Martina Cowen

Section 13

The Camera Smart Actor

The Camera Smart Actor by Richard Brestoff has proved very informative to me. It is easy to read,

and provides very useful information, both about camera acting as an art and more practical

information such as what to expect on set. There is a lot of information that I have been able to

transfer to my in-class work, both in front of and behind the camera. There is other information

discussed in the book which, while not relevant to my work at present, will be useful to me if I ever

pursue a career in film and television. Overall, the book has been a useful tool for me, however I

have a few issues with the writing style as I find it too conversational and unnecessarily drawn out,

especially in Chapter 6. While the author is clearly trying to make the information more accessible

to the reader, and I can appreciate why people might like this approach, I would have preferred a

more practical approach.

In Chapter 1, the idea of stealing the soul is discussed. Can the camera see into our souls and

reveal parts of us that we dont want to be revealed? It is an interesting topic. Watching other

peoples work in class, I have seen first-hand that the camera captures things in a different way to

how they would be seen in a theatre setting. Everything is much closer, and the fact that you can

position the camera almost anywhere you want gives the director much more scope to capture

everything, from every angle. In class, I have alternated between watching the actors performing to

watching the screen, and the experience is completely different. A camera, especially in close up,

gives you a much more explicit view, showing you things that you may otherwise have missed the

tiny flicker of someones eye, or the tightening of someones jaw. The eulogy experiment shows that

repressed feelings can also be captured by the camera, but the point is raised that the camera can

only see what it is shown if the feelings are buried too deep, it will not be able to capture them. As

discussed in the book, the camera does have its limitations with things such as only recording in two

dimensions, focus, and the fact that it sees motion in a series of still images. I found the experiment

talked about in the book very interesting the fact that people could lie to the camera, and the
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audience would not know who was lying or telling the truth. It reminds me of a video I saw about

four photographers who took photos of the same man but they were each told something different

about him. One was told that he was a recovering alcoholic, one was told that he was a fisherman,

one was told that he was a convict, and the last person was told that he was a self-made millionaire.

Each photographer took completely different photos based on their preconceptions of the man in

front of them. These photos were so different that they didnt even seem to be of the same person.

This shows that you can lie to a camera as each photograph captured something different in the

same man. In class weve experimented with cheating out to fool the camera when the actors

position themselves slightly differently to trick the camera into thinking they are in a certain position

but can still be seen clearly. This is another example of how the camera can be lied to. So we can lie

to the camera, but the camera can also lie to us. When we shoot film, our canvas is the screen.

Anything off-screen will not be shown. We believe what is on-screen without knowing what is being

hidden from us. The idea that the camera can be lied to is very useful to us as actors, since it is our

job to work from fiction to make something seem real when it is not. The photograph experiment I

mentioned shows this clearly. The camera can most certainly lie to us. The four photos were so

different that they didnt even seem to be of the same subject. How are we to know which is the

reality? None of them were! The Kuleshov effect is an intriguing concept. I can definitely see that

the viewer can be manipulated into believing an actor is expressing a certain feeling depending on

the circumstances. Kuleshov was of the opinion that actors werent even needed. While I do not

agree with this, in the photograph experiment, it seems clear that it is not the person in front of the

camera who is affecting the outcome, it is the person behind the camera. I would take this to mean

that in film acting, an actor may portray a certain emotion or feeling, but it can be changed

completely in the editing process. What I have learned from this chapter, that has been reinforced

by my in-class experience, is that camera can lie, the camera can be lied to, but it can also capture

true emotion if it is present.

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The second chapter discusses a topic I have thought about myself: the difference between stage and

screen acting. I have much more experience with theatre acting than screen acting. Acting for the

stage needs to be big and emphasised and has to work around set limitations. Sometimes I would

make choices in a scene that I thought were particularly powerful or emotional, only for the director

to tell me that it was great, but people in the back row would not be able to see or hear what I was

doing. The screen is different. We dont need to show that we are doing something (such as

leaning on a wall, as is the example in the book). This does not mean that theatrical acting does not

work on-screen. The only requirement is that it is believable and truthful to the essence of the

character.

The third chapter discusses the style in which films are most often shot. It explains that exposition is

very important in arousing interest from the audience. It goes on to explain the different types of

shots used: the master, the two-shot, the over-the shoulder shot, and the close-up. The

explanations of these four shots has been useful as I have been able to relate it to my classwork,

while in front of and behind the camera. The master, which the book describes as a long and

uninterrupted shot, may be the one time where the whole scene will be run the whole way through.

