Update:
5 October 2009
UNIT TW0-LESSON SIX: ACTING
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LESSON SIX: Assignment List. Recommended time to complete Lesson Six: 8 hours. Check out these You-Tube videos on Uta Hagen's Acting Class (~4 mins). See also Ian Mckellen giving Ricky Gervais acting advice in this short video (~2 mins)—hilarious. |
WEBLECTURE #6
Acting the PartThe body is an instrument which must be finely tuned
and played as often as possible. The actor should be able
to control it from the tip of [her] head to [her] little toe. --Laurence Olivier
We've come a long way from the days of the "Love Goddess," but as Giannetti says, "Good looks and sex appeal have always been the conspicuous traits of most film stars" (250). Acting, however, is about more than stardom, good looks, and sex appeal. In Celluloid Mirrors: Hollywood and American Society since 1945 (NY: Harcourt, 1997), Ronald L. Davis writes that most current actors (the word includes both male and female performers)
dislike having undue emphasis placed on their status as celebrities, preferring to think of themselves as serious professionals whose craft happens to be acting. Certainly the larger-than-life image of stardom is not what it was during Hollywood's golden years. Actors. . . continue to be revered by the public, and those considered "bankable" in the industry are stars by virtue of their economic potential. Stars sell tickets and earn millions of dollars on each picture, yet their standing is precarious; a failure or two in succession can topple them. (171)
With the development of lenses, cameras, and sound-recording technologies, acting performances moved away from the exaggerated gestures, mannerisms, and pantomime of the "silent screen" and became more subtle, more realistic. Actors moving from stage to screen make a similar transition from large, even bravura performances to smaller movements of face, hands, body, and muted modulations of voice. Because they usually perform out of sequence in the story, because they must pretend to be someone else in small and separate units of time requiring short bursts of energy; because they may have to repeat a small segment of their performance again and again without losing consistency or truth to their character, without losing freshness or spontaneity; because they must often sit around on a filming location waiting for lights and cameras to be readied; and because they are separated in time and space from their audiences and play to a camera instead—film actors must have a high degree of concentration, patience, imagination, and skill.
An actor projects a character by being "believable" in expression, gesture, and spoken lines. What is "believable"? Anything that rings true to the character and to the situation. The film actor cannot hide from the camera. A phony thrust of the hands, a false tempo or volume or uneven or untrue dialect—and the illusion vanishes. The believability resides in the details of voice and body. And analysis of acting style and skill reveals the details that culminate in a convincing performance.
An actor creates a believable character by physical performance and by projection or communication of inner ideas and conviction. Film interpretation and analysis focusing on acting performances is typically a challenge; most reviewers fail to point out the details that culminate in fine or flawed acting performance and instead explain the plot or analyze the character or describe the mise-en-scene, or spend their word count teasing out interesting ideas from the film without giving specific details about what the performer does, exactly, to communicate those ideas. Effective analysis of acting performance requires close observation of what the actor DOES and how s/he does it--close attention to HOW the actor delivers the lines, and WHAT s/he does with the silences.
As an example of well-chosen words to describe an actor's performance, consider this excerpt from Giannetti's description of the physical acting performance of Klaus Kinski in Aguirre, the Wrath of God (West Germany, Werner Herzog, 1972): "Kinski's portrayal of a Spanish conquistador is conceived in terms of a treacherous serpent. His Dantean features a frozen mask of ferocity, Aguirre can suddenly twist and coil like a cobra poised for a strike" (264).
When describing physical performance or movement, paint a picture with words. Of the gestures, how does the actor use her or his hands and upper body? For facial expressions, describe the frequency and quality of smiles or frowns, twitches of cheek or eyebrow, sniffs with the nose, coughs and throat clearings. Of body movements, tell how the performer, in character, walks, runs, or limps, inclines the head to listen, throws or pushes back the hair, holds the posture, pulls on the mustache or the ear, picks at the nose or nails, and so forth. Describe the timing of the actor's movements in relation to the plot and movements of other characters. Is there any ensemble playing, improvisation? Do the performer's actions flow with or against the other players, in harmony or in conflict with the storyline? Of the voice, what pitch, volume, timbre, intonation, and pausal tics does the actor take on to play the role? Note the speech patterns. Does the actor use a special dialect, and are the speech patterns consistent throughout the film? Actors create characters from their imagination and intelligence and their repertoire of body and voice skills, as much as they build the role from the costume or make-up room.
Too often, students who want to describe acting end up simply retelling the plot or describing character traits but saying nothing, really, about the acting performance itself. What a good description of acting includes is detail about what the actor is actually doing with his or her body, face, and voice. Please take a look at Joerg Sternagel's essay, "Sensations of a Breakthrough Performance: Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line," to see how to focus on details of body language and facial gesture, as well as other details that show the actual acting performance.
