Confidence on Camera

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www.confidenceoncamera.com michael bean 2009

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Confdence on Camera 3rd Ed.

by Michael BeanOwner & Head CoachBiz Studio

www.bizstudio.ca|(604)801-7050


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Tis handbook is a not a substitute forexperienceacting is an art, a cra, anda physical skill and the best way to learn isby doing it. Tis is an introduction, and atool. I hope that it helps point you in theright direction.


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Index

Confdence

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Te Industry

Producer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Casting Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9alent Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Actor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Extras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

25 Point Audition Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Acting

Te Art of Acting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Start With Yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Imaginary Circumstances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Your Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Acting is Reacting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Script Analysis

Choices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Bold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Personal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Appropriate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Te ext . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Character Situation Motivation Action. . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Beats+Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Intuition+Flexibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Appendix

Cheat Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Choosing a alent Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Photo+Headshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Resume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Glossary o erms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44


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ConfdencePerforming of any kind is about condencethe feel-ing that no matter what happens youll do well; that thework you do will be worth watching. A good portionof your ability to book work as a professional actor inlm and television lies in the ability to hold on to thatcondence in your work and in yourself.

Te key to understanding condence on camera is un-derstanding the working environment for the profes-sional screen actor, both the audition and the set. Bothare exciting, high-pressure, and above all unpredict-able. In both cases there are always new situations, newpeople watching, pressure to perform on a deadline,

very little preparation time, internal expectations fromthe actor, and external expectations from the castingdirector, director and producer(s). On top of that, a pro-fessional quality performance has to have the artisticmerit to feel real for the audience and the technicalskill to look good on camera.

o succeed in that environment takes a very specicskill set. A professional actor has to quickly adapt tothe demands of any situation they nd themselves in,

while still meeting the artistic and technical require-ments of their cra. Te three fundamental ways todevelop that skill set are through technique, practice,and experience. Te path to professional acting incor-porates all three.

Acting erms

erms in italicsare dened in theglossary on p.44,and additionaldenitions and

URLs are listedat the bottom ofeach page.

Condence: A feeling of self-assurance arising from onesappreciation of ones own abilities or qualities


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Confdence andCasting

My favourite

quality to seein an audition?Condence.

Laura BrookeCasting DirectorVancouver, BC

echnique includes the artistic and technical require-ments of quality screen acting. A good actor uses theirlife experience to give each character emotional depth

and realism. A good performance requires emotionalsensitivity, listening, self-awareness, and a nely tunedtechnical ability to present that performance to an au-dience or a camera.

Acting technique draws from classes, workshops, men-tors, books, videos, web resources, and peer groups.It is an exploratory process, and over the course of aprofessional career a well trained screen actor will bor-

row tools from a variety of other disciplines includingtheatre, voice, singing, dance, circus, poetry, literature,psychology, and so on. Any kind of performance, andin fact almost any discipline that looks at people, canbecome inspiration for the actor.

Professional Screen Acting Classes for Kids and Teenswww.bizstudio.ca/classes


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Confdence andCasting

e actors most

important toolin an audition is

condence.

Michelle AllenCasting DirectorVancouver, BC

Practice is crucial for developing condence, becauseon camera whatever the actor is thinking and feelingis apparent in their face, voice and body. If the actor is

nervous, o-balance, or overly concerned with how toget it right in a given situation, the camera will seeit. o prepare for unexpected situations, actors have topractice a hundred dierent ways, in a hundred dier-ent situations, a hundred dierent times.

An aspiring professional actor should put in at least tenhours a week performing, rehearsing, taking classesand workshops, reading scripts, dancing, going to the

gym, singing, voice training, etc. Although much of anactors training can be done in a theatre, the screen ac-tors working environment will always involve a cam-era. Actors serious about lm and television shouldpractice extensively on-camera, applying the artisticand technical aspects of screen acting simultaneously.

Habit: A settled or regular tendency or practice; an automaticreaction to a specic situation.


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Te Industry: Food Chain

Te Producer

Te actors food chain starts with the Producer. He orshe is a businessperson with a sack of cash responsiblefor making a movie, V show or commercial. Te Pro-ducer hires almost everyone, including the casting di-rector. Te casting director runs the casting session andmakes a tape, and the directorand producer watch thetape and choose which actor to bring in for a callback

or book for the role. Te producer is #1 on the foodchain because they usually make the nal decisionabout who to cast, with input from both the directorand the casting director (or the agency and client in thecase of a commercial).

Tere are between six and twenty projects in produc-tion in BC at any one time, including commercials, in-

dustrials, V programs (serials/episodics), V movies-of-the-week (MOWs) and feature lms. Each projecthas one to six producers.

Vancouver orLos Angeles?

LA has twentytimes as much

lm produc-tion as BC,and twentytimes as manyactorsmost ofSAGs 100,000members live inLA, compared to5000 members inthe UBCP.

Production Company: e company actually responsible formaking a lm, TV show or commercial.


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Te Casting Director

Te Casting Director is hired by the producer to ndactors who t each role. Te casting director is #2 onthe food chain because they run the auditions. Com-mercials, features, movies of the week (MOWs), stu-dent lms, indie lms, industrials and music videos allwill have casting sessions, and most are run by profes-sionals. Some casting directors specialize in one typeof project, but most of them work on multiple projecttypes.