It is used as a benchmark for the rest of the shoot. I found this very useful in filming the scene from

Girls, which required me to eat sweets during the scene. It was useful to use the master as the point

of reference for this. The over-the-shoulder shot must be kept consistent. In class it was explained

that the actor must remain on the same side of the screen for these kinds of shots, otherwise it

seems like they have changed position. Shooting all these different shots means that the actor has

to do the scene multiple times. I have found this tiring in practice, and it is difficult to maintain an

emotional state and repeat it without it feeling forced.

Chapter 4 deals with the idea personalisation. Actors can often fall into the trap of having

preconceived ideas about how they want to perform a part. This is dangerous as it does not leave

any room for things to occur naturally in a scene. It is not conducive to believable work as it
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concentrates solely on the self, and not about collaborating with your scene partners. The books

advice to cross out all stage directions, and go through the lines with your partner without

movement, props, or costumes. This way there are no preconceptions about how the scene should

be performed. This means that everything seems more natural and not forced, allowing the actors

to bounce off each other and react to the situation. The only requirement is that the responses are

genuine. I find this to be a very useful idea. When rehearsing for our group scene, for example, I

tried not to have any preconceptions about how my character would be in the scene. When we ran

the lines for the first time, it felt natural to do things a certain way because of the actions and

reactions of my scene partners. I also took Ms. Fleisss instruction not to watch the scene seriously.

I did not want to be influenced by another actors interpretation of the same part. I wanted to

portray my version of the character rather than try to emulate how it was done originally. If I had

gone into the scene trying to copy what the original actress had done, it would have been a very

different scene and wouldnt have been at all creative. After we filmed the scene, I did watch the

scene, and found it interesting to see the different choices the actress made. Ultimately, Im glad

that I did not watch the scene beforehand as it allowed me to personalise the part. Otherwise I

might have been influenced, albeit perhaps subconsciously, by another actors performance and

therefore gone in with preconceptions about the scene which may not have worked. The book goes

on to say that personalisation is only the first level of acting, as while spontaneity is important, scene

to scene consistency is also needed. This is discussed in Chapter 5.

Chapter 5 talks of objectives. There should be an objective on each line of text, and an overarching

objective for the whole scene, with a super-objective for the film as a whole. The objective helps

keep the actor focused. An objective is a want what the character wants to achieve or what they

are fighting for. Without this, the scene would lack direction. The Camera Smart Actor uses Hamlet

as an example. It takes the small parts of Bernardo and Francisco and shows that, even if a part is

small, an objective gives it an undeniable realism. This made me think. Although it seems obvious

that even an actor with a small part should apply the same principles of acting to their lines, it can be
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very easy to disregard this and consider the part simple or not to require as much effort as larger

roles. The book quotes Stanislavski there are no small parts, only small actors. I have heard this

expression before, but putting it in context helped me to understand it better. Additionally, as the

examples in the book show, you can get so much out of a simple line such as Whos there? if you

apply an objective to it. I have used this idea in practice. For every line I have I write down what my

objective is. From this I can determine my scene objective, and then my plot objective. I had heard

of this before, but I had not considered another level of it that The Camera Smart Actor mentions:

the character objective, and how this may be different to the plot objective depending on whether

there are obstacles that the character must face in order to complete the plot objective. Also, the

character objective may exist beyond the confines of the script itself, outside of the words the

playwright has given the actor. It is thinking beyond the confines of the script that creates a truly

realistic and believable human character for, of course, the character has a life outside of the script.

There is a history that exists before the beginning of Act 1, Scene 1. Chapter 5 warns, however, that

it is important to make sure that character objectives are based on evidence that the script gives us,

meanwhile we should also use our instincts to develop these objectives. It is not simply the

objectives that create a believable performance, however. What is also necessary is the to show the

moments between the objectives the moments of victory and defeat and achieving or not

achieving said objectives. The book compares Marlon Brandos performance in Roots 2 with Robert

De Niros performance in Cape Fear. It argues that Brandos performance is better than De Niros as

Brando not only shows his objectives, but shows the moments in between them, making his

character relatable. Combining what is said in Chapters 4 and 5 is necessary if an actor wants to

create something believable. Not only does the actor need to be spontaneous and not be influenced

by preconceptions, they also need to analyse the text to fully understand the character and their

wants and desires. While it can be easy to imagine that analysing the text can kill the spontaneity in

a scene, I agree with The Camera Smart Actor when it says that analysing the text simply assures

that the actor is fully prepared for the role and understands the character. Without this, they are
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simply working moment to moment without fully comprehending why the character is the way they

are, which can make the character seem less realistic. I try to use this in my acting by analysing the

objectives of my character while simultaneously playing moment to moment. It can sometimes be a

hard balance to strike, but when done well it ensures that a character will be three-dimensional.

