Anybody know of a good resource for very basic acting/directing tips?
My actors are neighborhood kids, aged 9 through 11. We've been practicing daily so we can be ready when the real shooting begins. They tend to be really self conscious when the camera is on, which results in breaking into laughter mid-scene and/or overacting like crazy. Most of my direction so far has been just "don't try to act, just play it straight, don't make any facial expressions [they do anyway, but it's usually more subdued if I tell them not to], just say your lines" and that's yielded usable results (combined with cutting around laughter and such). I also try to catch them when they are rehearsing, so I can show them how much better it looks when they aren't trying so hard, but I'm not sure what feedback helps and what is just going to make them more self-conscious.
So I'm looking for some simple acting rules-of-thumb, and some exercises we could do to improve, as well as basic tips on directing. Any info/links/etc. would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Eric
My actors are neighborhood kids, aged 9 through 11. We've been practicing daily so we can be ready when the real shooting begins. They tend to be really self conscious when the camera is on, which results in breaking into laughter mid-scene and/or overacting like crazy. Most of my direction so far has been just "don't try to act, just play it straight, don't make any facial expressions [they do anyway, but it's usually more subdued if I tell them not to], just say your lines" and that's yielded usable results (combined with cutting around laughter and such). I also try to catch them when they are rehearsing, so I can show them how much better it looks when they aren't trying so hard, but I'm not sure what feedback helps and what is just going to make them more self-conscious.
So I'm looking for some simple acting rules-of-thumb, and some exercises we could do to improve, as well as basic tips on directing. Any info/links/etc. would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Eric