Part of the casting directors job is to go through thescript and write a short description of each charactercalled a breakdown. Tese get sent out to provinciallylicensed talent agents (p.11), who submit their clients,basically asking for an audition for one or more of the

actors they represent.

Casting directors receive on average 100-400 submis-sions for each role and choose 10-40 for a rst audition.Sometimes an agent will also convince a casting direc-tor to see a new actor for a pre-audition look-see calledaprescreen. Either way, casting directors can only see asmall percentage of the professionally represented ac-

tors who want an audition, so they only choose actorsthey think are appropriate for the role.

If youve been called for an audition, the casting direc-tor is already on your side, and they already think youcould be the character. Every actor who does a goodaudition makes the casting director look good, andeven the busiest or most cranky casting directors want

to help you give your best performance.

Casting is onyour side.

If you make itinto the room,

youre essen-tially a nalist...

If youre cominginto the room,theres a really

good reason forit.

Judy LeeCasting DirectorVancouver, BC

List of Casting Directors currently working in Vancouverwww.vancouveractorsguide.com/resources/casting-directors


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Auditions are always held on-camera so that the pro-ducer and director can watch the tape aerwards.Tere will be at least two people in the room for therst audition: the casting director and the camera op-erator who puts the scene on tape. For lm and televi-sion auditions casting directors will hire a reader, anactor who will stand o-camera and read all of theother characters lines.

Te director and producer(s), with the casting direc-tors input, will typically choose a handful of actors fora second audition called a callback. Te director andproducer(s) will oen sit in on the callback sessions tosee the actors for themselves, sometimes as many aseight or nine people, especially for commercials. Teexpectation is usually that a callback will be identical tothe rst auditionsame wardrobe, same choices, same

quality of performance. One actor will book the partand be cast in the role.

Tere are approximately twenty casting directors intotal working out of Vancouver.

Were Number 3!

BC is the thirdlargest productioncentre in North

America, aerLos Angeles andNew York.

Karen LamareBC Film Com-mission

Casting Workbook:An online database of actors used bycasting directors and talent agents www.castingworkbook.com


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Te alent Agent

An agentis a professional talent manager who repre-sents actors and helps them nd and book work. Ahuge part of the agents job is to build and maintaingood relationships with casting directors. Te better anagents relationship with the casting director, the easierit will be for that agent to get auditions for their actors.alent agents are #3 on the food chain, because actorsneed them to access the casting directors.

A real agent only makes money when their actors bookwork, so theyre taking a risk by signing new talent.A typical agreement gives the agent 15% of whateverincome their actors make. New actors will be expectedto have professional headshots taken and to join Cast-ing Workbook, an online submission service used by

many local casting directors. Both of these expensescan and should wait until aer signing with an agent.If an agent says We love you, we want to sign you up,you just have to pay a $500 sign-up fee (or) take ourclasses for $5000 (or) have headshots taken with ourphotographer for $1000 (etc.) run far far away. Tesepeople just want money, and what theyre doing is al-ways unethical and frequently illegal.

For information on how to choose a talent agent, plussample formatting for resume, cover letter and head-shot, see pp.38-42 in the Appendix.

Tere are approximately two hundred agents in totalworking at the seventy-odd talent agencies registeredin BC at the time of this writing, and each agent rep-

resents 50-100 actors of various ages, looks, skill levelsand ethnicities.

ESB alentAgencies List

Talent agencieshave to registerwith the BCEmploymentStandards Branchbefore they cansubmit theiractors for profes-sional auditions.

www.labour.gov.bc.ca/esb/talent/list.htm

Employment Standards: Young People in Entertainmentwww.labour.gov.bc.ca/esb/chldm/


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Te Actor

Actors are #4 on the food chain. Its exciting, reward-ing work and Id recommend it to anyone. If you loveacting, I guarantee that youll get more out of it thanyou put in.

As an actor you are responsible for your career. Yourerunning a business, and that business is you. Its your

job to nd work for yourself, and it doesnt stop whenyou sign with an agent. A huge part of the actors jobis to be friendly and professional at all times, to cometo auditions prepared and on time, and build good re-lationships with other people in the lm industry. Tismeans everyonetalent agents, casting directors, otheractors, etc. Everyone in the lm industry is connectedin one way or another, and oen the people you meet

are just a phone call away from the people who mighthire you. Trow a tantrum once and you might still bedealing with fallout years later. Make friends on the setof one movie, and you might get cast in six more.

You are also responsible for your promotional materi-als: your headshot, resume and demo. ogether thesemake up your professional calling card, your introduc-

tion to the industry. Its your responsibility to makesure that they are good quality, up to date, and easilyaccessible. You and your agent are a team, and youneed to do your part of the work.

Tere are approximately 15,000 actors in Vancouverwith professional representation, including the 5,000members of the Union of BC Performers and at least

10,000 non-union performers.

Working Actors

Acting is not aneasy way to getrich quick.

According tothe US Depart-ment of Labour,members of theScreen ActorsGuild (SAG)

have an averageannual income of

just under $5,000US from acting.

Te Union of BC Performers or UBCP: e professionalunion representing screen actors in BC www.ubcp.com


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alent

Talent is an amalgam of high sensitivity; easy vulnerability; high sen-sory equipment (seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting intensely);a vivid imagination as well as a grip on reality; the desire to commu-nicate ones own experience and sensations, to make ones self heardand seen.

