Creating a Short Film: 04 Working with Actors

Learn how to direct actors and get the best performances for your short film.

Introduction

• Welcome to this series
• The importance of acting
• Previewing our short film

1. Auditions

• About the casting process
• Finding actors
• Conducting a successful audition
• Evaluating auditions
• Casting our actors

2. Acting (Theory)

• Pretending vs. being
• Exploring acting methods
• Understanding character motivation
• Using scene obstacles
• Finding the stakes
• Interpreting the script

3. Acting (Application)

• Warming up the body
• Acting exercises
• Changing the action verb
• Listening to your scene partner

4. Conducting Rehearsals

• Should you have rehearsals?
• Holding a table read
• Allowing mistakes
• Recreating the scene
• Discovering the characters

5. Directing Actors

• What makes a good director?
• Supporting the actors
• Blocking actors
• Giving notes
• Directing emotional scenes
• Maintaining emotional consistency
• Directing a voice-over performance
• Directing child actors
• Directing nonactors

6. Interview with Eva Jane

• How did you prepare to play Ta'ani?
• Identifying with your character
• What was your favorite scene to perform?
• What would've made Ta'ani a stronger character?
• How do you feel about rehearsals?
• How can directors support actors?