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…but a giant leap for Eric-kind

Question:

so…after two decades of stage I’m now about to deal with "the other stuff"…I’ve been around TV and film but not very much and I’ve never directed except for one video of a monologue made as an audition tape for a friend

The safest thing to say here, Eric, is to disabuse yourself of any preconceptions you have about directing for the camera, save one: you’re in charge. You are the only person who has the dual perspective of what the finished scene should look like, and what you need to get out of your actors given the constraints of the medium: they can’t be too big, nor too small. They can’t linger forever like they might, exploring on stage (because literally time is money on film) yet they can’t be paced like race horses. And, as you know, what the shot ultimately shows is very different than what your actors are performing in. Keep reminding them of that as they question each and every choice you’ve made. For them, of course <g Carl  Get your FREE web-based e-mail and newsgroup access at:                 http://MailAndNews.com I promise to change my sig file as often as I change my newsreaders. – CASalonen

Response:

so…after two decades of stage I’m now about to deal with "the other stuff"…I’ve been around TV and film but not very much and I’ve never directed except for one video of a monologue made as an audition tape for a friend I’m not able to say anything much about the project…relevant things are that it will use a mix of trained and untrained performers…including singers, dancers and musicians as well as actors…some scenes will involve the acting of acting (show within a show stuff)…and it’s going to be very funny judging by the early drafts of the screenplay so…advice…I may have one actress who has made several commercials, and an actor who has done a TV acting module as part of his training ten years ago…other than that the only person involved with film experience is our post production CGI expert who is on the far side of the world…what are the things I need to know?…what are the things I need to teach actors used to stage but unfamiliar with the camera? don’t bother telling me to start with something small and simple…it’s too late…and anyway I’ve always done better by biting off more than I can chew rather than being sensible :) — eric "live fast, die only if strictly necessary"

Response:

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