Uta HagenActing eacher; Author ofRespect for Acting

It is highly possible that what is called talented behavior is simply agreater individual capacity for experiencing. From this point of view,it is in the increasing of the individual capacity for experiencing thatthe untold potentiality of a personality can be evoked.

Viola SpolinImprovisation eacher; Author ofImprovisation for the eatre

Talent is as common as horsesh*t in a stable. e cultivation of it isextremely rare.

Eric MorrisActing eacher; Author ofBeing & Doing

ere`s no such thing as talent; you just have to work hard enough.

David MametWriter & Director; Author of True & False: Heresy and Common

Sense for the Actor

Dedication: What m

atters isnt the talent you start with, itshow much youre willing to do to get better. www.bizstudio.ca


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Te Extras

Extras are #5 on the food chain. Anytime you see peo-

ple in the background of a shotsitting in a restaurant,walking down the street, driving in cars, etcthese arebackground performers or extras. Basically, extras arehuman props, used to make a lm set look more real.o be an extra youll need an adult chaperone if youreunder the age of een. If youre available to do thework (up to 16 hrs a day on short notice) its a great op-portunity to visit a working lm set, and beats the heckout of most part-time jobs. Lots of skilled and interest-ing people do extra work in their o-time, includingstudents, actors, artists, teachers, dancers, musicians,photographers, and many others.

Te best way to get extra work is through an extrasagent. Its completely acceptable to have both a prin-cipals talent agent that represents you for lm, Vand commercials and an extrasagentthat reps you for

background work. Always let your talent agent knowif youre signing with an extras agenttheyll want to

Principals Agent: A Talent Agent that represents actors forFilm+TV, as opposed to a Commercial or Extras Agent.


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know about it, because the days youre on set doingbackground work you wont be available to go out onauditions.

When youre applying at an extras agency, visit theirwebsite rst to see when and how each agency acceptsnew people. Dont worry about a headshot, but do bringa resume that lists your skills and talentsbasicallyeverything that you can do at a three out of ten skill

level or better (e.g. riding a bicycle, darts, basketball,knitting... almost anything). Some agencies look forspecic skill sets, but most of them just look for avail-ability. If youre available 24/7 (i.e. if youre a studenton summer vacation), then youll be on top of their listof people to call.

An extras agent will typically charge a $25 photo fee

to sign up. Otherwise, your extras agent only makesmoney by taking a cut of what you make, usually 15%.If all they need is someone to sit or walk around, youllbe booked as General Background (GB, $10-$12/hr). Ifyoure using a skill, even something as simple as ridinga bike, youll be booked as a Skilled Actor Extra (SAE,$22-26/hr). All Union productions have to employ acertain percentage of UBCPmembers (Union Permit

extra, $22-$26/hr). And tell your extras agent if youhave a car, a dog, a bicycle, etc. Oen you can get paidmore just to bring these things with you to the set forthe day.

Its hard to get exact numbers, but in any month thereare thousands of extras working in Vancouver. Someare full-time extras, and some take a few days of extra

work here and there and work other jobs. Just abouteverybody in town has done a little bit of extra work orknows someone who has.

Some BC ExtrasAgencies

In Motioninmotiontalent.com

Keystone Extraskeystoneextras.com

Urban Casting

urbancastinginc.com

Local Colorlocalcolor.ca

De Con 5 alentdef-con-5.com

LJR alent

ljrtalent.com

Union Extras: Extras who work regularly can join the Unionof BC Performers, see www.ubcp.com for benets and details


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Confdence +Having Fun

Go into the

room prepared& condentand enjoy everyminute of it...always make sure

you are having agood time.

Aaron Alexander

Agent,King alentVancouver, BC

25 Point Audition ChecklistAuditions are in many ways more demanding than ac-tually working on set in lm and television. Each audi-tion is short, and youre expected to perform well underpressure with very little preparation time. Sometimesyou will receive a script an hour before your audition,or be handed a script when you walk into the waitingroom and be expected to sight read it ten minutes later.

Auditions require discipline, exibility, practice, andloads of condence. Its easier if you know what toexpect, and this checklist should help you get started.

1. Have Fun

All you need for commercial auditions and even basic

lm and television auditions is to listen to what theCasting Director asks you to do in the audition roomand then have fun doing it.

Direction: Instructions given to the actor, either in the audi-tion room or on set (i.e. Can the actor take direction?)


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Preparation andCasting

Preparation. Itsthe key to believ-ability. And lackof preparationby the actor isone of the castingdirectors biggest

grievances.

Deb GreenCasting DirectorCalgary, AB

2. Be prepared.

Read the breakdown and script that your agent sendsyou. Memorize your lines. Practice sight readingtheability to drop your eyes quickly to the script and thenlook up and say your line. Practice out loud, and keepyour eyes up towards the camera even when youre re-hearsing. In life we never say the same thing the sameway twice, so make sure that you rehearse what to sayand not how to say it. Dont get locked into one patternof delivery, mess around with the scene and nd dier-ent ways to read it. A good audition requires that youcome in with the lines sounding fresh and spontane-ous, with the exibility to react to your scene partnerand take direction.

