| From Scottish TV: SMG TV PRODUCTIONS JOIN ACTORS CUT SMG TV Productions is pleased to announce its sponsorship of a new project entitled The Actor's Cut, a pilot workshop which will run from 19 - 30 June at Glasgow's award-winning Citizen's Theatre. Organised by Andrew Byatt, director of the Scottish Actors Studio (SAS), and led by Scots actor Denis Lawson, The Actor's Cut sets out to offer professional actors the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of the small and large screen industry from an experienced actor/director. The aim is to set up a top level, professional and unique 'screen acting' training course in Scotland. The main thrust of the extensive content is the demystification of screen acting, the difference between stage, film and television, how to choose agents and how to compete in today's competitive market. Actors learn and perform movie scenes which are instantly replayed via video projection onto a huge screen. There are places for twenty participants and 30 observers. SMG TV Productions have sponsored twenty bursaries, making the course free to the participants. Other sponsors include: The Scottish Executive, Equity, Panavision Scotland, Lee Lighting, Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh and BBC Scotland. Andrew Byatt whose acting credits include starring opposite Harvey Keitel in Peter McDougal's BBC movie "Down where the Buffalo Roam" said: "Scottish actors have the talent to become major movie stars – given the opportunity and the training. By sponsoring this event SMG TV Productions are signalling their commitment to invest in the acting talent in Scotland, and in the nurturing of future Scottish movie stars. I'd especially like to thank SMG TV Productions’ head of drama Eric Coulter for the provision of the bursary places which has enabled us to increase the level of technical provision for this workshop. This year’s course is unrivalled in its ambition and technical specification. We are shooting movie scenes using a digi beta camera and instantly replaying them via video projection onto a huge screen, allowing invaluable self-critique. Nothing teaches screen acting better than seeing your mistakes twelve feet wide by nine feet high! In essence we are, as near as possible, replicating an actual film shoot with a professional crew - without the big bucks riding on the results! We hope this pilot will lead to further funding from the Scottish Executive under their Union Learning Fund, and future support from all our industry sponsors.“ Previous SAS film acting workshops in Glasgow and Edinburgh have been led by Tom Conti, Mike Newell, Rutger Hauer, Pauline Collins, Mickey Rooney, Alison Steadman, Jonathan Pryce, David Drury, Ray Winstone, Tim Roth, Mike Radford, Bill Bryden, David Hayman, Maurice Roeves, Peter McDougal, Tony Smith, Ken Russell, Simon Callow and Danny Boyle. Supporters of the Scottish Actors studio include David Mamet and Al Pacino. Patrons of the SAS film acting project include Vanessa Redgrave, Peter Mullan, Garry Lewis, Ewan McGregor, F Murray Abraham, Brian Cox, Tony Smith and Peter Bogdanovich." Following his workshop Tim Roth stated "SAS is A class Act" Denis Lawson had this to add: "The reason that I've been very interested in these kinds of workshops is because of the way the industry has changed over the last twelve to fifteen years. Young actors are leaving drama school where training is geared towards the stage, but their early jobs, the majority of them, will be in front of the camera. It can be quite daunting to get used to all that technical equipment around you and a crew - and it obviously requires different techniques from the stage too. This is the third workshop I’ve done and the most ambitious to date. We are very fortunate to be able to draw on the experience of John Rhodes DOP and sound-man Louis Kramer. It took me, I felt, nearly ten years of work to become comfortable in front of a camera, and if I'd had more help as a young actor, or indeed at drama school, I think I could have got there a lot sooner. I think Andrew Byatt is to be congratulated for all the work he's doing for actors in Scotland, by helping them prepare for work with cameras”. For further information please contact Nik McHugh on 0141 300 3670 or email: nik.mchugh@smg.plc.uk |