Beyond the lines themselves, the script provides barely a hint about how an actor can bring a character to life. The actor creates "bits"—little pieces of action—to communicate ideas and feelings and bring soul to the character. Playing with body parts, clothing, or objects (like pencils or cigarettes) becomes part of the act of bringing a character to life. An able director can provide guidance, and sometimes in the cutting room does a lot of the work of generating character—but not always. The actor has to bring life to the words and actions prescribed by script or director. Watch and listen closely—and you'll see how the great actors make their movie magic.
Tips on Analyzing Acting Performance
To support generalizations and evaluations about film acting, the film critic informs the reader of relevant facts in the consideration of an acting performance and then analyzes those facts in light of the purpose behind the acting performance in terms of the film's story. First, the critic will give a physical description of the actor as a person, and will highlight what s/he has done to become the character for this performance. Then a particular scene is described in which this actor performs well. The analysis of acting does not get lost in details of plot but attempts to describe and analyze what the actor does with the body and the voice to convey emotion and move the story along. A good analysis of acting does not just describe the film character and tell what s/he does, but distinguishes the acting performance from other filmmaking techniques like story, writing, editing, in which the performance takes place.
Here are some points from which you can build an excellent analysis of acting performance.
Describe the physical characteristics of the actor: height, weight, body type, age, ethnicity, nationality, speaking style (including native language and accent), etc. Whatever you can find out about the natural person behind the acting performance will help you assess the quality of that performance.
Describe what the actor has done to change and/or mold his/her own physical, facial, vocal characteristics for this performance. Some actors gain or lose weight, cut or grow hair, learn new skills or hone developing skills (like piano playing), learn new languages and/or dialects, etc. An actor may also be credited for managing distortions in age and body type created by makeup.
Describe the acting style if relevant (naturalist, realist, symbolist; personality star or actor star, or professional actor - not a star but acclaimed for acting ability) and note the film genre and/or type of part in this film (comic, farcical, serious, romantic, tragic, musical - note singing/dancing skills - historical, fantastical, etc.)
Briefly describe the traits (physicality - same things as in #1 above, character, role in film, status) and function of the character portrayed in the film, as well as his or her relationships with other characters. Refer to the number of lines (film actors do not normally memorize all their lines as they do in live theater, but most good actors have a good memory for lines for scenes and shots).
Then, describe a particular scene in which this actor plays an important role and tell what idea and/or feeling is communicated by this scene; this should be a key scene. Tell what the character does, in general, to further the story in this scene (more about the specific actions in the next item). Your analysis will probably include more than one scene, since movies give us many key scenes to flesh out their characters; but it helps to focus scene by scene for a detailed analysis of the acting performance.
Describe in detail what the actor does in this scene to communicate the feeling/idea of the scene. Consider the following aspects of a performance, and as you describe them, make connections to the scene and its emotional impact:
Large physicality/visibility of the actor: physical body and physicality of the performance (here you can note the athleticism of the performance and tell whether or not a stunt double was used or the actor did his/her own stunts), costuming (note how body is or is not exposed via masks and stages of dress or undress, note distortions of body and masks).
Detailed physicality/movements: facial expressions, gestures (especially upper and lower limbs), poses, postures/stance (straight and tall, hunched over, arms crossed, hands on hips, etc.), use of props, athletic motions and abilities shown, other movements and connected sequences of movement
Voice: vocality or sound effects produced in the scene (audible body expressions, sounds made with fingers, mouth, throat, feet, etc.); speech clarity (precise or muddled); speech type (language, dialect, accent); speech quality: volume, pitch, tempo/rhythm, intonation, emphasis, tone
Connections with other characters and objects, including space between characters and use of props, reactions and other evidence of listening to, real interaction with, other actors in the shot. How does the actor show his/her relationships with the other characters here?
Consider whether the scene is one long take, or if the shots are long rather than short cuts, in which case we are able to really see the actor at work. But if the scene is broken up into many shots and short takes (more rather than less editing), then we can say that some, if not all, of the acting performance is constructed by the editor so that the editor gets at least as much credit as the actor, if not more.
You say, "That's a lot of stuff!" And yes, a good actor brings a lot of stuff to her or his performance. Of course, when you are discussing acting, don't feel you must touch on every point enumerated above. Just think about these points as you come to assess the quality of an acting performance.
