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There are five basic elements that make film acting unique:
(1) Separating the Actor from the Audience
In all performing arts, the audience is essential to the performer. Film, however, separates actor from audience and demands an entirely different approach to acting than that used on stage. In film, the actor is separated from the audience by artificial barriers. The actor must reach out beyond these barriers to project communication with the audience. To project successfully, an actor must be “believable”. Every gesture, every expression, every line of dialogue, must be true – true to the situation and the character. The entire thrust of contemporary cinema is to make us believe, and this is what the screen actor must address himself to. The audience is given an intense view of the character when the camera closes in. If the audience feels that what it is seeing is true, communication will be established, and the actor will be projecting not himself but the reality of the character he plays.
(2) The Cameras’ Effect on the Actor
The most obvious element that makes film acting unique is the camera. There is nowhere the actor can hide; one false move, one phoney gesture, one line delivered without conviction or out of character, and the scene is destroyed and the illusion of reality destroyed.
The actor who knows what the camera can do has taken the first step toward becoming a film actor. Because the camera can transmit a magnified reality, the actor need not “act” at all. One small tear shed in despair becomes, through the eye of the camera, more moving than all the screaming and shouting in the history of the theatre.
(3) Performing out of Sequence
Most films are shot “out of sequence” to meet the demands of budget and place. The schedule is usually designed to accommodate the most efficient and economical method of shooting.
However, if the actor has become the character, it will make no difference in what order the sections of the film are shot. The actor can play the scenes in any order because he “is” the character. He does not have to pretend.
Performing out of sequence in a film that requires subtle, progressive changes in character places severe demands on the actor. To cope with these demands, the actor must be so deeply immersed in the role that he can produce the total character at any given time.
(4) Performing in Separate Units
On stage, an actor can create his entire role in a time span of two to three hours. The screen actor, however, must work in small, separate units of time. When the camera is rolling, he must come instantly alive and must sustain the role for a brief moment. Then, he must be prepared to re-create that moment over and over, maintaining a consistent and convincing performance.
He must be able to conjure up the character he is playing at a moments notice. If he is submerged in that character, he will be able to react consistently at all times. Again, it is the actor who “is” the character who can best cope with the demands of screen acting.
(5) Reconstructing the Performance in Editing
The final element that makes screen acting unique is the actor’s awareness during filming that at some later time his performance will be re-evaluated and reconstructed. The final performance is created in the editing room from bits and pieces of the original performance given before the camera. Details can be added or subtracted. Dialogue, expressions, and movement can be used in an order quite different from the order in which they were originally performed.
The Total Performance
There are three basic elements upon which an actor builds a successful screen performance and through which his performance can be evaluated:
(1) Projecting Internal Conviction
Styles of acting can vary greatly, but performances are linked by one important element: believability. The great actor transmits inner conviction and knowledge of the character across the barrier of celluloid to the audience.
(2) Physical Performance
Some of the best examples of the use of movement are the films of Charlie Chaplin. The technique of filmmaking is so complex that the role of physical movement in performance is often overlooked. However, movement and body language are a major factor in revealing hidden facets of a character.
(5) Intellectual Communication
The actor must give the audience some insight into the mind of the character he is playing. The successful screen actor must be prepared to reveal the thought processes that motivate response and must give the audience a vision beyond the obvious physical elements of acting.
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A Short History of Film
Pt. 1: Silent Cinema 1895-1927
Pt. 2: Studio System 1927-1945
Pt. 3: Post-War 1945-1959
Pt. 4: New Waves 1959-1975
Pt. 5: Blockbusters 1975-2002
