Film Directing 120: The Director-Actor Relationship

LEVEL 100 blogs are for film students and first-time directors taking on the directing role for a short film. The series is designed to help and guide new filmmakers through the director’s prep duties, pre-production activities, and principle photography dynamics.

 Be kind. Be generous. Be specific.

In the book, 21st Century Film Student PRIMER, all students are encouraged to take an acting course or acting workshop so they can better understand what actors do. Why? Because you’ll be a better director.

Acting mentor, Sanford Meisner, said, the actor’s job is ‘To live truthfully under imaginary circumstances.’ Directing Actors writer, Judith Weston, adds, ‘While other people watch.’

I have one more note: they need to do it over and over, in small pieces, out of chronological order.

This bears repeating: The actor’s job is to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances while other people watch, and do it over and over, in small pieces, out of chronological order.

Such are the challenges for a film actor.

Memorizing lines, connecting with other actors, keeping it fresh, staying ‘in the moment,’ and taking direction are tall orders for most people. Once you’ve walked in the actor’s shoes, you can better relate to the process of acting and being directed. 

When you’re working on an indie film or a student project in any capacity, like a boom operator, a camera operator, an assistant director, etc., you’ll have some interaction with the actors.  Your honest appreciation for how they get ready to do their job can be helpful to them, and to the overall energy of the set.

Hopefully, by understanding the actor’s event, you’ll bring an emotional maturity to the director-actor relationship.

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It’s not likely that a first-time student filmmaker will work with professionally trained actors, but that doesn’t mean you can’t raise the bar and have your best directing experience.

As noted in the casting blog, auditions are the first dates in the director-actor relationship.

If your casting session went well, great! If you felt underprepared, that’s a clue that you didn’t do enough homework. You’ll have to fix that before going further along in the formal director-actor relationship.  

Once your actors receive the whole script, they set out to do their homework. Unlike your script analysis, an actor is only worried about their character, their relationships, and their progression through the story.

Their singular focus is invaluable to you as a director. All their ideas about the character, all their investigative work, is a gold mine of information that can help you guide them to delivering a believable performance.

Trained actors look for a through-line, an overall drive: the basic need of the character for the entire script. This is referred to as a super objective.

Then, scene by scene, they search for what motivates them to take action. They look for a specific objective to carry them through each individual scene. More specifically, they want an objective that they can achieve within the scene.  

What are they trying to get? What are the stakes? Who or what is standing in their way?

Ideally, you are on the same page.

*Note: If not, we’ll bring in some ideas to help remedy that.

Like any good relationship, you must have patience. Unconditional patience.

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Good directors ask questions and are genuinely interested in the answers. They listen carefully to their actors. They seek to gain a deeper understanding. They build trust.

Strong, efficient direction is active, sensory, and specific – with non-actors, as well as trained professionals.

Here are some tips to help you get through your first-time directing experience with untrained actors – and these can also be useful with professionals:

• Use active direction. “Let him know that he is your hero.” “Let her know that you’ve fallen out of love.” “Let them know that you’re angry.”

• Use sensory direction. “When you enter, imagine the smell of baking bread.” “When you see her, feel like you’re sliding into a tub of warm water.” “When he says this line, it’s like a slap in your face.”

• Use a reference they may be able to work with. “It’s like you’re talking to a toddler.” “It’s like listening to your crazy uncle.”

• Use a visceral metaphor. “On this line, stab him in the heart.” “Give her a big mental hug.”

Using these techniques gets your actor thinking and working. It allows them to connect to the situation through their own experiences. Think of it as planting a seed in their inner monologue. Strive to inspire their imagination.  

After you give your direction, be generous with your time and allow the actors to process it.

This new inner monologue will create a different performance. Now it’s up to you to watch for it. Did they take your note? Did your direction get you closer to the performance you’re looking for?

Over the course of 3 or 4 takes, you can layer in more specific suggestions. But don’t overload your actors. Only offer one or two ideas at a time.

Finally, be vigilant with your language.

Avoid negativity. Saying something like, “No, no, no. Don’t do it like that,’ will get your actor to hold back and stop working. You DO NOT want to find this out the hard way. It can be difficult to get the relationship back on track.

The craft of directing is an ongoing learning experience. There are many different styles and approaches. We’ll discuss more in the following articles.

Remember, as you set out in your first time in the director role:

• Be kind to your actors.

• Be kind to yourself.

• Stay positive.

You’ll likely stumble and fall along the way. But there are lessons to learn every time you pick yourself up.

Obviously, there is much more to know about directing than this 3-to-4-minute read. But hopefully, this can get you thinking along the right lines and help get you started on the right path. 

We’ll look at rehearsals next. Then we’ll delve deeper into understanding the actors and more ideas on shaping a performance.

Last thing –  remember to have some fun!