1. Result Direction vs Playable Direction Flashcards
To promote productive talking instead of explanations and adjectives. Save time using a language that connects the actor to a process instead of wasting long minutes describing a result.
What is what most director call “Their Vision of the Script”?
When they read a script and inside their forehead they imagine the movie with certain way of delivery in the lines and facial expresions. (No matter how many times tephey read it, it always get the same “vision”)
Actors say: “The Director doesn’t know what she wants”. Meanwhile, the Director has a very clear vision in her mind of what she wants. What’s the problem.
Many Director don’t know how to prepare.
Why is this “Vision Of The Script” a bad practice? (4 things)
- Because it limits you to the images of the script.
- It forces you to make choices based on what you know about other movies instead of what you know about life.
- It denys any life of the character outside the script.
- It leads to “Result Direction”
What is Result Direction?
An attempt to shape the actor’s performance by describing the result you are after, how you want it to end up looking or sounding like.
What’s better than Result Direction?
Specific and playable direction.
Example 1: “Can you make it more quirky?”. What’s the problem whit this direction? (HINT: Game)
Adjective. The Actor-Director relationship turns into a guessing game. The director is asking for something different than what the actor is doing, what can it be? Then tries something else, and it doesn’t work either.
Why when a director asks for a certain mood, the actor usually brings the exact opposite?
Because the actor is placing his attention on the wrong place, is focusing on himself, monitoring himself and trying to give the result, instead of focusing on a doable task.
What is what the Actors call: “pulling the old bag of tricks”?
When they have a series of prearranged imaginative adjustments to get different moods or results that they can produce at will.
Why is the “bag of tricks” not a very good idea?
Because it prevents the performence to be
1. fresh - 2. surprising and - 3. insightful
It doesn’t lead to moment-by-moment connection to the material and the other actors.
Example 2: “Can you take it down?” Or, “Can you give it more energy?”. Whats the problem with this direction? (3 things)
- It’s vague and general.
- Could mean that she’s overacting. Or, is flat.
- They can add more emphasis to the uninteresting choice, or make them say the line more monotone, and dampen their expresiveness.
Example 3: “Don’t say: ‘YOU aways do that.’ It should be: ‘You always DO that.’” What’s the problem whith this direction?
It’s a line reading. It’s telling what inflection to give.
1. The actor can say the line like that, but without any life or subtext behind it. (because that line reading makes no sense to the actor)
What should the director look for instead of focusing on a LINE READING?
- It should look for the meaning of the line, not the inflection or result.
- Or even look for the intention of the character who says that line.
- Or what the scene is about.
Example 4: “I think [the character] is disappointed”. What’s wrong with this direction? (3 things)
- Is not a playable direction.
- Makes him look like an actor (fake), not like a real person.
- In real life, feelings are obstacles. We would prefer not to feel nervous, upset, angry.
Why is a bad idea to direct using feelings?
Because a playable choice, must be choosable. We can’t choose how to feel.
What happens when someone tries to control feelings, that means, selectively repress one feeling?
We can’t selectively shut down just one feeling. When one feeling is held back, all feeling gets shut down.
What’s the very “province” of the actor in the subject of feelings?
Emotion and impulse.
What is central to an actor’s talent, when talking about feelings?
Actors need to have the ability to be emotionally free and available to many subtelties of feeling, so they can deliver themselves to them.
What’s terrible and at the same time, wonderful about feelings?
They change. One person can be crying, and in the next minute, laughing. So… The more you let yourself feel, the more available you are to a new feeling.
Why does it have a shrinking effect on actors to tell them that “Don’t play it so angry.”?
They simply shut down feelings or become cautious.
Why trying to havw more feeling has the same negative effect than supressing feeling? Example. “Be more nervous”.
There is a temptation to push or overact. They become actorish.
What happens if the actor doesn’t believe that directing feelings is bad, and asks you for an emotion. “What emotion do you want me to have then?
As soon as you start envisioning the characters in terms of what emotion they should be having, you are loosing the chance for a genuinely exciting emotional event to take place.
Example 5: “When she tells you that she doesn’t have the money, you get angry.” What’a the name of this type of direction?
EMOTIONAL TRANSITION. .
How hard or easy are the emotional transitions to an actor .
It’s the trickiest part of acting. This is when acting can go sour and look unnatural.
What happens to the audience when emotional transitions get forced thanks to the result oriented direction?
They get out of the story.
Why is emotional transitions so difficult?
Because characters don’t know what is going to happen next, so they don’t know what they are going to say or do; and the actors do know.
What’s better than RESULT direction to manage emotional transitions?
A direction that connects the actor to a PROCESS instead of a result.
Example 6: “When the scene starts he is worried because she’s late. He is relieved when she arrives, but disappointed because she hasn’t got the money, and then he becomes suspicious that she might be holding out on him”. What’s the name of this “technique”.
EMOTIONAL MAP
What is the other term for “Mapping the emotional terrain”?
