Acting for the camera means letting the lens catch your thoughts instead of showing them: know the lines so well you can listen, keep your eyeline just off the lens, stay in your light and on your mark, and repeat your key actions so the editor can use your best take. The camera sees everything, so the work goes inside rather than bigger. Here is what casting directors, a director and Kym Jackson told us.
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Trust. Casting director Ricki Maslar told us the camera sees your indecision, your decisions, your smile and the glint in your eye, so you don't have to push anything to get it across. Gayle Pillsbury described the best auditions as almost camera-ready: specific, complete and alive. Risa Bramon Garcia praised an audition that looked as if the actor was ready to go to set.
Less than you might think. Director Kate Dennis told us she doesn't believe a performance should really differ between a mid shot and an extreme close-up, though some actors give a little more in a very wide shot. The bigger factor is the style of the show, and her job is to get everyone onto the same tone. She also says you don't need to know the lens: it's on the director to tell you how big the shot is.
When you're framing yourself, Kym's guide is: just under the chest to the top of your head for most scenes, tighter for a very emotional one, and belly button up if you move a lot.
Because the work is underneath. When Kym copies a master's scene beat for beat as an exercise, she finds they're often doing much less on the surface than you'd expect, with more going on in the layers below, and that being brave doesn't mean pushing. John Frank Levey told us experienced actors eventually learn to "do nothing": connect emotionally to the text and simply say the words.
Stillness isn't blankness. Gayle Pillsbury warned that many reads play only the surface emotion, with no inner life. Know what you want and how you feel about the other person, and let the lens find it.
Just off the lens. Darren Darnborough points out that TV actors look slightly to one side of camera, and your self tape should do the same. Gayle notices that seasoned actors know exactly where to look when they speak to different people in a scene. Keep your scene partner out of the shot: Kym says having them beside you pulls your eyeline sideways, so casting can't see your whole face.
Commercials are the exception. Shaan Sharma's tip for direct-to-camera work is to imagine one real person you'd want to tell, then talk to the lens as if it's them.
They decide whether your best take can be used. Kym told us about a director whose actor gave one of the finest takes he'd seen, then moved out of his light, so it couldn't be used and the scene was reshot. Ask a gaffer which light is your eye light: if your eyes go dark, the audience loses you. Ask the focus puller how much room you have on a mark, because on a tight focus you may not be able to move an inch.
Victoria Burrows suggests watching experienced actors on set to learn these tricks of the trade. Our hitting your mark page explains how marks are set.
Enough to help the edit. Kate Dennis says repeating actions, like taking a drink on the same line each take, gives the editor more ways to keep cutting to you. If you vary it every time, they may have to cut away. But she doesn't want it to wreck your process: trust your continuity person, and if it throws you, tell the director.
Know the words so well you can forget them. Kym learns her lines neutrally first, with no performance on them, so they become muscle memory and she's free to listen and respond to how the other actor actually says their line. Gayle cautioned against playing reactions you rehearsed in the car, because you're a different person by the time you're in the room.
Relax, too. Josh Einsohn named relaxation as one of the biggest differences in experienced actors, and Lisa Zambetti said the actors who excite her make the words their own, so she doesn't see the work.
You repeat the scene from several angles, and you must be ready each time. Lisa Zambetti told us that if you have an emotional scene, you'll have to hit your mark and cry, then do it again, while the crew works around you. Seth Yanklewitz noted that in coverage you won't always have someone really acting opposite you. Rachel Sutton's advice: stay focused between setups, because when they call you, you have to be ready.
Self tapes are free camera practice: frame, eyeline, light and a performance you can watch back. Kerry Barden says to watch your own tape before sending it: check the sound, make sure the light lets us see your eyes, and keep the background neutral. When you're ready, Kym recommends an on-camera class, which teaches framing, playing to the lens and finding your eye light, with footage to review. Our self tape tips and stage vs screen pages go further.
Know your lines well enough to listen, keep the performance inside rather than bigger, look just off the lens, stay on your mark and in your light, and repeat key actions between takes.
Learn the lines neutrally until they're automatic, then listen and respond to what the other actor actually gives you instead of replaying what you rehearsed.
Usually not. Look just to one side of the lens. Direct-to-camera work is mainly for commercials and presenting.
Less than many actors think. Director Kate Dennis told us it shouldn't really differ between a mid shot and an extreme close-up; the show's style matters more.
It's the light that puts a catchlight in your eyes. If you drift out of it, your eyes go dark and the audience can lose you, so ask the gaffer which one is yours.
Film self tapes and watch them back for framing, eyeline, light and anything pushed, then take an on-camera class when your foundations are solid.
Camera technique gets tested first in the audition room. Your Free Audition Room Guide covers what happens in there, from walking in to walking out.
Kym's free class: the ten steps, in order, from first class to first booking. Free, just pop in your email.
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