Actors’ perspectives on how to direct
Photo by Sai Sampath
Tuesday morning, four actors/directors joined Hollywood producer Bill Borden for the “Young Directors Forum,” a discussion on how to be a good director from their perspective on the other end of the lens. They also discussed the hard and persistent work it takes to really make it in the film industry.
“You’ve got to not be afraid to do whatever on the set,” said actor and director Maclain Nelson. “No job is below you … You’ve got to be willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, to get the movie made.”
The actors recommended not neglecting a college education because of what it teaches you and who it introduces you to.
“These are the people that will employ you,” said actress Blythe Auffarth. “You will find yourself contacting people that you never thought you’d reach out to when you leave into the real world. So make friends with everyone.”
Even after school, the actors said it was important to keep skills sharpened between jobs with improvisation, classes and finding mentors. Auffarth also suggested taking up something completely unrelated to the film industry; happiness isn’t dependent on getting work – the industry is full of long idle periods.
“You have to find emotional stability in that [uncertainty] or else it’ll be too much for you,” agreed actress Clare Niederpruem. She added that highs and lows are a fact of life in the film industry and they must accept that.
“People who are resilient in this and do not take things personally and do not let a failure define them or their self-worth – that is really where I’ve seen people shine,” she said.
A truly marketable quality, they agreed, is versatility and a willingness to do projects of all types and sizes.
“You can be picky, but after a certain point,” Nelson said. “Don’t be too good for a web series or improv or that kind of stuff. Do all the little things. The more tools you can have, the better — the more marketable you’re going to be.”
Though some actors consider web videos and other small projects beneath them, in the age of the Internet and social media, those projects can really pull in viewers. For example, the other actress present, Kristina Klebe, lost a role in a musical because her competition included TV stars with more than 20k Twitter followers. Though she’d been acting for years, she couldn’t compete with those numbers. The solution is to be involved in and appeal to as many things and people as possible.
There’s no reason versatility shouldn’t expand to skill sets, either.
“I started noticing that for a long-term career, which waxes and wanes … there is now a democracy of the arts,” said Auffarth. “You are now given a chance to produce content, and if you don’t see a box for you and an easy way to fill it, you can create that box.
“Develop a spin. Create a pitch. Because as you go through life, the demand for you changes,” she continued. “If you’re a director, write. If you’re an actor, consider directing or producing. Try to create as much as you can and to take the reins and to allow yourself control.”
The talk concluded with questions from the audience. Students mostly asked about a director’s relationship with actors and common mistakes new directors make.
“The thing I find is they [new directors] are so obsessed and concentrated on the cameras and setting beautiful shots and all this technical stuff,” said Klebe. “I find that first-time directors so rarely work with their actors.”
This is problematic because the actor/director relationship is so crucial to filmmaking. The actors stressed the importance of communication here.
“Talk to your actors,” said Niederpruem. “Do not be afraid of your actors. Talk to them and make them feel like this is a safe environment.”
Actors need feedback about their performance, dialogue about their character, communication about the story and intention of the film and agreement over how much the director will tell an actor what to do and how much the actors will decide for themselves. When coaching actors about their motivations, Auffarth said directors need to be concise and specific; not one-word orders, but also not long, controlling rants. Nelson suggested getting to know all the actors’ personalities before shooting so the directors have a gauge on how to approach them with criticisms or further requests. They recommended all directors take acting classes not only so they can understand what an actor does, but also so they know how to talk to them on their level.
According to Auffarth, “If you overlook your actors, you’re going to get a very botched performance.”