The information provided in Chapter 6 was very useful. Whereas chapters 1 to 5 discussed the art of

filmmaking and acting techniques, Chapter 6 provides practical information for working on a film set.

Reading this chapter was invaluable to me as it showed me what it is like to work on a set. There

was a lot of terminology and names of crew members that I did not previously know, so this chapter

has enhanced my knowledge on what goes on behind the scenes of a film. This chapter introduced

me to terms such as Second Assistant Director, pink pages, call sheets, gaffer, focus puller, camera

dolly, grips, film loader, and the 180 degrees rule. Some of these things have been relevant in my

classwork while others havent. The thing that has been the most relevant has been the 180 degrees

rule. If the camera crosses the 180 degree line it means the actors wont appear to be looking at

each other even if they are. I mentioned this earlier when talking about over-the-shoulder shots.

There were other things in this chapter that I was already aware of, but perhaps did not understand

fully. Reading the chapter clarified those things and explained them clearly. For example, I had

previously heard about hitting a mark and knew that it meant going to a certain place on set on a

certain line, but I was not aware that tape was used to mark these spots in rehearsal. We have used

this in class and I found it easier to find my marks by using the muscle memory technique described

in the book. Of course, most people are familiar with the image of clapsticks. I did not realise,

however, that the purpose of them is to line up the picture with the sound of the clapsticks shutting,

which I found out by reading this chapter. It was very useful to me to know how to work on a set

to befriend the camera operator so that they tell you when youre leaning out of shot, not to call

cut when something goes wrong in a scene (this is solely the directors job), how to speak to a

director to make suggestions, how to keep your energy levels up on set, and the fact that there is

very little rehearsal time. It seems obvious that since filming is a very expensive venture that the
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directors main priority is to get the filming done as quickly as possible so everyone keeps to the

schedule and does not run over time or over budget. This means that there is minimal rehearsal

time, and this can be frustrating as the actors will naturally want to rehearse until they feel

completely comfortable with their scene partners and their set. I had also heard about wait times

on set, and this chapter illustrated just how much the timing of the day can be shuffled around. You

may be called in the morning and arrive only to be told that youre not needed for three hours

because they need to film something else first. This chapter also mentioned things such as

wardrobe, makeup, transportation, catering and craft services, which are all valuable parts of a film

crew. As previously stated, this chapter has been invaluable to me, and while I have not needed to

use all of this information in class, if I ever do work on a professional film set (heres hoping!) it will

do me the world of good to remember the advice I read here. However, I will say this: while this

chapter provided a plethora of information, I dont particularly care for the style in which it is

written. I appreciate that writing the information as a script can make it easier to read (and it was

an easy read), I found it longwinded and slightly unnecessary. I would have preferred a clear-cut

chapter with information set out plainly. This would make it easier for me to go back and reference

specific pieces of information instead of having to look through a sea of dialogue, some of which was

not necessary. That is just my opinion. Talking to my classmates about this issue, I found many of

them to like the way this chapter was set out. The conversational style is easy to digest and perhaps

can make the information easier to recall. For me, however, I would have preferred something

simpler, which would also have made the chapter considerably shorter.

Chapter 7 explains that, apart from in rare circumstances or situation comedy, most filming is done

out of order. Instead of filming chronologically, the scenes are shot by location. I was already aware

and this chapter reaffirmed what I already knew. As I discussed above, filming is a very expensive

business. Therefore, it is much more cost effective to film every scene necessary at one location

before moving on to another. This can be confusing to the actor as the shooting schedule will not

follow the story of the script. As the book says, it is the actors job to ensure that, despite the fact
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that things are not shot chronologically, the audience is not aware that this is the case. The film

should flow smoothly from scene to scene, regardless of whether or not they were filmed in order. I

have always admired actors for this as I can imagine it can get to be very confusing, especially when

a project does not follow a strictly real-time plot, for example in the film Inception. In the film The

