Hitting Your Mark: How Actors Find Marks on Set

Hitting your mark means stopping exactly on the spot, usually a small piece of tape on the floor, where the camera, focus and lighting have been set for you. Marks are laid during blocking rehearsal, and actors find them by rehearsing the walk and using landmarks, not by looking down. Kym counts it among the four basics of being on set: know your lines, be on time, hit your mark, and have no ego.

What is a mark in acting?

A mark is the exact spot where you need to stand, or stop, for a shot. It's usually a small piece of coloured tape on the floor, often in a T or V shape that points to where your feet go, and each actor in a scene tends to get their own colour. Outdoors, or where tape won't show or stick, crews may use something else on the ground instead.

A scene can have several marks: where you start, where you stop to deliver a line, and where you end up. Hitting your mark means arriving on each one, at the right moment, without looking as if you're aiming for it.

Why does hitting your mark matter so much?

Because the whole shot is built around it. The camera is framed for that spot, the lights are set to it, and the focus puller (who, as Kym puts it, guides the viewer's eye) has measured the distance from the lens to it. Stop a little short on a close shot and you can go soft. Kym puts it among an actor's four basic jobs on set: learn your lines, show up on time, hit your mark, and have no ego.

Miss it and the shot can fail even if the acting is perfect. Kym tells of a director who got one of the best performances he'd seen from a very famous Australian actor and couldn't use it, because the actor had drifted out of his light; the scene had to be reshot. Casting director Lisa Zambetti listed the reality for a guest role: know your lines, and be ready to hit your mark and cry, on cue, while the set moves around you.

How are marks set on a film set?

In rehearsal. The director blocks the scene with the actors, working out where everyone moves and stops, while the director of photography and camera team watch. Once a position is agreed, a camera assistant lays a mark at your feet, and the focus distances are measured.

Then the actors usually step away while stand-ins take their places on the marks so the crew can light and set the camera; see stand-ins. When you come back, walk it again before the take. Director Kate Dennis told us she'll take as much rehearsal as she can get, but often doesn't get much, so make the most of whatever there is.

How do you hit your mark without looking down?

Practise the walk until your body knows it. These are the standard ways actors do it:

• Walk from your first mark to your second several times in rehearsal, at the speed you'll play it.
• Count your steps, and start on the same foot every time.
• Pick a landmark at eye level, like a doorframe, a picture or a piece of furniture, that lines up when you're in place.
• Feel for it: some actors find the tape's edge with a foot, or have a sandbag placed where it won't be seen.
• If you're close but not exact, make a small, natural adjustment rather than a glance at the floor.

Casting director Lou Mitchell said even unpaid short films count as real work for this reason: someone is telling you which way to face the light and how not to hit the furniture.

Who can you ask about your mark?

The camera team, for anything technical. Kym says that if the director is busy and your question is about blocking or framing, a quick word with the DP or focus puller is fine: how much room do I have on this mark? If I lean here, will that be a problem? Am I going out of frame? On a tight focus you may not be able to move an inch; on a wider lens you have more freedom.

They won't give you acting notes, and if you want to change the blocking, that's a conversation with the director. Kym also suggests asking the lighting team which light is your eye light, so you know where to find it.

What if you miss your mark?

Keep going. Don't break the scene to look down; a small, in-character correction often saves the take, and if it doesn't, the director or camera team will tell you and you'll go again. Kate Dennis said the technical side shouldn't swamp you: the performance landing matters more, and if something like this keeps throwing you, be honest and tell the director.

How do marks and continuity work together?

Each scene is shot several times from different angles, and editors cut between them. Kate Dennis, who once worked in continuity, said matching what you do, like taking a drink on the same line, gives the editor more ways to use you; otherwise they may have to cut away. The same goes for where you stand. Landing your marks on every take keeps the angles matching. Trust the script supervisor to track it, and do what you can without letting it take over your process.

Do marks change with the size of the shot?

Your margin does. In a wide shot you can be a little off and nobody will notice; in a close-up the frame and focus are tight, and a small lean can take you out. Kate Dennis told us actors don't need to know which lens is on the camera, and that a director should tell you how big the shot is. She also doesn't think the performance itself should change much between a mid-shot and an extreme close-up. More on screen technique in acting for the camera.

How can you practise hitting marks?

Know your lines cold, first. Kym's reason for learning lines to the point of muscle memory is that it frees part of your brain for the technical work, like hitting your mark, while the rest of you stays in the scene. Then get on sets. Risa Bramon Garcia suggested background work, student films and small independent shoots, so the pace of a real set, with one close-up and one medium shot before lunch, isn't a shock. At home, tape a mark on the floor, frame yourself on your phone, and practise walking into a tight shot and stopping dead on it.

Want the whole library? Start your 7-day free trial and watch every answer on this page.