Back from shooting and bringin big changes
After shooting Ruffian, Keith brings big
changes to The Actors' Place, Inc.
Well, I have been back a couple of weeks now from
Louisiana. Forgive my lapse in reporting here but, as you will understand
shortly, we have been very busy at The Actors' Place.
Before my departure, I was planning a major renovation of the space which, upon my return, I began with the help of some of my students. Chris, Marc, David, Brett, Jeff, and I set about framing and constructing an office, sound booth, and control room for the studio. We began by pulling up the carpet and removing the drop ceiling in order to give us the working room we needed to build. Here is a picture of part of that space as we began work last Wednesday. You can see the bottom of the wall bases along with the beginnings of one wall at the front entrance.
A week later now we have finished framing the walls and were passed by the inspector today. Here are a couple pictures of how it now looks.
Not bad for a bunch of actors huh?
In two weeks time it should all be done. The booth is being built to accommodate the new voiceover class which began two weeks ago. With 12 people in the class, it is an exciting and busy night. The new beginning acting class started two weeks ago with a great group of eager and devoted students. ANNND...... ALSO two weeks ago the advanced class had its first "location night." Every four to five weeks the advanced scene study class chooses one scene from that five weeks to shoot on location as a a film shoot. We drag out the Canon camera, lighting package, boom pole and mic, and all the other equipment and shoot the scene "for real." We started this now tradition with Marc Baker and Jaime Resh's scene from War of the Roses.
We did basic coverage of this film: a master, a two shot, and two close ups. Using a dining room graciously provided by Sylvia and Lou Harman, we crammed into their house and shot for three hours. The experience is one that cannot be achieved in a classroom. The big lessons learned that night were about framing, how the amount of movement allowable decreases as the camera gets closer, cheating eyelines as necessary when you move from one angle to another so that you still look as though you are talking to your scene partner but the camera can still see your face, consistency, continuity, the way lines seem to leave your head when you get frustrated, and the biggie... how BORING the process can be. You see, by the time you step onto set most of the work is not about your acting, it is about the framing and set-up.. it is about getting the picture... sometimes you are lucky enough to have a director who is taking care to make sure you give a great performance.. other times he/she just wants to get the shot.. so you have to be director proof and have all your homework done so that you are a self sufficient actor once you hit set.
That's all for today but it catches you up some. More about some lessons learned by the classes this week in tomorrow's entry. Be well.
Keith
Before my departure, I was planning a major renovation of the space which, upon my return, I began with the help of some of my students. Chris, Marc, David, Brett, Jeff, and I set about framing and constructing an office, sound booth, and control room for the studio. We began by pulling up the carpet and removing the drop ceiling in order to give us the working room we needed to build. Here is a picture of part of that space as we began work last Wednesday. You can see the bottom of the wall bases along with the beginnings of one wall at the front entrance.
A week later now we have finished framing the walls and were passed by the inspector today. Here are a couple pictures of how it now looks.
Not bad for a bunch of actors huh?
In two weeks time it should all be done. The booth is being built to accommodate the new voiceover class which began two weeks ago. With 12 people in the class, it is an exciting and busy night. The new beginning acting class started two weeks ago with a great group of eager and devoted students. ANNND...... ALSO two weeks ago the advanced class had its first "location night." Every four to five weeks the advanced scene study class chooses one scene from that five weeks to shoot on location as a a film shoot. We drag out the Canon camera, lighting package, boom pole and mic, and all the other equipment and shoot the scene "for real." We started this now tradition with Marc Baker and Jaime Resh's scene from War of the Roses.
We did basic coverage of this film: a master, a two shot, and two close ups. Using a dining room graciously provided by Sylvia and Lou Harman, we crammed into their house and shot for three hours. The experience is one that cannot be achieved in a classroom. The big lessons learned that night were about framing, how the amount of movement allowable decreases as the camera gets closer, cheating eyelines as necessary when you move from one angle to another so that you still look as though you are talking to your scene partner but the camera can still see your face, consistency, continuity, the way lines seem to leave your head when you get frustrated, and the biggie... how BORING the process can be. You see, by the time you step onto set most of the work is not about your acting, it is about the framing and set-up.. it is about getting the picture... sometimes you are lucky enough to have a director who is taking care to make sure you give a great performance.. other times he/she just wants to get the shot.. so you have to be director proof and have all your homework done so that you are a self sufficient actor once you hit set.
That's all for today but it catches you up some. More about some lessons learned by the classes this week in tomorrow's entry. Be well.
Keith
Posted: Wed - May 10, 2006 at 06:11 PM
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Published On: May 10, 2006 06:11 PM
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Published On: May 10, 2006 06:11 PM