3. Always bring your script with you.

Always bring your script to the audition with you. Ifyou can avoid looking at it during the audition thatwill help your performance feel real, but bring it withyou just in case you forget a line. Its better to look atyour script than it is to blank out in the middle of youraudition.

4. Dress in character (a little bit).

Te clothes you wear should reect your choices aboutthe character. Keep it simple and dont overdress orcome in costume; remember it has to feel real. Newerclothes are better, they look crisper and generally havea better shape. Show up looking and feeling good.

Sight Reading: e ability to give a professional-qualityperformance while reading from a script.


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Actingechniq

ue

Acting a scenetruthfully andwith feeling isan art, and mostactors spend theirwhole lives gettingbetter at it.

5. Plan to arrive 15-20 minutes early.

Casting directors are very busy, and sometimes onlyhave a few minutes for you. Messing with their sched-ule is a bad way to start. Never be late.

6. Sign in when you arrive.

Te casting assistant will oen have a sign-in sheet foryou to record your name, the role youre coming in for,and your call time. Be nice to the the assistanta lot ofthem become casting directors later on.

7. Fill out a sheet with contact ino and sizes.

Know your sizes: pants, shirt, collar, sleeve, shoes, in-seam, hips, chest, dress size for women and jacket size

for men. Youll also be asked for your height, weight,eye and hair colour, agents name and phone number,and your contact info.

8. Always bring headshots and resumes.

Always have extra copies with you in case casting asksfor them. Always, always, always. Carry a few extra in

your bag, keep some in your bicycle pannier or in thetrunk of your car. A professional must always have thetools of their cra on hand, these are some of yours.

9. Check or changes to the script.

Especially with commercials there are oen last-min-ute changes to the script. Ask the casting assistant if

there have been any changes, and look over a copy ofthe script if you can.

Online Prep: Research the director+producer to see what kindof projects they work on at sites like www.imdb.com


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Cameraechnique

Cameratechnique is a

practical skill.Anyone can learnthe basics with

a few hours ofpractice.

10. Wait until they call or you, and stay ocused.

Be prepared to wait 30min or more, and dont bookanything important right aer your auditions. Youcant be late, but casting directors can be, and thats justhow it is. Do what you need to do to stay focused andready. If youre nervous plant your feet and take at leastthree deep breaths (two seconds in, two seconds out).If youre tired, jump around a little to get your bloodowing. If you talk to other actors in the waiting roomtalk about anything except acting. Feel free to bringheadphones and listen to quiet music while you wait ifthat will help you stay focused.

11. Give the reader directions as needed (flm & tele-vision only).

Before you walk into the audition room, ask yourreaderfor anything you need in the script. If you wantthem to pause before or aer one of your lines, if yourestarting or nishing the script dierently from the wayit was written, or if youre changing anything in thescript this is the time to tell the reader about itbeforeyoure in the audition room.

12. Walk into the room with confdence.

Your audition starts the moment you step into theroom, and it lasts until the moment you leave. Walk in,make eye contact with the casting director and anyoneelse in the room and say hello.

13. Shaking hands.

If they oer to shake hands, do. Otherwise, dont.

Simulated Audition Environment: Training that mimics theaudition room as closely as possible. www.bizstudio.ca


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Dont Fidget

Extra handmovement,chewing your lipor rocking from

foot to foot maynot feel big, buton camera it

looks big.

14. Stand on the mark.

Te rst thing you should do when you walk intothe room is stand on the mark, the line on the oorof the audition room that shows you where to standso the camera can see and hear you. ake the time toobserve where the camera and microphone are, and tosee whos in the room. Tis way, while youre talking to

the casting director the camera operator can make sureyou look good on the camera.

15. Be yoursel.

If its your style to be funny and talkative, a very shortstory about something fun/strange/exciting is okay. Ifyoure nervous, dont even pretend to be relaxed andcool because you wont fool anybody. Instead just goin and focus on doing the best audition you can do. Beyourself.

16. Listen to everything.

Listen carefully to what the casting director asks youto doif they want something from you, theyll ask.Teyll tell you how they want you to slate, give you

notes on actions or reactions they want, tell you whereto look, or how to change it the second time through.

17. I you dont know, ask.

If youre confused, or you dont understand somethingthat the casting director has told you to do, ask ques-tions! Its better to ask a stupid question than to risk

messing up your audition.

Wardrobe:A costume or outt worn by an actor. Simple,appropriate wardrobe helps casting see you as the character.


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Dont Look atthe Camera

Never look at the

camera in a lm& tv audition. If

you look at thecamera, it breaksthe reality of thescene that youreacting out.

18. Repeat the direction.

Whenever a casting director gives you direction, re-peat it back to them in your own words. It helps youremember and understand, and it helps the castingdirector make sure youre about to do the right thing.

19. Slate or camera (commercials only).

Most commercial auditions start with you introducingyourself to whoever is watching the tape, usually thedirector and producer. For the slate, look directly at thecamera and say your rst and last name, your age ifyoure under 18, and the name of your talent agency(i.e. Im so-and-so, Im een, and Im with XYZ al-ent). Keep the personality, and lighten up! Actors of-ten make the mistake of being too at or too serious intheir slate. Remember, you want the people watchingthe tape to think Wow, that actor is really interesting,I want to see more of them.