Explaining the character or psichologizing the character. (Which commonly passes for an understanding of what the script is about.)
What’s wrong with explaining the emotional terrain? People talk like this, don’t they?
Yes. It’s called gossip. It can be harmless and fun, but not productive.
What’s preferable to Mapping the emotional terrain?
Direction the is simple, followable and to the point. Directors need to always save time.
What happens when actors try to follow emotional maps?
Performance degenerates into an emotional connect-the-dots drawing, predictable. It can’t flow.
What is an alternative to EMOTIONAL MAPS?
THROUGH LINE
What is THROUGH LINE?
The EMOTIONAL REALITY of the character.
How do you connect with the THROUGH LINE?
With a sense of OBJECTIVE, or SIMPLE INTENTION.
What is OBJECTIVE?
Is what the character wants from the other character.
What is INTENTION?
What the character is doing to get his objective.
So what can be done to improve the scene where “he is worried because she is late? (Using simple objectives)
- Her: to get him to put his arms around her. Him: to get her to hit him.
Or 2. Her: to make him cry. Him: to get her to take care of him.
What happens when transitions become intellectualized instead of experienced?
Actor falls into what is called INDICATING: showing the audience the inner life of the character rather than living it.
Example 7: “This is how I see the character…”. Whats wrong with this direction.
It’s unproductive. It’s both result oriented and general. Just like we don’t get to decide what to feel, we don’t get how or what to be. (New Year resolution. Like when people say they’re going to be a nicer person… It never works, does it?)
What is more effective that saying “You are a bad person”?
“You did a bad thing”
What happens internally to the actor when tries to be “what the character is like”? (And fails agin and again)
It usually produces stress and self-doubt. Acting becomes an obligation, a burden.
How do you “tacle” what the character is like?
Actor and Director break down their ideas about the character into a series of playable tasks.
Why do most directors choose the easy way? (To talk about “what the character is like”)
Because braking down ideas into playable tasks, takes insigh and knowledge about human behavior, and it takes time.
What happens when directors keep throwing result-oriented direction at actors?
The have to translate it into playable tasks. And sometimes, when the camera is about to roll, they don’t have enough time to translate it and they don’t give a good performance. (So it saves time when the director can talk in playable terms).
Ejemplo 8: “Can you play him agressive, but pleasant?”. What’s the common name for this type of direction?
COMPLEX DIRECTION. (This is mistaken as the FINE WINE of direction)
Why does giving “complex” direction doesn’t work?
Because people are complex, yes, but they are not actually able to do 2 thins at once. The two things cancel each other out.
Whats better than “complex” direction? (“Shy but sexy”)
It’s better to ask the actor to say one thing and do the opposite. Or she may alternate what they are doing from one thing to another. (Which is not the same as “cautious yet cheerful”)
What happens to the actor when he recieves “complex” direction, for example, “shy yet dominant”?
He gets confused, so he ends up faking one or both of them.
Example 9: “He’s a punk”. Or, “She’s self-destructive”. What’s wrong with this directions?
These are negative JUDGMENTS on the character. They are the most dangerous consequence of deciding “What the character is like”.
For the actor. Why is judging the character is not recommended? What could happen?
If the actor is not on the character’s side, who will be?
Why are judgments a lie?
Because no one is born bad. Characters get to be who they are because of the needs they have, the things that happen to them, and the choices they make.
What is the actor, writer and director supposed to do if not judging characters?
Approach the character experientially. Placing him in a situation, allowing him to have needs and make choices (– not judging him).
For the audience. Why is it bad to have directors and actors judging characters?
Because the acting will telegraph the ending at the beginning. It will be a caricature. “I’m the hero”, and “i’m the bad guy”. There can be no suspense.
Why is suspense so important to the audience? The “what happens next” posture?
Even if they already know the ending, they need the real thing, real people having needs and taking choices. And not saying… “Hey! I’m the looser”. (The same as when some people are not liked by others for faking to much their emotions)
How do you make characters real besides using needs and choices?
With AMBIGUITY. Villains portrayed as recognizably human are far more frightening than cardboard cutouts. Or heroes making mistakes, making choices and coping with problems.
How can directors approach a character if they tend to judge too often?
As if he/she is going to play the part. Taking the side of the character.
Example 10: “Let’s give (this character) a hostile edge”. What tool is this direction using?
It’s deciding an attitude. It’s general and vague.
What are the dangers of asking for attitude when directing? (3 things)
- It makes the actor “show” something instead of “doing” something.
- Forces the actor to not listen and not engage with the other actors.
- It doesn’t let them be in the moment.
What should a directos look for, if not attitude?
Getting into the subwolrd of the character, his actions, his past decisions, his need. Creating an atmosphere of creative trust and freedom where actors listen and play off each other.
What are the 2 most common mistakes that directors do?
Give adjectives and explanations. (They are general and vague)
What’s the problem with COMPLEX DIRECTION. (Is it clear? Or better than just adjectives?)
