different specific movements and vocal characteristics, to make sure I know what to do to keep my performance consistent. 

We assessed each others' performances, and Katie (my partner) said that she found my performance consistent due to my use of movement, as I visibly kept them the same throughout multiple performances, and vocal skills, as I also kept the same volume, emphasis and tone on different parts of the script in my different takes.