Directing Research

I have found a video of some leading film directors discussing their experiences and films with each other. This was a very insightful watch about their successes and their upcoming films and they gave out some advice that I think will be very useful when it comes to filming my drama piece. 

Quentin Tarantino stated that one of the biggest lessons he learned in directing was to "let the actors perform their visions of the character first. Its easier to make adjustments to what they have created for their character than to stamp on their expressions straight away. Plus, if you never let them show you their visions then you'll never know what that character could have been like".   

When I come together with my actors to shoot my project, I will ensure that during the read through and blocking that I allow my actors to perform their characters in the way that they have first envisioned it. Then I can make adjustments to the way they perform if I feel that there is something missing from the performance that is needed to emphasise something. 

Looking at a different director of the early film days, Robert Bresson created very emotionally powerful and expressionistic films. However, interestingly he always cast non-actors. He never wanted his cast to act. All of the emotion and power came from the way the film was put together.  Look at this clip for "A Man Escaped". The actors are not acting, they are "performing movement" to motivate the editing and propel the film forward. 

Bresson used an incredible use of sound design to build tension and his clever use of cuts of the gear shifts allow the audience to overlook the performance of the actors and focus more on the events taking place in the story. 

This has inspired me to really find interesting shots with purpose to propel my film forward which will allow me to be less reliant on the performance of the actors. 

Bresson also chose people with very interesting faces to star in his films which was enough to capture the interest of the audience alone. This is something that I will consider when choosing my actors.