20. Let the camera see your eyes.

Te camera needs to see your eyes to know how yourefeeling, so keep your eyeline close to the camera (just

slightly to one side or the other). Keep your hair outof your face, and dont wear a hat that will shade youreyes. Dont look directly at the camera unless the cast-ing director tells you to. For commercials you will of-ten be told to look directly at the camera. If youre everconfused about where your eyeline should be, ask thecasting director.

Paraphrase: To express the meaning of something said to youusing dierent words to help you remember and understand.


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Audition Jitters

Remember tobreathe. Breath-ing deeplytwoseconds in, twoseconds outhelps to settle andrelax the bodyand voice.

21. ake your time.

If you rush youll look nervous. Keep breathing. akeve seconds before you start your scene, take a deepbreath and get focused. You have to make your timein the audition room count, whether its a ten minutescene or a single line. ake the time you need to do agood job.

22. Deal with mistakes graceullydo nothing!

Its happened to every actor: its going really well, thensuddenly a word comes out wrong, or you forget aline, or say the wrong line, and suddenly you think Iruined it. So what do you do? Te answer is do noth-ing. Stay in the scene and maintain the reality of thescene by not reacting to the mistake. What happens in

conversation when we stumble over a word, or say thewrong thing? We just go on with the conversation. Wekeep talking, or correct ourselves in an easy, naturalway. Any reaction to the mistake breaks the realityof the scene. Most of the time if youve got the feelingright and youre enjoying the work, the casting direc-tor wont even notice the mistake. So the next time youmake a mistake (because it will happen), do nothing!

23. Leave with confdence.

When youre done, wait for a word from the casting di-rector and then calmly and quickly leave the room. Youwant their last image of you to be of a condent actor.

Improvisation/Improv: To create or perform spontaneously orwithout preparation. Useful in auditions, esp. commercials.


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Casting Notes

In an audi-tion I look forthree things: the

journey of thecharacter, if theactor can takedirection, and ifthe actor is right

for the part.

Stuart AikinsCasting DirectorVancouver, BC

24. Dont take it personally.

Sometimes they cast the best actor, sometimes theycast the model who looks best for the role and some-times they cast theproducers niece. Tats the industry,so do the best audition you can and then let it go. For-get about it. If you did a good job then even if yourenot perfect for this role the casting director will bringyou in again for another role. Remember that you werechosen for the audition in the rst place over a lot ofother actors! Te casting director already likes you,they like your look, they want to see you do well.

25. ake notes.

ry to learn something from every audition, from ev-ery mistake and every success. Keep a journal and take

notes every time you have an audition. Write out thedirection you got, what worked and what didnt, andwhat you want to do next time. Keep it positive andaction-oriented.

Feedback: Casting Directors rarely give feedback on auditions.Its your job to take notes, learn, and stay motivated.


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Feel It or Fake It

Acting is allabout honesty.

If you can fakethat, youve got itmade.

George BurnsComedian &Actor; 1 Oscar,90 years as anentertainer

(d.1996)Beverly Hills, CA

Te Art o Acting

Te art of acting for the camera is to deliver a perfor-

mance that is truthfulyou want it to look, sound andfeel real to the people who are watching you. Te bestmovie, V, and theatre performances pull you into thestory and the lives of the characters. A great actor givesthe people watching an emotional experience, one thatfeels like the truth despite being only a performance.Te best actors, like the best liars, incorporate truthinto their performances.

Tere is a real skill to taking someone elses words froma piece of paper and bringing them to life, makingthem sound and feel real and making them your own.It comes easier to some than to others, but anyone candevelop that skill if theyre willing to put in the time topractice. If you have the enthusiasm and the disciplineto keep practicing, it doesnt matter at all how much

skill you start with.

Practice Makes Perfect:Mastering any skill takes 10,000hours of practice (M. Gladwell, Outliers). www.bizstudio.ca


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All About You

Acting is notabout beingsomeone dier-ent. Its ndingthe similarity inwhat is appar-ently dierent,then nding

myself in there.

Meryl StreepActress; 15 OscarNoms, 2 Wins;23 Golden GlobeNoms, 6 WinsNew York, NY

Start With YourselIn the last hundred years acting has become morenaturalistic, or more like real life. Before that, actorswere larger-than-life, with big movements, big facialexpressions, big everything. And the reason everythingused to be so big is that actors used to play to reallybig, loud, rowdy audiences. If you werent really big,the audience didnt hear or see you. So actors learnedto be bigger.

But performance venues have changed a lot sincethe 1800s. Acting for lm and V doesnt have to belarger-than-life, because the camera sees everythingthat you do. Every time you twitch your nose or blinkyour eyes, the camera sees it. A really good on-cameraperformance has to include so many small things that

its almost impossible to prepare them all in advance.

Acting is less about becoming someone else thanit is about building awareness of your own physicaland emotional life, and applying that awareness in animaginary situation. Te modern way to approach act-ing is to start with yourself.

When you bring all of your experiences, emotional life,quirks, responses and opinions into your acting, thenyour character will always be complex and interesting.In fact, the character will be just as complex and in-teresting as you are. No matter what character youreplaying, its always you. For it to feel real to the camera,you have to start with yourselfbecause there is nocharacter really. Teres just lines on a page, and you.

Method Acting: Developed in the USA in the 1930s; focuseson bringing personal emotion & experience into actors work.


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As I YoureReally Tere

Acting is theability to livetruthfullyunder imaginarycircumstances.

