Rehearsals
“To forego development prior to filming is to forego depth.”
The development of characters and building the thematic purpose lets the director and actors reach the deeper underlying meaning of the script. By meeting with the actors and developing their characters the director guides them into his vision. In the rehearsal stage it is key that everything is still in the development state. New ideas and input are essential, and most importantly, the chance for the actors to bring their unique outlook on the character you have cast them for. The director must be intuitive, looking for behaviour in the actors that resembles the behaviour he has imagined in the character.
A character has a childhood, history, inner experience, education, and manner that must be defined. This is essential for the dialogue to sound truthful. Good acting can make the audience slip from reality, and really believe that the character exists. Robert De Niro has literally become his characters, and in ‘Raging Bull’ he went from a fit boxer into a pot-bellied middle-aged man. He transformed his body for the role. To discover why an actor behaves in a certain way is the beginning of mannerisms that are true to the role. It is the director’s job to guide the actors into their characters being, and use their talents to bring the role to life. “Actors who create original characters do in fact study and rehearse as intensely as concert pianists.” It is the work in the rehearsal stage that gives the actors their best performances. “The director must understand the importance of tapping into the actors creativity.” Through observation, guidance, and intuition a good director will bring out the best in an actor.
Student filmmakers often concentrate on the filming and editing, and do not seem to cast or rehearse. This is done often for convenience and it shows in the poor acting. The lack of development and attempt leads to average productions. Things that are not worked out before hand, become problematic on the day, and the focus of the shoot is shifted. All attempts of filmmaking is valid, and each one should be treated as valuable. If well done an intense and beautiful shot five minutes can be as valid as a feature film. The beginning filmmaker should begin weeks before in planning, storyboarding, casting, and rehearsals; however, it is through rehearsing that development occurs – the development of the young directors mind and the development of the actor’s ability.
How to do it.
STEP ONE: Plan and be professional.
- Plan your rehearsal schedule well – working out everybody’s availability.
- Work to a pre-determined schedule.
- One hour rehearsal = approximately one minute of screen time.
- Squeeze in as many rehearsals as you can before shooting starts.
- Insist upon rehearsals as part of pre-production.
STEP TWO: First read-through.
- As a director you must make sure that your idea of each character is crystal clear.
- The first read-through indicates how an actor will interpret the piece and how the characters mix together.
- It is a good place to notice future problems.
- Work on acting associated with behaviour as it signals dialogue memory.
- Be receptive to the actor’s input and understand their motivation in portraying the character.
- Give a printed schedule for future rehearsals.
- Ask the actors to write a bibliography of their characters.
- Arrange to meet with each actor to discuss their feelings privately.
- It is important that the characters are formed in the actors mind without them learning their lines yet.
STEP THREE: First discussions.
- At this stage director must develop his thematic purpose through his cast. Actors cannot be limited, and therefore, can only be guided into the director’s vision of the character. More importantly they add levels to the character that the director did not even know about. By discussing the characters back-stories, developing the subtext, and highlighting the scene’s moments, the thematic purpose develops. As it is collaboration between the actors and the director, a good working relationship begins. The director uses this time to formulate his ideas for the rehearsals.
STEP FOUR: Rehearsals.
- Actors have learned their lines and the thematic purpose, and the subtext of each scene has been established.
- Make sure the actors rehearse in a place they feel comfortable in.
- Rehearse one scene at a time in chronological order to the script.
- Direct by asking questions. Unthreatening and positive ways of communicating let people discover things for them selves.
- A director must keep notes and impressions for the actual shoot days.
- Videotape rehearsals for it takes away the fear of the camera, and is like a Polaroid of what will come. It gives the director an idea about the actor’s behaviour, how to film, what angles look best, and how they should be lit. It frees the actor’s movements and lets the day of shooting not be such a performance, but rather a continuation of the rehearsals.
Rehearsal frees the mind of everybody. Film is hard work and must be treated as a job with each person performing to his or her best. Only after extensive rehearsal are actors able to develop their talents, and perform on the day of shooting. It is development as everybody involved learns about him or herself and hones their talents. Only experience can bring excellence. To develop an actor into the perfect character takes a lot of time and research on both the part of the actor and director. By the time of shooting the actor should be completely in their role and the presence of the camera non-existent. If the actors reach this stage through rehearsal their confidence and excitement builds, and there is the potential of a great performance.
All great performances are worked out meticulously before hand. When the work ethic is combined with talent the chances of success is heightened. To shoot a film without rehearsals immediately makes it a film of a different nature and purpose. By rehearsing the director and the actors develop the deeper underlying truth of the characters, and in doing so, understand themselves. For when we imagine characters we harness our own experiences and situations to create them. The word rehearsal should be replaced with the word development, as it is a process of learning, of expanding oneself vicariously through the characters. The script itself is developed through rehearsal as it is brought to life through interpretation. The director develops his rehearsal strategy by recognising the strengths and weaknesses of the people he has cast. He becomes closer with the actors and “the company can begin to absorb dramatic situations into its own authentic reality”. By learning together, and respecting each other enough to tell the truth, the deeper sense of the script will emerge.
Tags: Digital Camera Rehearsals, Rehearsals, Video Camera Rehearsals
