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Saturday, April 17, 2010

Child/Teen Acting Seminar Results

We had the Child/Teen Acting Seminar today and it went very smoothly. What I liked was having the parents there. Lots of good questions were asked, and as a Director, I can only answer some of them from my perspective. Other Director's might see it differently.

Like what makes a great headshot. What is emancipation. How to get an agent. Whether or not to join SAG.

We spent a lot of time on the Audition. Instead of teaching actor to actor things that everyone's already getting, I wanted to offer them some cheat codes so that they can move to the front of the line and have a better shot at landing the roles in those auditions.

I believe that our local actors are every bit as much talented as the LA or NYC counterparts. The difference is experience and training. Training can be had fairly easily. But experience is the real difference maker. And here's why:

On a low budget movie, it's about how to get the best possible story with the least amount of money. An experienced actor knows without being told to find the light and find the lens. The experienced actor knows to hit marks resulting in fewer takes because of focus issues. The experienced actor knows to block in a consistent way to avoid continuity problems.

So get experienced. Find parts in films. There's a lot going on. Even shorts. And student films. Everything helps.

4 comments:

  1. thanks for being sincere and offering 'cheat codes' as you call them. often these are things actors only learn through experience, and sometimes the hard way. you have saved these kids a lot of frustration and embarrassment. i also really, really appreciated your emphasis on every actor being wonderfully and fearfully made and to remember that comparing is not as fruitful as being who you are supposed to be and letting God do the rest.

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  2. We attended this seminar and it was excellent. We geniunely appreciate your expertise, insight and it was very insightful. The parents of BB --Blaine says it was "it was cool and interesting"....he's 8.

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  3. I appreciate the kind words and encouragement! Glad it was helpful and especially glad to know we held the attention of the 8 year old.

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