Motion Sketches Episode 5 - Writing for Actors - Part II
Episode 5 digs deeper into
what actors want and how the writer and director can construct a work
of cinema that allows for real three-dimensional characters to emerge.
Featuring Miranda Otto (Lord of the Rings, Cashmere Mafia) and Jeremy Sims, episode 5 shows its often what you don't write thats most important.
Watch all the Motion Sketches episodes at celtx.blip.tv
Something Miranda Otto touched on in Part I of "writing for actors" resonated with me: as a writer, even though I want to write for the actors in my work, I unfortunately don't really have the latitude to do that because, in the first instance, I have to write for the readers of the script, the people who make the choice of whether or not to produce my script.
So, when I might want to leave the dialogue sparse, to give actors space to find their own expression and nuance, usually you are writing for producers and directors who may not have that refined sense of performance.
As a writer, one of my most enlightening moments came watching the commentary on "The Dish". Director, Rob Sitch, noted that Sam Neil would from time to time say to them regarding his own dialogue, "I don't need to say this." The inference being, the performance will say it. How many directors would pick that up?
Maybe that just means I have to become a better writer.
marks
Posted by
mark stavar
on May 28, 2008 at 08:52 AM EST
#
Something Miranda Otto touched on in Part I of "writing for actors" resonated with me: as a writer, even though I want to write for the actors in my work, I unfortunately don't really have the latitude to do that because, in the first instance, I have to write for the readers of the script, the people who make the choice of whether or not to produce my script.
So, when I might want to leave the dialogue sparse, to give actors space to find their own expression and nuance, usually you are writing for producers and directors who may not have that refined sense of performance.
As a writer, one of my most enlightening moments came watching the commentary on "The Dish". Director, Rob Sitch, noted that Sam Neil would from time to time say to them regarding his own dialogue, "I don't need to say this." The inference being, the performance will say it. How many directors would pick that up?
Maybe that just means I have to become a better writer.
marks
Posted by mark stavar on May 28, 2008 at 08:52 AM EST #