Holocaust which consists of I think 3 live animal killings only for the sake of getting the brutality on camera. I guess it's no better than a slaughterhouse but at the same time, I don't consider that art. Though that's a rant for another time.This week has been a bit nerve-wracking (though far from stressful) but reckon I'm doing well, even if the production is really simple compared to the planning of say, a grad film. We've lost and gained a location or two but are now settled at Galina's flat which, like any location, has it's problems but I think we can easily work our way around these ones. It also doesn't have a massive mirror which would have to have been covered up.
After I confirmed with Michael the section he wanted to audition and he detailed the character description e.t.c. I sent a blanket e-mail to the actors of the academy. I learned a couple of things from this. First, this was the first time my "ok, I'll not direct to see if I can collaborate" idea took a step forward: I had created this character and Michael developed the backstory. It feels odd, but very gratifying, the fact that I can create a character and after reading the script and talking a bit about her, Michael created a background that enhanced everything I said. I guess it'd be like doing the line drawing side of a comic book and then someone comes along and colours it in.
Secondly, this was my first attempt at seeing how 'lucky' we really are to be at the academy. One of the advantages of studying at the RSAMD was that actors and such are close-by to help you
when casting e.t.c. While this had been told to me ever since Creative Beginnings, I didn't believe it worked until this week. I pieced together an e-mail with my questionable English skills and not only did they understand me, but I got a few replies, two of them almost instantly. It maybe would mean nothing to anyone else but I love the idea that actresses were willing to audition for something which initially was just an idea to go out and shoot something. Even more so, I imagined that the ladies of the acting course would be put off by a horror of any variety due to that stigma (you've read the paragraphs in my other post?) so I was shocked to get any replies.I was quite nervous before the auditions, as I was last week when we did Zam's directing assessment but I've come to accept this as normality for anytime an ounce of pressure is applied to anything I do but I do my best to cover it up. Laughing is a great one and I also wanted to get into the audition room as early as possible, so that at least I was comfortable. With our first audition I decided to dive right in and just introduce myself as confident and talkative. Usually I struggle with those initial few seconds of an introduction: Smile, be polite, be clear, make sure when you shake hands that you "stay on target" for their hand, eye contact, polite banter and then on to business. It's too much to do all at once sometimes but I reckon after 24 years I'm slowly getting better at it.
So I introduced our first auditionee to the rest of the "panel": Michael and Charlotte. Before it we made sure that we followed Zam's advice, no table, make them comfortable, take your time with them ask them their thoughts on the script e.t.c. and then once you've chatted a little get down
to it. Each time it seemed to work quite well, Michael was the general motivator for the sessions and myself and Charlotte were his wingmen (sorry Deborah "wingpeople"), bailing him out when he needed help answering a question or wanted to give the actor another note. I loved the entire process and while I sometimes had to restrain myself from wanting to take over, it felt good to have the 4 of us in the room work to hone the performance in the audition. I do rabble sometimes because I find it hard to be precise in my wording but I did a good job and only once did I have to take an actual pause before answering a question. Instantly though, from that first audition, I was shocked at the quality of the acting. In the same way that I'm shocked about how much we as 2nd year DFTV students actually know, I'm shocked at how much they, as 1st and 2nd year actors, can bring a great performance instantly to the table. They were also EXTREMELY willing to look scared, frightened and unglamourous, which isn't the first place you think young actresses might want to go to in their career. In all, I loved the process and really want to do it again, the hardest part will be telling the unsuccessful how much we loved them but unfortunatly we didn't go with them this time. Whichever actress we decide to cast, I reckon we'll get a pretty good performance out of them.UPDATE: We decided to go with Emily! Thankfully Amiera (who we didn't go with on this occasion) replied with a nice e-mail and was even polite enough to give me a little wave in the corridor. Good to know there's no hard feelings. That must be what professionalism is like.
I've now booked the moose bars and Black Pro Mist which my good DP advisor reckons will help the look of the film. This week, the plan is to have a tech recce, leave Michael to rehearsing and then...begin shooting! It'll be chaotic but fingers crossed all of the hard work pays off.
Sorry if this post is a bit out of step with itself, I've constructed it over a few nights!
"It was kind of boring for me to have to eat.
I would know that I had to, and I would."
Kate Moss
I would know that I had to, and I would."
Kate Moss
No comments:
Post a Comment