spreading my calvinist seed
Today's been a long one.
Got up at 06:30 to get myself together for an out of town corporate. Job was for a huge building concern looking to recruit some branch managers. I play a poor manager that they have to deal with. Nice gig and I really enjoy working for that particular client as it is totally outwith my previous work experience. In my previous incarnation as a computing wage-slave my first job was with Sun Microsystems for five years and then five years working for investment banks in the city. It was a totally different environment to working with an organisation focused on providing and maintaining social housing. All great character experience.
I did my job well but unfortunately the candidates were poor. Well, I say unfortunately, the longer it takes the more work it is for me. Still, we're there to find the best people and it will take as long as it takes.
That job was done and dusted by midday then it was back into london to film my segment in the sitcom. I was driven to constantly working on the script. For some reason it wasn't sticking. I was also unsure of my character and my delivery. Not a particularly great place to be.
Got on set an hour before call time and sussed out the environment. Good team of folk. There was at least fifteen of them of varying experiences - mostly early to mid twenties. They were all very relaxed and professional and although they were significantly behind schedule no-one was panicking and they were concentrating on getting the job done properly.
I spent the next two hours line bashing in the kitchen and that was ideal for me to cement the lines.
I finally got the call to set and basically went in there and delivered. There were no real problems with lines and my character was as rehearsed. So, in terms of them getting what they needed I hit the marks no problem.
I did however learn a few things (or at least was reminded of a number of things):
- know you're lines!!!!! forwards; backwards; sideways; ALL ways. I think I may have done too much theatre. I think I subconsciously demean film to some degree. WRONG!
In a theatre run, learning lines is like planting a field of seeds. It is very hard work but you are rewarded throughout the run of the play as those seeds root, sprout, grow, mature and take on their own life. So while your lines may be a little insecure you can be confident that you can nurture them as time progresses.
With film however the environment does not facilitate this process.. The lines need to be delivered full grown. You will be delivering some lines just once! At most you will be delivering the same lines a few times for different takes but as soon as they're delivered you're on to the next set. The lines; character and delivery need to be delivered fully matured. You need to be able to have gone through the full learning curve on your own and to walk on set with the confidence you would have achieved after a six month play run.
The lead female on the shoot is very good and totally secure in her lines. It was no surprise to discover that she trained at R.S.A.M.D. An excellent school with a strong emphasis on the practicalities and craft of acting. I really regret not going their early on in my life. Well, at least I regret missing out on that training and not necessarily on the life experience that Came with the path I took.
- know your tics!!! : I have a very unclear 'filmic' sense of myself. While I believe that i am doing a good job and the feedback agrees with this I cannot know what this means. I also have a very limited physical vocabulary and that which I do have is attuned to theatre.
I feel that the character I delivered today was basically me with funny lines. Nothing wrong with that - hey, I'm a witty guy don't you know!? - but it wasn't by choice but by default. If I had another shoot tomorrow it would be the same. While working on the script in the kitchen I was managing to break out vocally taking on appropriate accents and intonations but when I got on set I immediately snapped back into my saftey zone. Same old rythms; same old accent. I do believe that part of me still suffers from that bloody scottish calvanist dis-approval of showing off - damn fool!
It's good that I've spotted it. Perhaps a good way to solve this limitation would be to develop an extreme character based stand-up set to blast me out of my comfort zone. Develop an extreme set of characters. Develop in-depth life histories and derive the comedy from their own inner truth.
Hey! That sounds like a plan...
By the end of the shoot I was relaxed and enjoying the experience and then with a flash it was all over. My scenes were shot and they needed to get on with rest. I realised that I had actually had a great time and was really happy to be back on a film set. Felt a little emotional; tried to avoid the long goodbye and left.
My job was done.
Got up at 06:30 to get myself together for an out of town corporate. Job was for a huge building concern looking to recruit some branch managers. I play a poor manager that they have to deal with. Nice gig and I really enjoy working for that particular client as it is totally outwith my previous work experience. In my previous incarnation as a computing wage-slave my first job was with Sun Microsystems for five years and then five years working for investment banks in the city. It was a totally different environment to working with an organisation focused on providing and maintaining social housing. All great character experience.
I did my job well but unfortunately the candidates were poor. Well, I say unfortunately, the longer it takes the more work it is for me. Still, we're there to find the best people and it will take as long as it takes.
That job was done and dusted by midday then it was back into london to film my segment in the sitcom. I was driven to constantly working on the script. For some reason it wasn't sticking. I was also unsure of my character and my delivery. Not a particularly great place to be.
Got on set an hour before call time and sussed out the environment. Good team of folk. There was at least fifteen of them of varying experiences - mostly early to mid twenties. They were all very relaxed and professional and although they were significantly behind schedule no-one was panicking and they were concentrating on getting the job done properly.
I spent the next two hours line bashing in the kitchen and that was ideal for me to cement the lines.
I finally got the call to set and basically went in there and delivered. There were no real problems with lines and my character was as rehearsed. So, in terms of them getting what they needed I hit the marks no problem.
I did however learn a few things (or at least was reminded of a number of things):
- know you're lines!!!!! forwards; backwards; sideways; ALL ways. I think I may have done too much theatre. I think I subconsciously demean film to some degree. WRONG!
In a theatre run, learning lines is like planting a field of seeds. It is very hard work but you are rewarded throughout the run of the play as those seeds root, sprout, grow, mature and take on their own life. So while your lines may be a little insecure you can be confident that you can nurture them as time progresses.
With film however the environment does not facilitate this process.. The lines need to be delivered full grown. You will be delivering some lines just once! At most you will be delivering the same lines a few times for different takes but as soon as they're delivered you're on to the next set. The lines; character and delivery need to be delivered fully matured. You need to be able to have gone through the full learning curve on your own and to walk on set with the confidence you would have achieved after a six month play run.
The lead female on the shoot is very good and totally secure in her lines. It was no surprise to discover that she trained at R.S.A.M.D. An excellent school with a strong emphasis on the practicalities and craft of acting. I really regret not going their early on in my life. Well, at least I regret missing out on that training and not necessarily on the life experience that Came with the path I took.
- know your tics!!! : I have a very unclear 'filmic' sense of myself. While I believe that i am doing a good job and the feedback agrees with this I cannot know what this means. I also have a very limited physical vocabulary and that which I do have is attuned to theatre.
I feel that the character I delivered today was basically me with funny lines. Nothing wrong with that - hey, I'm a witty guy don't you know!? - but it wasn't by choice but by default. If I had another shoot tomorrow it would be the same. While working on the script in the kitchen I was managing to break out vocally taking on appropriate accents and intonations but when I got on set I immediately snapped back into my saftey zone. Same old rythms; same old accent. I do believe that part of me still suffers from that bloody scottish calvanist dis-approval of showing off - damn fool!
It's good that I've spotted it. Perhaps a good way to solve this limitation would be to develop an extreme character based stand-up set to blast me out of my comfort zone. Develop an extreme set of characters. Develop in-depth life histories and derive the comedy from their own inner truth.
Hey! That sounds like a plan...
By the end of the shoot I was relaxed and enjoying the experience and then with a flash it was all over. My scenes were shot and they needed to get on with rest. I realised that I had actually had a great time and was really happy to be back on a film set. Felt a little emotional; tried to avoid the long goodbye and left.
My job was done.
heidless (9:04 pm)
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