Filmmaking 101 by John Goldman

Author:John Goldman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: video production, how to make a movie, make a video, make a movie, film director, movie producer, short films
Publisher: John Goldman
Published: 2016-07-09T00:00:00+00:00

Casting the Parts: Actors and Actresses

As director, you're going to have to choose the right actors and actresses for all the parts in your film, both big and small. It's extremely important to realize that even small roles or parts can make a huge difference in the film.

As the director you have your screenplay, you have your storyboard and you know the general mood and aesthetic you're looking for in your film. You also need to understand each and every one of your characters, no matter how small, to make sure you know what you're looking for.

If you want examples of how a small part makes a big difference, just look at Alec Baldwin from the movie "Glengarry Glen Ross." His character is in only one scene for less than eight minutes, and yet from a movie that had multiple Golden Globe and Oscar nominations, everyone immediately thinks of that speech when they hear the title of that movie. Many lines from that speech are common slang now, all because they had the right actor to make one eight minute scene completely unforgettable.

Knowing the motivation of your characters will help you have at least a basic idea of what you're looking for when auditions are taking place. This is a good baseline for where to start but it isn't the be all and end all.

When you go through basic casting, make sure you're recording each individual's performance. You may have strong gut instincts one way or another, along with the other professionals you trust to help you at the casting table, but reviewing everyone's performance on tape can be extremely helpful in seeing nuances that you missed the first time. There's also the possibility you were distracted during a pretty good reading, or that the second time around a person's emotions come across much weaker on camera than in person.

All of these things are good to know to help with callbacks and figuring out who deserves a second shot. Not only do you want to make sure that their excellent readings were not a one-off anomaly, but another important aspect that is overlooked far too often is seeing how the individuals being cast interact with one another during a reading.

An incredible example of this available to the public is right on YouTube. Look up Jeffrey Donovan and Gabrielle Anwar's readings for the TV show "Burn Notice." You can find each one gives a good individual reading, but you can also find the video showing their first reading together, and you can tell there's instant chemistry in the way the two portray their characters with one another. Once you see that even during basic casting, you can see the "magic" that was going to happen with the two of them leading a show together.

See what type of interactions you can get from the people who read well. Do the life-long buddies come across as good friends who know each other?

Do any paired readings spark intrigue and romance? Are there any particularly

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