Article by Sacreeta Veneficus
Sacreeta here,
I am writing to you while I keep my boss’s pet hamster company.
I took a job as a columnist in this industry, for a very special reason: the benefit of actors. At the risk of sounding prosaic, I love actors. I love everything about actors, in every shape, size, age, and experience. I believe they all deserve a chance at success. They deserve support.
I speak from the actor’s point of view because I care, and I don’t make any apologies for telling them the truth. If it could save even one little starlight from fizzling out, then my work is worth gold. It saddens me when I hear stories of people giving up their dreams from frustration over rejections, or from falling victim to a con. If we actors stick together, support, and learn from each other, then we’ll have a strong bond. We do work together in this network, as all the parts eventually connect. What my boss has been up to is fantastic: He has regenerated the acting techniques, and the Kamitic Acting System is very well crafted. As I said before, I am very proud of him, and his work.
Enough about him.. lets get down to it.
Last evening, I had a girls’ night in. We relaxed back, with white wine, and put men out of heads. We weren’t missing date night, but it was definitely a night of reflection. For me, bonding with my female comrades is a must do, but I had an agenda.
Each time before I step in front of a camera, I have this little tradition of taking something new with me, of course a new outfit and pair of shoes helps, but I also bring along a new rule, or technique.
This time I decided to brush up on framing. Crafting your space in the frame before a camera can be the ultimate key in a scene. It’s a shame to see an actor work their little heart out, do brilliantly, and the scene completely flop because they weren’t positioned properly in the frame. This can happen, and usually it happens to the one in the supporting role. Let’s face it, they don’t have get same attention as the leading actor, and no one is going to do a retake for their benefit, and that’s fair. The leading actors are the focus of the film. That doesn’t mean the supporting actor doesn’t completely count, but the supporting actor would be wise to pay close attention to his or her own position.
Think of it this way, low maintenance = professional actor.
Getting into a mindframe for a camera-frame is essential. In my prep for this, I convinced my girlfriends to rent a low-budget film, which was a foreign flick from the UK. While the girls were giggling and chatting away, I sat back, and for one night I was an official self-appointed critic.
It’s a given, the room for creativity is modest, when we are working on a low-budget, quickly shot film, and this exercise was NOT intended to take a crack at the acting. It’s the perfect setting for learning about how the frames, timing and shots make or break a scene. At the end of the day, no matter how wonderful your performance was, it won’t mean a darn thing if no one sees it.
Amazingly enough, the best critics are the eyes watching the screen. The viewers. Even without being aware, they are the experts. When you work as an extra, the slightest glimpse of eye contact with the camera will blow the scene. Any eye contact you make compels the audience to return the sentiment, with wonder and expectation for the extra to become important to the scene.
It works the same for the actors. They have to pace themselves, their motion must compliment the camera, they must fit comfortably in the parameters of the frame, and always be aware the camera is the Cyclops, the one-eyed viewer, who they must discreetly include and welcome into their intimate space. Being aware, and timing it right, takes practice.
Never fear asking direction while on set. That’s what the crew is there for. While it may make you feel like an amateur, in the eyes of the crew, your questions about the frame will speed up the process, so in turn they’ll respect you for it. Is it a close-up? A shoulder-view? Wide-frame? Pay attention, that’s all important. Being on film is not the same as being on stage, it’s more precise, and improvisation is not easily achievable if you sway from the light, or interrupt the other actors.
At the end of the night, after many laughs, and bidding my girlfriends good night, I flicked off my TV, and my mind wasfixated on some crucial points of view, and those new tools will come with me to my next audition.. After watching the film, taking note of actors coming/going, and lingering too close the edge of the frame, and at times completely missing it, I had a clear mental note of what to watch for in my own performance.
My Friend, in this acting business we need to learn all we can, and taking the Kamitic Acting System is a step in the right direction. Learn how to get that role, and keep it, by signing onto the RKA Cinema Society’s bandwagon.
Sacreeta Veneficus, Senior Staff Writer
Representing;
RKA Cinema Society, Bronx, New York,United States
http://www.rkacinemasociety.com
About the Author
Sacreeta Veneficus Senior Staff Writer
Representing; RKA Cinema SocietyBronx, New YorkUnited States http://www.rkacinemasociety.com
Actor:Casting:Columnist:Novelist:Scriptwriter:College Instructor:Graphic Artist:Dancer/Singer
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