Sanford MeisnerActor & eacherNew York, NY

Imaginary Circumstances

All kids play lets pretend. Actors have to do it profes-sionally. For acting to feel real we need to believe thattheres a whole world out there that the actor is reactingto. Te more clear that world is, the more truthful theacting will feel to an observer.

On set, the actors world is always a mix of the realand the imaginary. Sometimes all of the actors will bepresent and sometimes there will only be someone o-camera reading the lines from the script. Sometimesyoull be in a real cafe, and sometimes youll be on asoundstage with a green screen background and allof the parts of the environment will be marked withtape. More oen than not the actors world is digitallyaugmented, or cheated to make characters look taller,

shorter, thinner, fatter, more dramatic, etc. Each adjust-ment requires the actor to manage the balance betweenthe real and the imaginary.

In the audition room the actors world is almost ex-clusively imaginary. Te reader plays all of the othercharacters, and its up to the actor to give each of thosecharacters distinct eyelines and to react accordingly.

Te room itself is mostly bare, and its the actors re-sponsibility to make the place and the story of thescript clear through their actions.

In both environments there are distractions: direc-tors, casting directors, producers, people watching,technical crew, environmental conditions like sound,temperature, wind and more. An actor who engages

fully in their imaginary circumstances can give a goodperformance regardless of the performance conditions.

Cheat (for the Camera): To adjust an actors position, props,action, eyeline, etc to make the shot look better for the camera.


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Actor raining

e actor has todevelop his body.e actor has towork on his voice.But the mostimportant thingthe actor has towork on is hismind.

Stella AdlerActor & eacherNew York, NY

Your Instrument

Your body and voice are your instrument. A look, asmile, a movement of the eyes, your volume or tone of

voicethese things tell the camera how youre feelingmore than the words that you say.

rain your body with dance, martial arts, yoga, sports,circus arts, gymnastics, Alexander echnique or anyactivity that helps you build strength, exibility andbody awareness. Your body communicates as muchas your words, and tension is the enemy of clear com-munication. Applied body awareness is the key to ad-dressing any kind of tension. Do you rock from footto foot? Do you move your mouth unconsciously? Doyou have tension in your eyebrows or eyes? Once youbring awareness to your body tension, it will start to go

away. Body awareness can also be an important part ofcharacter building and emotional access.

rain your voice with singing or voice lessons untilyou have a clear, strong voice that communicates ev-erything youre feeling. In the voice, as in the body,tension is the enemy of clear communication. Vocaltension will oen manifest as an acting voice thats

higher and breathier than your normal speaking voice.Keep breathing. Breath is important for voice support,and breath and emotion are deeply connected. Deep,slow breathing is key for releasing tension, two sec-onds in and two seconds out. Breathe into whatevertension youre feeling, breathe into whatever emotionyou want to bring into your scene.

Te more developed the instrument, the more range ofexpression is available to the actor.

Instrument: Commonly used to refer to the actors body, voiceand expressive ability (i.e. the actors instrument)


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Reactions andCasting

Every time isdierent, and Itry to respond inthe moment...thats what I liketo hear from an

actor.

Michelle AllenCasting DirectorVancouver, BC

Acting is ReactingMost of the emotional life of your character and theaction in the scene happens when youre reacting toevents and listening to what the other characters aresaying to you. When you are totally involved in listen-ing, your natural unforced reactions will add layers offeeling to the scene with each line.

Just like in life, you should be watching for a reactionevery time you speak to someone. Have they heardyou? Are they giving you what you want? How doesthat feel? When you talk, are you just saying the wordsin your script or are you really talking to the other ac-tor?

Te wonderful thing about working in this reactive

way is that youre doing more feeling and less thinking,and as a result you get a better performance. Insteadof planning the small details of your feelings and re-actions in advance, youre taking advantage of yourbodys natural responses, which will look much morerelaxed and real on camera.

Any time you feel nervous or you start thinking about

your performance in the middle of a scene just pause,take a deep breath and really look at your reader orfellow actor(s). Watching and listening to them willhelp to take you out of your head and back into totalinvolvement with the scene.

Meisner echnique:An acting style from NY that emphasizesspontaneous emotional responses over rehearsed line readings.


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ake Risks

I always likea little bit ofdanger.

Candice ElzingaCasting Director

Vancouver, BC

Script Analysis: Choices

Te choices you make and your total commitment

to them are the heart of acting technique, and thosechoices start with the script. Te script is the most im-portant resource that you have as an actor. Everythingthat you need to know about the story, the charactersand their lives comes directly from or is inspired by thepages of your script.

When you get an audition, your agent will send you

a few pages from the script to prepare (the sides) anda short character description (the breakdown). Yoursides and breakdown contain everything that you needto properly prepare for an audition. Even if you donthave access to the full script, you can still make choicesbased on the information in your sides and breakdown.

Te mark of a skilled actor is the choices they make.

Experienced actors make bold, personal, appropriatechoices.

Risk: To expose oneself to danger or the possibility of the un-expected. Uncertainty+Action = Risk. Risk keeps us watching.


