Directing Actors – Line Readings

Hi everybody my name is Dennis Corsi, and I’m creator a young filmmaking in the 21st century blog, so this video star series called “Directing Actors”. And I actually come from acting background I started out in either as an actor and I saw the film and theater acting, so a lot of my filmmaking approaches come with a really deep knowledge about the acting side of things.

so I thought I would do a series of videos pose, to help filmmakers communicate and direct actors. Other young filmmakers come from a really technical understanding of film, and often struggle and feel uncomfortable and having to work with actors.

so this is for you, so the first topic in this tracking actor series is called “”Do Not Give Actors Line Reading”. so what’s the line reading you might ask, is when you town after exactly how to
say their line.

It is when if the line script says get in the track, and you say the actor I want to say like this. Get in the truck or get in the truck, it is give in the exact inflection tone mood and everything to the actor exactly the way you wanted to sound.

Now this is time to do the director because you know how exactly how you want the line said, so easiest way is tell the actor say it this way, but do not do it. And here’s why, first of all it is not your Job, it is the actor job. Your job is as the director is to guide the actor’s performance to fit with your vision, your job is not to tell the actor exactly what to do. In fact the actor will probably feel insulted, if you give a line reading.

Because that shows them that you do not have confidence in their choices and their creative input. You cast is particular actor for reason because their cadens or their energy, or their attitude or something about that person fit to care that you wanted.

So trust that and trust that the choices that the actor makes will be through the character. If you give them a line reading you’re gonna squash any hope of truthfulness in the delivery in that line. Now at the time it might seem perfect to you, because it they said exactly the way you want it. But I promise you that when the audience watches it they are gonna feel something insincere about the way the line is said. Because it is not coming from the actor, it is coming from somebody else. Also Film is collaborative, there so many people working to gather , so many minds. It is not just the directors to create of input, your movie will be better if you allow other people ideas, and thoughts into the process. If you have your had the exact way that every line is supposed to be sad and know one else can tell you differently, then you should probably doing a one man show or get over yourself!

So what are some thing that you can do to guide an actor performance with giving them a line reading. You can give them an objective, you could say with this line you want to instill a sense of urgency in everybody else. Or you could give them a tactic seduce the other with this line. Frighten the other actor things that are active burbs, as a pose to giving the exact line reading. No the other video will talk about other ways to communicate with actors and other word and things that you say of them. To evolve the performance that you want.

So thanks for watching and I hope the next time when you have a temptation when you give a line of reading . Stop yourself and around this video and remember that giving a line foreading shows you weaknesses of director because it means that you do know how to communicate with that is properly or you you do not cast the actors properly.
So just do not do it. Subscribe this channel, go to my blog can the below!