Here's an example of a piece out of a longer acting analysis of an imaginary mystery romance starring Rita Hayworth and Clark Gable, movie stars in what have been called the "golden years" of Hollywood. The film critic wants to say that Hayworth's acting is really good, and here picks a scene where Hayworth communicates the flirtatiousness of her character, Karen. To say that the acting is "great" or that Hayworth's performance "drips with sexuality and flirtatiousness" and end there is not very satisfying; details to show what the actor does to communicate that she is flirting are needed to make for a satisfying analysis of the acting performance. Here are a couple of ways to do this:
In the following example, Rita Hayworth's acting performance is described but the focus is on Karen, the character in the story:
Karen (Rita Hayworth) is flirtatious in this scene. She shows she still desires John and oozes sexuality, desire, and guile as she slinks toward him, swaying her hips and licking her lips. Her blue eyes glance at him from under her eyebrows, and she keeps looking away as she approaches, then touches his arm, presses her pelvis toward his thigh, smiles sensuously, and whispers, "I'm here" . . . . (And so on . . . this is the way you start.)
To focus more on the actor herself, the film critic changes the emphasis and perspective, making the actor's name primary (and putting the character name in parentheses):
In this scene, Rita Hayworth brilliantly portrays a flirtatious woman (as Karen) who still desires the man (John, played by Clark Gable) she had brutally rejected. Hayworth exudes sexuality, desire, and guile by slinking toward Gable, swaying her hips and licking her lips. Her blue eyes glance at him from under her eyebrows, and she keeps looking away as she approaches, and then touches his arm, presses her pelvis toward his thigh, smiles sensuously, and whispers, "I'm here" . . . . (and so on . . . this is the way you start.)
When you provide details to show what the actor does to convey emotions and move scenes forward, you not only enlighten your readers, but you give them a better appreciation of acting performance. The details you give and the words you choose to describe the performance bring the scene back to life in the mind of the reader. You are a generous film critic when you give enough detail so that the reader can see and feel the film experience again, and in a new light. What a delight!
The Piano
(Australia / New Zealand, Jane Campion, 1993).
You'll be screening this film for the in-depth study of acting this week. The film took honors in the United States and other parts of the world, especially in Australia, where it won many Australian "Oscars" including best picture and director as well as sound, acting, etc. etc. Jane Campion was the first female director to take the Cannes big prize, the Palm D'Or, and she won the American Oscar for writing the film (plus Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Director). Holly Hunter, who plays the lead (Ada McGrath), won a "Best Performance" acting award and took an Oscar home; and Anna Paquin (who plays Ada's daughter, Flora) won the Oscar for her supporting acting performance. Harvey Keitel and Sam Neill, I think you'll agree, also put in insightful and moving acting performances, and won acting awards and nominations from other film organizations and associations.
The Piano is a beautiful film, but not easy to watch. Roger Ebert writes that it is
as peculiar and haunting as any film I've seen. / / It tells a story of love and fierce pride, and places it on a bleak New Zealand coast where people live rudely in the rain and mud, struggling to maintain the appearance of the European society they've left behind. It is a story of shyness, repression and loneliness; of a woman who will not speak and a man who cannot listen, and of a willful little girl who causes mischief and pretends she didn't mean to. . . . / / It is one of those rare movies that is not just about a story, or some characters, but about a whole universe of feeling - of how people can be shut off from each other, lonely and afraid, about how help can come from unexpected sources, and about how you'll never know if you never ask. (November 1993 review - rogerebert.suntimes.com)
The film is not just about the inability to communicate, but also about the inability to listen, both of which make it almost impossible to make or sustain authentic human relationships. (You can read my essay on this topic, and see some interesting questions that can focus your film experience here at "Listening" in and "Questioning".)
Below are some additional resources on the film. For now, check out this You-Tube for a clip of an early beach scene, important to understanding how different the two men see Ada: Stewart and Baines meet Ada and Flora (~6 mins - also linked in this week's forum). Then, check out this You-Tube clip, which shows us the scene where, thanks to Baines, Ada and Flora can return to the piano that her husband has abandoned on the beach: Reunion with the Piano (~4 mins).
Acting: The Final Cut
The best actors are constantly learning. They do exercises and play acting games. For an example, consider Kate Winslet, who won an Academy Award in February 2009 for her acting performance in The Reader (USA / Germany, Steven Daldry, 2008): see this Kate Winslet video Inside the Actor's Studio (~4 mins), in which she tells a funny story about Harvey Keitel's techniques for improvisation, aka funny-but-serious acting tricks). The best actors expand their vocal ability; for an example, see this NBC interview with Johnny Depp (and Tim Burton, ~4-1/2 mins).
