Tag Archive for: Real People on Camera

Working with professional actors is one of the highlights of being a director. Actors bring a range of talents to a script, even when that script is nonfiction (the kind I direct). On a recent shoot with actors, I was reminded of some of the reasons I like working with pro talent. And also some of the distinctions it is easy to forget when working with nonprofessionals in front of the camera.

Nomenclature
One of the first differences between working with pro talent and non-actors is the words we use to communicate on set. If I’m working with actors, I can say “back to one” for going back to your first mark for action, or “let’s do a pickup” for repeating a line or phrase that had a hiccup. With non-professionals, we spend more time explaining actions we need, and often why we need them because we can’t use this short-hand. A great example would be explaining how we need both wide and tight angle coverage of the same action, which is why we shoot it multiple times. An actor knows this and will ask which lens or framing we’re on so they know what we’re looking at in our monitors.


Expectations
Good actors come to the set prepared to deliver their lines. If you are directing a scenario, they’ve already studied the setup and considered actions they might use to make the scene believable. If an actor is reading from a teleprompter, they will still usually request the script in advance so they are ready to read it without any stumbles. One of the problems I see so often with internal communications teams expecting a CEO or other executive to be able to read off a teleprompter easily is that this is a learned skill. Even if an executive does it multiple times a year for the quarterly report video, they don’t do it weekly or daily like a professional does. So they may need some coaching.

Selecting wardrobe is something pro talent expects to do on a shoot–it often comes as a surprise to non-actors.

Varying the timing or delivery of lines is something pro talent can do easily.

Consistency
Even when an actor is playing “background” and doesn’t have primary lines, they will be consistent in their actions. Maybe they pick up a coffee mug and take a sip during the scene. They will pick it up at the same point in the action every time, which ensures that we have matching action across multiple takes and camera angles for ease of editing. When you work with nonprofessionals and expect them to re-enact a scenario, even if it’s something they do every day for their job, they won’t be able to deliver this consistency. So plan accordingly and schedule additional time (at least 20% more time) for your shooting and editing.

Actors are an important part of our team as storytelling professionals. They can add depth, drama and professionalism to your next video. And if you need pointers for working with non-actors on camera, check out my book Real People on Camera from Routledge Press. It includes tips and strategies I’ve used over the years to get great “performances” from non-professionals in front of the lens.

 

DeLouise teaching at NAB

I love speaking at NAB Show!

I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting loads of interesting people at #NABShow in Las Vegas this year! If you’re trying to track me down, here are a few of my plans:

Saturday, April 16th

After a business breakfast, I’ll be off to get my credentials, to see how our #GalsNGear event buttons turned out (12,000 of them at registration desks!) and be sure our T-shirts got delivered to the store. Yes, guys are invited, too. See details under Tuesday below. Then for the afternoon I’m speaking at Post|Production World on Knocking it Out of the Park as a #SetPA an In-Depth Session on Essential Business Skills for the Freelancer. Then it’s off to an annual get-together convened by the ever-amazing editor Nicole Haddock.

Sunday, April 17th

I’ve got an early launch to speak at 8:30AM on Stress-Free Productions: Managing Clients and Executive Producers.   Then I’ve got a little gap, so if you want to grab coffee or an early lunch (love the little Indian place in South Hall) that would be great! Then it’s off to speak all afternoon at PPW: Career Transitions for CreativesSo You Want to Produce. Then it’s off to some private parties and one of my favorite Vegas shows, Jersey Boys.

Monday, April 18th

This day is gonna be fun but tiring. I’ll be speaking with @Adryenn and @RodHarlan in an All-Day Social Media Symposium ! Then it’s off to moderate a panel on a subject that’s important to me Creating Inclusive Work Environments with Douglas Spotted Eagle, Gayle Hurd of the National Association of Black Journalists, Sarah Serrano of Veterans in Film and Television.  Then it’s off to Media Motion Ball!

Tuesday, April 19th

This is gonna be quite a day. I hope you can join me in the morning for some coffee and donuts provided by Black Magic Design at the first #GalsNGear pop-up event, livestreamed by Broadcast Beat. Then I’m off to speak at PPW again: Budgeting Basics for Video, Putting Real People on Camera — a topic so dear to my heart I wrote a book about it! I’ll head over to the NAB Bookstore for a book-signing (please stop by! invite friends!) for The Producer’s Playbook: Real People on Camera. Folks in my classes will get special DISCOUNT passes during NAB Show! Then I’ll head back to North Hall to moderate a panel on Breaking Into the Industry with Christine Steele, Katrina Deleon of Production HUB, Ashley Kennedy of Lynda, Paul Murphy and DP Joseph DiBlasi. Boy will that be an interesting conversation!  If I haven’t lost my voice yet, then I’ll see you over at Supermeet or maybe the Killer Tracks party.

Wednesday, April 20th

My day starts with being a guest on NAB Show Live! with host Janet West tackling gender balance and #womeninfilm with some terrific colleagues I’m looking forward to meeting. Then, hmmm, should I head over to the show floor or take some chill time at the pool? Perhaps a bit of both. I’ll catch up with some Lynda.com friends and colleagues Wednesday for cocktails, then I’ll be headed to dinner. (Any great ideas? I do promise to repost my off-strip Vegas restaurant favs blog post, but always looking for more out of the mainstream rec’s.) I don’t head out until late morning Thursday, so it could be a late night!

I look forward to connecting with you in Las Vegas or at another content event this year!

 

Amy DeLouise is a Director/Producer/Author and Speaker at NAB Show among other industry events. Her new book The Producer’s Playbook: Real People on Camera is out tjhis week from Focal Press.