Choosing actors for a film

[Inarius]

Although all the actors have already been chosen, we do consider some new, if they prove to be very good to their role. So I have a question.

A few month ago I took a security course for a football security job. There was a part where we were doing immitations of random extreme situations between the security and the people who come in. There was someone who imitated a criminal who had to abuse and distract the security "imitator". And he did it very good and realistic.

We have just the same character in our film, but we had an actor already. Now that actor wants a different role, so I consider giving him another role, and taking on that guy from the course. My question is how close are such "imitations" to film acting? If someone is good at imitating a certain behavior, can I be sure he will do it in front of cameras? Or is that different?

 

[ahennessey]

I would say, it depends. How big is the role? An unexperienced person might get quite overwhelmed and also might find that the reality of shooting a film is very boring and unsexy. This could cause problems.

I would say to approach the person, have coffee with them to discuss it, and then audition them. With a camera on them. You will find out very quickly if they can pull that sort of thing off on demand or not.

Always remember, acting is a craft. Actors, especially experienced and trained ones work hard to be a able to perform at their best when and how often you need them to. Like any skill or craft, there are naturals, but they are about as rare as with anything else, and they still can be a problem if they solely rely on their natural abilities and never undertake any type of coaching or training.

To answer your specific question, the core of acting is the relation and connection to the other person or people in the scene, it is not simply imitation.

Like I said, it depends on what you need him to do.

 

[FantasySciFi]

Inarius,
As much as I think your questions are important: distribution, casting actors. This forum is about Screenwriting. Please direct your questions about film production to the appropriate forums. There you will find others who have expertise who do not read in this forum. While many of us do have wide experience, it's not the right place to post to get the best expertise to answer your questions. Just as posting in the Photography forum about writing a screenplay would be out of place.

Please do post about screenwriting here. It's always great to get your input and perspective. IndieTalk has a lot to offer, so you should take full advantage of the many experts available.

 

[Inarius]

I would say, it depends. How big is the role? An unexperienced person might get quite overwhelmed and also might find that the reality of shooting a film is very boring and unsexy. This could cause problems.

I would say to approach the person, have coffee with them to discuss it, and then audition them. With a camera on them. You will find out very quickly if they can pull that sort of thing off on demand or not.

Always remember, acting is a craft. Actors, especially experienced and trained ones work hard to be a able to perform at their best when and how often you need them to. Like any skill or craft, there are naturals, but they are about as rare as with anything else, and they still can be a problem if they solely rely on their natural abilities and never undertake any type of coaching or training.

To answer your specific question, the core of acting is the relation and connection to the other person or people in the scene, it is not simply imitation.

Like I said, it depends on what you need him to do.

Ok, thanks. What I do know, is that inexperienced people can behave differently when they know they are in front of cameras. I'll need to audition this person to see that.

Inarius,
As much as I think your questions are important: distribution, casting actors. This forum is about Screenwriting. Please direct your questions about film production to the appropriate forums. There you will find others who have expertise who do not read in this forum. While many of us do have wide experience, it's not the right place to post to get the best expertise to answer your questions. Just as posting in the Photography forum about writing a screenplay would be out of place.

Please do post about screenwriting here. It's always great to get your input and perspective. IndieTalk has a lot to offer, so you should take full advantage of the many experts available.

You're right, I'll create this topic in another sub-forum. The reason I did it here because the Screenwriting forum is in the Bookmarks folder, so it opens whenever I open the browser