The best actors educate themselves in history, language, culture, and philosophy. Their lives are devoted to developing knowledge as well as acting techniques; and they work very hard to give us the kinds of performances that entertain, educate, and enlighten us. When asked by an aspiring actor what advice she had, Meryl Streep said this: "Get a good education, know as much as you can about everything, and listen—and look at the world—you know—feelingly." When asked why she loved acting, she said (180K soundfile):
Your reputation is something that you carry with you and it gets in the way maybe the first 5 minutes of meeting people or beginning a project. It's a thing that stands apart from who you are and how you relate. But with the exigencies of movie-making, you've got to get down to it and you've got to get working and you've got to get into each other's heads, and it all goes away as you act together, and work and uncover—because that's all you do. And that's why I love doing it.
Imagine films without human actors! Even animated films use human voices (there's a whole field called "voice acting" for this type of acting). Actors provide the human dimension of life that films mirror for us; as human beings imagining other human beings or living creatures in their acting performances, they provide the emotional center in film.
Recommended Resources on The Piano:
- The Piano: IMDb site | Screenplay of The Piano, by Jane Campion (with Maori dialogue and translation) | Roger Ebert Review | "The Piano: Film Review" by Alan A. Stone in the Boston Review 1998: "Director Jane Campion was trained as an anthropologist. Now she's turned her hand from interpreting fables to making them." | Diana Saco's 1994 essay, "Feminist Film Criticism: The Piano and 'the Female Gaze" | See also this Norwegian Fan Site || Consider this essay (Word document) by Gloria Floren: "Listening" in and "Questions" on The Piano | Siskel and Ebert critique the film
- Jane Campion, director-writer: Senses of Cinema Campion site || Campion Fan Site
- Holly Hunter: Awards for Holly Hunter | Holly Hunter Fan Site | Hunter wins the Academy Award for Best Acting (video) | Holly Hunter gets a Star on the Hollywood (no pun intended) Walk of Fame (video)
- Anna Paquin: Awards for Anna Paquin | Anna Paquin Fan Site | Paquin at 11 years old accepts an Academy Award for Best Supporting Acting (video - cute) | Anna Paquin wins a Golden Globe award for acting in 2009, for her acting performances in HBO'sTrue Blood (video - amont other things in this interview, she talks about receiving an Oscar at age 11 for The Piano)
- Harvey Keitel: Awards for Harvey Keitel | Keitel Filmography |
- Sam Neill: Awards for San Neill | Sam Neill Fan Page | Archived Fan Site
Recommended Resources on Acting:
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Actors' Guilds and Organizations: Actors' Equity at http://www.actorsequity.org/home.asp || American Federation of Television and Radio Artists at http://www.aftra.org/ || Screen Actors Guild at http://www.sag.org/ | SAG Awards page at http://www.sagawards.com/
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General Resources on Acting: You have some links in the Weblecture. You can see more Inside the Actors' Studio video interviews with such fine actors as Johnny Depp (speaking of his Sweeney Todd role). || Listen to Ralph Fiennes speak of acting Hamlet (video). || Here's a series on Acting with Michael Caine: Part I (find the other parts on You-Tube if your interest is sparked). Listen to Michael Caine talking about acting for the Actors' Studio (if the link does not get you directly to the You-Tube video, then just type Michael Caine acting in the search window): Part I (10 mins) | Part II (10 mins) | Part III (10 mins) | Part IV (10 mins) | Part V (8.5 mins) | Part VI (3 mins).
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Method Acting - Stanislavski-Strasbourg: Actors' Center of San Francisco, with Shelly Miller || Actors' Studio || PBS Program on the Actors' Studio || Stella Adler/American Masters at PBS || Stella Adler sites: http://www.stellaadler-la.com/ || http://www.stellaadler.com || It was Adler's sense that "the theater exists 99% in the imagination" that informed her instruction. She proposed that one of the actor's primary concerns must be with the emotional origins of the script. A student's main responsibility was to search between the lines of the script for the important unsaid messages. This, she knew, took a combination of emotional availability and imagination. For her students she was both the toughest critic and the most profound inspiration, saying, "You act with your soul. That's why you all want to be actors, because your souls are not used up by life." To this day, nearly ten years after her death, Adler is still viewed as one of the foremost influences on contemporary acting. || Lee Strasbourg Theatre and Film Institute || Interview with Kevin Spacy, showing his gift for impressions, Jimmy Stewart, Johnny Carson, Katherine Hepburn, etc.(7 mins) | Salma Hayek interview about Frida includes commentary by co-star Alfred Molina and director Julie Taymor (~4 mins) |
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Technical Acting: Alexander Technique (AT): Alexander Technique in Acting (includes link to a complete Alexander Technique website) and here's an academic course of study in the technique from the University of Washington || New York Film Academy: Acting for Film ||