26th Feb

Today we learnt about camera shoots and how acting on camera is different to on stage. Firstly, in a group we had to think of how TV acting and Theatre acting is different and write them down in a list. I contributed to this by giving ideas.

Difference in Shots

We were given a sheet that had different camera angles on and name which shot they were. I helped spot which camera shot was which. We learnt that for each shot you have to change how you act.
Long Shot you have to make your acting bigger and melodramatic. However when your filming a Extreme Close-up, because the camera is so close to you face, it picks up even the smallest movement.

Distance on Camera

We were then given a sheet that had different TV and Movie stills on, that we had to recreate then, and hold the position for 20 seconds. During this exercise I learnt that when on camera you have to be closer to people than you would in real life. When we were setting up the scene I did feel quit awkward. However when the 20 seconds started, and I was in role and focus, the awkward feeling went away. After doing this I learnt that actor have to be close to each other than they would in real life and in theatre. In theatre, the actors are a normal distance apart. However on screen the actors need to stand closer together to get them both in shot.

Cheating Shots

When watching we assume everything we are seeing is true. However sometimes the shot is cheated. All the viewer can see is what is on screen however as an actor we have to think about what isn't on screen.
For Example, If 2 people are in a fight scene and the director wants to get a close up shot of both actors together, and on actor is smaller, the smaller actor may need to stand on a box to achieve a good close up shot of both actors. However the viewer would never know that that shot has been cheated, because they can't see the box.