Hollywood Secrets-Acting in TV, Film, Commercials & Theatre

Use this guide to examine your type

Be honest - ask your friends to do this with you as you may find things out about yourself that you dont even notice

Think about what Is unique about you

You may be tall , short , big , small lots of hair or none - think about what is unique about you

Think of all your unique talents - write them down

can you swim , can you surf , ride a horse , drive  - find what is unique about you and what will make you stand out

What is a monologue ?

We are often asked for a monologue in filming which gives the agent or casting director a chance to look at your acting and how you come across

A monologue is a piece of text that is just you speaking.

It is usually where someone is expressing how they feel at a given moment or a time when the person is alone and the camera is focussed on them

An exercise is to find monologues that suit your type

1).    An emotional journey

2).    A voyage of self discovery

3).    A retrospective look back

Dont get caught up to start with trying to find these but you will need them in your actors ' toolbox'

Find ones that fit your type , ( if you are not sure of your type ) look at the typecasting video

Learn them off by heart then record them using your front facing camera as you can see how you come across and how you move within the photo frame

Make sure your framing is set like I do in the videos so you are close up but not extreme close up

Practise these monologues until you know them off my heart

Once you have filmed them look back at them  , self criticise , look at bits you could do better , ask for opinions , find moments where you could pause ( but dont stop acting )  , find moments to build tension , to draw the audience in

Practise

www.monologueblogger.com is a good website to get monologues from to practise with

Confusions - by Alan Ayckbourn has loads of good monologues for all ages

A duologue is a conversation between 2 people

You may be sent a  ' side ' which asks for someone else to speak

You will then need to get a friend to read in for you when you tape or you can record yourself previous to this but its better if you have a. ' reader ' as you can react off their read

The reader needs to  ' read ' normally and not put any acting into it and not be heard over you as they are likely to be nearer the microphone

if you are on your own you can. ' imagine ' the other person having said a line so leave a space for the person to answer

You can use line learning apps to repeat the lines for you if you dont have a reader

Where do I look ?

When working on tv or film or recording a self tape you dont look into the lens but slightly to the right or the left of the camera lens

The director should give you an idea of where your eye line is and if you are not told you can ask where your eye line is required to be as they would know how the edit will put the scene together

When working on commercials you may be asked to speak directly to the camera ' as in promoting a product or be asked to look to one side or the other. Again you can ask the director where your eye level needs to be'

Dont walk out of frame

Dont make it too big

Keep the framing simple

Dont huff when you are asked to do another take

Projection and Diction

When filming you do not need to project your voice but you need to speak clearly and use your breath control in order to produce a good clear sound.

Dont speak too loud or shout as the sound person may have something to say about it

Diction - you must speak clearly , pronouncing the ends of words and the beginning of words

Your listener needs to hear all your words and not have them muffled

There are times when you will need to raise your voice ( careful of volume)

You need to use the breath to control it so it is using resonance but not shouting

You can also use your breath to create softer tones , whispers , telling a secret but again you need to control these and use them sparingly

Practise your higher and lower sounds to get variation in your voice sound

I use linelearner lite for learning lines

Also use teleprompter pro for quick self taping

Lightroom is good for filming