Acting in cinema can be easy... if you are taught the right way. Welcome to FilmCamp’s 1-day workshop Act in Cinema. Anybody can be taught to act. FilmCamp workshops are clear proof of this fact. Our participants know nothing about acting or filmmaking when they come FilmCamp. And yet, at the end of a day, they have completed a film AND acted in it. You can do it too!
Film Grammar for the actor:
At Act in Cinema, participants are introduced to the grammar of cinema. How is a film put together as a story? What are the requirements of an actor engaging in film acting? What are the different kinds of shots employed in a film? How does the actor convey different emotions through body language, facial expressions and eyes in the context of film grammar?
You learn all this through examples from Hollywood films. Then, you jump in and start doing it yourself, in front of the camera. You are given lines for a scene and assigned a character to play. Study and rehearse them with an instructor. Then come on camera with your fellow actors. We record your performance and review it with you. So you learn by rehearsing, performing on camera and reviewing yourself.
Film Script - The Bible: Participants are taught how to read and analyze a script. How to find sub-text, or elements of performance NOT mentioned in the script. These are open to interpretation by the actor and his creativity. How can an actor capitalize on this to delivering memorable performances on screen.
Beginning actors learn to listen to dialogue and explore spaces and silences. How to learn lines and not rattle them off by rote. All this, again, in front of a camera. Rehearse, perform and review.
Emotions and Feelings - An actor’s arsenal: Emotions are the bedrock on which actors build a performance. Actors, must be distinctly aware and be in touch with their own emotions. Actors are introduced to a range of emotional vocabulary they will encounter in any script. They will watch examples of great performances by Hollywood actors. Where do they find these emotions from? More importantly, where can you find them in yourself? Following this, students will enact small scenes with lines that employ emotions to create drama. Again - Rehearse, perform and review.
Film Production: Actors learn how a film shoot actually happens. How is it different from acting in a play. What are the challenges in playing roles that DO NOT develop in story order. How does this call for a higher degree of concentration and awareness on a film set? The endless repetition of action and dialogue on a film set - Why? Learn by enacting for the camera!
Movement on a film set: What is ‘blocking’ or ‘staging’ on a film set. Learn to work with movement while acting. What are an ‘actor’s marks’ on a film set? Why should actors hit their marks consistently, take after take? Understand the relationship between camera crew’s marks and the actors’ marks. Learn this by enacting shots with complicated movements combined with emotions.
Voice in cinema: Apt use of voice and tonal modulation add a layer of richness to the role being enacted. A wealth of emotion can be conveyed to an audience through adjustments and variations in voice by an actor. At FilmCamp we don’t dub voices and sounds in post-production. An actor’s voice is recorded in original and used in the film. Acting students learn to use voice as a powerful compliment to their acting performance.
Result of the workshop: Throughout Act in Cinema, actors will, at every stage - Learn - Rehearse - Perform and Review. Hence, participants get gain insights into cinema acting through practical instruction. This is done by helping the participant to shed inhibitions, understand the emotional import of the roles they play, infuse the characters with life and actually perform in front of the camera. Dramatic scenes enacted by participants are edited and put up on FilmCamp.TV’s Facebook Page. Participants are invited to participate as actors in FilmCamp.TV’s 1:1 FIlmmaking Workshop and in FilmCamp.TV productions.