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Bold

A bold choice is a specic choice loaded with clear feel-ing, relationship, or action. ake a risk and make eachchoice as important and personally meaningful as pos-sible. Risk is what keeps the audience watching. Avoidchoices like bored tired I dont care I care a littlebit I like him a little bit It doesnt matter and any-thing else that is not loaded with feeling, relationshipor action. Load your choices with passion, love, hate,anger, jealousy, joy, excitement, greed, need, aection,humour, despair, violence, urgency, regret, haste, etc.If you come into an audition with a bold choice thatsnot quite what theyre looking for, it still showcases thatyoure a good actor. Its easy for the director to suggestchanges and have you do the scene again.

Personal

A personal choice is one that is drawn from or con-nected to your own life experience. Choices that comefrom your life will be unique to you, and give your per-formance shape and texture that no other actor can du-plicate. Put yourself inside the character. Give yourselfa compelling as if by comparing some situation from

the characters life with your own. Imagine yourself inthe characters situation, put yourself in their positionand nd your own way of approaching the action ofthe play. weak the words a little, nd the pacing andrhythm that works best for you, nd how the charactermoves, nd yourself as the character. When you trulypersonalize your choices your performance is uniqueto you and dierent from the performance of every

other actor who auditions for the role.

Start With You

e personthat you are is athousand timesmore interestingthan the bestactor you couldever hope to be.

C. StanislavskiDirector, Mos-cow Art Teatre(d.1938)

Backstory/Character History: A characters background,preferences and life events that precede the written script.


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Appropriate

An appropriate choice is one that is suitable or properfor the script. Many times youll be able to pull theinformation needed to make an appropriate choiceright out of the script with a careful reading of all thecharacters lines and the stage directions. More infor-mation can be found in your character description inthe breakdown, by looking at the type of project (Vseries, MOW,feature, etc.) and style (comedy, drama,sitcom, etc.). Sometimes youll even be lucky enoughto have access to the full script. Make the best choicesyou can with the information that you have, and makeup the rest. Appropriate choices help you give thecasting director what theyre looking for, and help thedirector see you as the character from the moment yourst appear on camera.

Commitment

o commit is to carry out a choice fully, without hesita-tion, reservation, or half measures. Acting is all aboutshowing the camera how youre feeling, so its normalfor actors to feel slightly uncomfortable, exposed anduncertain. Te magic happens when you do the scene

anyway, when you give each choice your total commit-ment without judging or holding back.

Layers

As your work gets more sophisticated, layer yourchoices on top of each other. Load up with one strongfeeling, then nd another, even the opposite. Add the

physical state of the character. Te more choices youlayer in, the more you showcase your acting abilities.

Feel UncertainDo it Anyway

If the actoropens his mouthon cue and speakseven though he

feels uncertain,

the audience havewitnessed thetrue lost art of the

actor.

David MametPlaywright &DirectorNew York, NY

Uncertainty:All actors feel uncertain when they do somethingnew. Proper support helps actors take risks. www.bizstudio.ca


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Script Analysis: Te ext

Script analysis is an art in itself, and requires actors to

use a combination of practice, experience, and intu-ition.

Every time there is an opportunity for a choice in thescript, you should make it. Go through your scriptcarefully, top to bottom, and make note of everythingthat has to do with your character, everything yourcharacter says, everything thats said to you or about

you, every piece of action or business or stage direc-tion. Make specic choices. Not I like someone butwho do you like, how much do you like them, who dothey remind you of in your own life, how long haveyou known them, where are they standing in the scene,what do you want from them, why is it important?

Youd be surprised by how much shape and texture you

can squeeze from even a very short script when youregoing through it carefully for information and makinggood choices. Heres a rough guideline to get started.

It All StartsWith Te Script

Im going to

teach you actingfrom the begin-ning, and thebeginning is scriptanalysis.

Larry MossActing eacherLos Angeles, CA

Constantin Stanislavsky (1863-1938): Inuential Russiantheatre director who pioneered psychological realism.


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Character

Who are you? Who are the other characters in thescene? What is their relationship to your character?Who the other characters are determines how youtalk to them, and how you act around them. Insteadof making choices about how to say each line, makechoices about who youre talking to.

Situation

Where and when does the scene take place? Insideor outside? Whats your eyeline? Whats happeningto your character? Whats happening in the room?Whats happening in the next room? What happenedimmediately before the scene and how are you goingto begin? Tis is your moment before. What happensimmediately aer the scene and how are you going tonish? Your moment aer is an important part of thescene. Look for simple physical action but rememberthat the scene is about your connection with the otheractor(s), not the actions andprops.

Motivation

What do you want? What do you want the other char-acters in the scene to do, or think, or feel? What is driv-ing your character, forcing them to say the lines andtake the actions in the scene? Frame your motivationwhenever possible as an active verb towards a person.Action and dialogue both come from the internal ex-perience of the character. Are you getting what youwant? People very rarely say exactly what they want,

so you have to look carefully at the words and actionsto nd out.

Details, Details

Youre alwaysgoing to have amoment before,

youre alwaysgoing to have amoment aer;

add some thingsto make it yourown.

Jackie LindCasting DirectorCalgary, AB

Moment Before/Aer: e mental, physical and emotionalcircumstances that preceed and follow the written scene.


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ActionHow do you get what you want? What actions are youtaking towards the other characters in the situationthat help you get what you want? What strategies areyou using? How are your actions aected by the situa-tion and the other characters? Choose active verbs thatare directed toward one of the other characters.