It’s confusing. It’s actually worst than just using adjectives.
If director and actor develop character and relationships using ATTITUDE, what kind of performance do they get?
Generic and Formulaic
Why is asking for EMOTIONAL TRANSITIONS to confusing and hard to follow? (In comparison with just asking for emotion)
If we can’t choose what emotion to have, then changing emotions is a lot harder, is like trying to choose to have multiple emotions. ITS CRAZY.
What is an EMOTIONAL TRANSITION? (As a “direction technique”, which is wrong)
Is when you ask an actor to change from one emotion to another without telling him how. (Asking for a result and not giving a task).
What’s an EMOTIONAL MAP?
A decision about all the feelings and reactions a character is supposed to have. (Without exploring how to provoque those feelings and reactions).
What’s the core problem of the ADJECTIVE? (Besides being general and vague)
It’s STATIC. It describes someone’s impression of the character. So it’s descriptive and part of gossip.
What’s the problem with talking about the impressions that someone has of another person?
Because the essence of a person is not other people’s description of her. What others see is just the tip of the iceberg.
How can you help someone to create a believable characterization? (HINT: Experience)
By giving insight into how character experiences life, in a language that is EXPERIENTIAL, and not descriptive.
Why is SUBJECTIVE and INTEPRETATIVE language (adjectives) not ideal to the comunication between directors and actors?
Because is SUBJETIVE and INTERPRETATIVE. Interpretations vary from people to people. What someone considers “friendly”, may be seen as “sexual” to someone else.
EXAMPLE: “Not like that. Play it sexy”. What happens if the actor already thought it was sexy?
He will have one of two reactions.
- He will start to doubt himself, “Maybe I’m not sexy enough for this role”.
- He will loose respect for the director. “What’s wrong with this guy? He doesn’t know sexy when he sees it”.
If adjective are no ideal for comunication between director and actor, then… Why do most people use adjectives?
Because they serve our social needs to summarize, to intellectualize emotion, to categorizr experience. They are generalizations.
What is the primary experience?
Is the experience of our five senses. What we see, hear, smell, touch and taste.
How would someone explain an earthquake with using primary experience? (As a recent experience)
We hear breaking glass, car alarms, we feel the bed move under our bodies, our eyes strain in the pitch darkness to pickout shapes, we drench oj sweat. (Our sensory life is alive to detail).
How would someone describe an earthquake using adjectives? (Not recent experience… About 4 months after the earthquake).
It was horrible, very scary.
What is better for the actor to nail a performance. To receive instructions that summarize or intellecualize experience? Or to receive instructions that connect him to primary experience?
Something that connects him to the primary experience– THANK YOU CAPTAIN OBVIOUS!
What should directors be suspicious of? (That is used in result difection)
Adjectives, Adverbs and Explanations (Also… Emotional Maps, and Psychologizing).
What are the bad attributes of adjectives, adverbs and explanations? (Which is why they are bad for direction)
Subjective, Static, Superficial, They Intellectualize and categorize.
What’s the difference between lawyers, accauntants, vs Artists?
Lawyers and accountants should explain things… (Not creative). Not artists… they are here to suggest, illuminate, juxtapose and let the audience draw their own conclusions.
Characteristics of playable direction in comparison with result direction. (Playable direction - 5 things)
GENERATES BEHAVIOR rather than CONFUSION. DYNAMIC rather that Static SENSORY rather than Intellectual OBJECTIVE rather than Subjective. It's CREATIVE rather than Descriptive.
QUICK FIXES: How many TOOLS can someone use for PLAYABLE DIRECTION?
Five.
QUICK FIXES: What are the TOOLS that someone can use for PLAYABLE DIRECTION?
Verbs. Facts. Images. Events. Physical Tasks.
Why does these quick fixes work so good?
Because they are ACTIVE (verbs), OBJECTIVE (facts), SENSORY (images), DYNAMIC (events) and KINETIC (physical task).
So result direction never works? I mean, never never?
Sometimes it does. But usually only once. It’s not very repeateble. (The actor nails it on rehearsal or on set, then performance vanishes and everyone is mystified)
So playable direction can never stop working?
Sometimes they do stop working, but they are LESS LIKELY TO.
Why is the situation less hopeless when result direction (quick fixes) stop working?
Because in addition to be a good language in direction, they are excelent script analysis tools, they help the imagination to kick in. They are the keys to the character’s subworld.
What is so good about VERBS? (In comparison with adjectives)
They describe what someone is DOING, so they are ACTIVE rather than STATIC. They actually describe the EXPERIENCE, rather than the result of that experience.
Are all verbs great?
No. Not all verbs. Only ACTION VERBS.
What verbs are useless? Give examples.
State of the mind Verbs. To like, to resent, to fear.
What are ACTION VERBS?
Something you do to someone else. Verbs that help the actor focus on his other partner.
What verbs are considered best in the action verbs realm?
Verbs that have both emotional and physical component.