Theory of Everything, Eddie Redmayne plays Stephen Hawking and depicts his physical decline

caused by motor neurone disease. While this would be a feat for any actor, Redmayne was

confronted with the added challenge of filming on location, meaning he had to switch between

varying stages of physical ability through one single day of shooting. This, I imagine, must have been

mentally and physically draining, but Redmayne appears to do it seamlessly, resulting in a believable

performance that flows smoothly. I found the ideas proposed in Chapter 7 very helpful creating a

separate script and timetables to track which scenes are where in the timeline of the character and

which days these will be shot. This, Im sure, will prove very useful to me in the future, however, I

have not needed to use this information in my classwork as so far we have only filmed individual

scenes.

Chapter 8 introduced me to the idea of looping dialogue in post-production. I was aware that this

was done in filmmaking, but I did not realise just how extensive it can be. I thought that it was

simply to fix small things that did not record well on set, such as if there was background noise

during recording. I did not realise, however, that even if there is only one problem line, the entire

scene may need to be looped, even for actors who are perfectly audible as the whole scene needs to

match. It is desirable to have the sound consistent for the entire scene. I had already heard of

sound technicians taking room tone recordings to layer this sound over dubbed lines. Looping is a

scary idea as it seems like a huge task to have to try and match the performance in a scene after you

filmed it, and try and sync the words up exactly. As the book says, the worst fear for an actor is that

they will be brought in to re-record their lines because the director was not happy with the way they

did it originally. In that situation Im not sure how I would react. While I would be upset that they

were not pleased with my performance, I would try and see it as an opportunity to improve on it. I
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have not needed to do this in class as we are only concerning ourselves with production and not

post-production for the time being. However, when the class was filming a scene between two

actors, I was on sound and I found it challenging to keep a balance between them as one had a much

louder voice than the other. I can see that perhaps in post-production, they may have been asked to

loop their lines so that the levels are equal.

The final chapter talks about technological advances in film. One thing that it talks about is a blue

(or green screen) on a sound stage. So many films today use this as a way to digitally create

backdrops instead of filming on location, or creating computer generated characters. This can be

challenging to the actor as it requires a strong imagination, and makes it necessary for them to be

fully aware of what the backdrop will be, or where characters will be in relation to themselves, in

order to give a believable performance. One example I can think of is Sir Ian McKellen on the set of

The Hobbit. In one scene, his character, Gandalf, is talking to a room full of Hobbits. In actuality, the

entire scene was green screened and no other actors were present in the room. McKellen was

reportedly very upset by this, as he became an actor because he enjoyed interacting with other

actors in a scene. The chapter also mentions the fact that computers can digitally create characters

and crowds, and can actually create lines an actor has not said by sampling their voice. Something

the chapter does not discuss is motion capture suits, which record the movements of an actor so

that they can be digitally altered in post-production. Watching behind-the-scenes footage from

films, I have seen the amazing things that can be done with motion capture technology. Taking The

Hobbit as our example again, I saw a behind-the-scenes video of Benedict Cumberbatch filming his

scenes as Smaug the dragon. He wore a motion capture suit that recorded his movements and facial

expressions, which the post-production team then transformed into a CGI dragon. Cumberbatch

underwent a lot of research for this part, studying the movements and habits of komodo dragons so

that his performance would have a lizard-like quality to it. Like McKellen, I find this kind of acting

intimidating as there is nothing to inspire the actor in these situations. There is no set, no
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costumes, no other actors. I admire Cumberbatch for his talent and skill in executing a scene like

this, and hope to one day be able to do something similar myself if the opportunity arises.

Overall, I found The Camera Smart Actor to be a useful tool in my learning process. It provided me

with a lot of food for thought about the camera and film as an art form. It also provided me with

practical advice about what to expect on a film set which will be invaluable if my career leads me to

film or television. While some of the subjects in the book have been directly relatable to my

classwork, some of it we have not covered in practice. The book has taught me a lot and reaffirmed

things of which I had previous knowledge. On the other hand, I have some issues with the way the

book is written. While the conversational style may be useful to some, I prefer a more

straightforward approach. Reflecting on the book as a whole, I would say that despite its stylistic

drawbacks, I can most certainly appreciate it for what it is a comprehensive insight into acting for

camera, and I will draw on the skills and information I have gained from it in my acting.