Beats & Changes

Look for the beats. A beat is a change in the feeling of ascene, or a completely new thought, usually accompa-nied by a small pause. Look for those moments whereyou struggle for what to say, or take time to think ofthe right words.

Intuition & Flexibility

Im a big believer in using instinct and intuition tobring a fresh, spontaneous quality to your acting. Butyou must make choices if you want your acting to ac-curately reect the reality of the scene with depth andsincerity. Once youve made your bold, personal, ap-propriate choices, you can oen just commit and trust

your instincts to do the rest.

Listen to the other characters. Shi your focus as muchas possible to the circumstances of the script. Insteadof choosing how to say each line, make the choices thatmotivate the linethen if the director wants some-thing dierent they can just change the situation andmotivation. Preparing this way will keep your work

exciting, fresh, engaging and exible.

Stay Flexible

Dont bogyourself downworking it one

particular way...its an absolutecertainty that youwill be asked todo it dierently,and if you cantbe exible, the di-rector will neverchoose you.

Deb GreenCasting DirectorCalgary, AB

Breaking It Up: In acting, the pauses, looks away, hesitationsand beats that make a performance look spontaneous.


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Choices PersonalBold

Appropriate

Character Situation

Motivation Action

Beats

Intuition+Flexibility

Commitment

Layers

Te ext

Appendix

Cheat Sheet: Script Analysis


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Cheat Sheet: Audition Checklist

1. Have fun.

2. Be prepared.

3. Always bring your script with you.

4. Dress in character (a little bit).

5. Plan to arrive 15-20 minutes early (and to stay late).

6. Sign in when you arrive.

7. Fill out a sheet with contact info and sizes

8. Always bring headshots and resumes.

9. Check for changes to the script.

10. Wait until they call for you, and stay focused.

11. Give the reader directions as needed (lm & tv).

12. Walk into the room with condence.13. If they oer to shake hands, do. Otherwise, dont.

14. Stand on the mark.

15. Be yourself.

16. Listen to everything.

17. If you dont know, ask.

18. Repeat the direction.19. Slate for camera (commercials only).

20. Let the camera see your eyes.

21. ake your time.

22. Deal with mistakes gracefullydo nothing!

23. Leave with condence.

24. Dont take it personally.

25. ake notes.


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Cheat Sheet: Te Actors Food Chain

Actors

15,000

Talent Agents

200

Casting Directors

20

Producers

10


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Your AgentWorks For You

My agent said,You arent goodenough for mov-ies. I said, Youre

red.

Sally FieldActress; 2 Oscars;8 Emmy Noms,3 Wins; 10Golden GlobeNoms, 2 WinsLos Angeles, CA

Choosing a alent AgentIt can be hard to get an agents attention when yourelooking for representation, because there are a lot ofactors in town. Unless youve already been approachedby a talent agency or have a personal connection thatcan introduce you, the best thing to do is send outpackages with a cover letter, photo and resume.

Put together a list of ten agencies either from recom-mendations or from the ESB website or the VancouverActors Guide list of agencies. Do your research andread each agencys website to see how they prefer to ac-cept submissions, then send them each a personalizedpackage. Wait a week, then email to follow up. Dontbother with the phone, 99% of the time an agent wonthave time to talk to you. If nothing comes of it, pick

ten more agencies and start again. Be prepared to gothrough the whole process at least three times.

Signing with a talent agent is the beginning of a busi-ness relationship. Always meet with an agent beforeyou decide to sign with them. See what theyre like. De-cide if theyll be able to get work for you, and if youregoing to like working with them. Ask how many people

they have on their roster who are similar to you in ageand appearance. Being Blond Girl #2 at a small agencycan be better than being Blond Girl #22 at a huge-and-powerful agency.

ESB Agencies List: www.labour.gov.bc.ca/esb/talent/list.htmVAG List: www.vancouveractorsguide.com/resources/agents


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raining IsExperience

I love to seetraining andexperience in asubmission, evenif it is just one

school play.

Liz CoughlinAgentCollingwoodManagementVancouver, BC

Sample Cover LetterKeep your cover letter short and sweet. Agents wontspend more than about ten seconds reading it anyway.As a general rule, theyll spend ten seconds with yourcover letter, ten seconds with your resume, and thirtyseconds with your photo. Ten theyll decide if theywant to bring you in for a meeting.

Dear (Name of Agency),

My name is (Full Name), I am (age) years old andIm looking for representation. (If youre going toadd something fun about yourself or about the

agency do it here but keep it very brief).

I have some (types of performance) experience,and training in (types of performance). In thecoming year I expect to do some (performance)and continue to study with (school or teacher).

Tank you for your consideration in reviewing my

materials. If you would like to contact me pleasecall (phone).

Yours truly,

(Full Name)

Who You Know:A personal referral always beats a cover letter(friends, actors, reputable acting schools). www.bizstudio.ca


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Actor Promo

For an actorjust starting out,headshots are themost importantinvestment youwill make.

Elena KirschnerAgent

Lucas alentVancouer, BC

PhotoWhen youre looking for a talent agent, just use a recent4x6 colour photograph that looks like you on a goodday. Make sure that your full head and shoulders are

visible in the shot, no weird angles, no hats, minimalmakeup, no weird hairstyles, no big jewelry, a smile isprobably best but you be the judge. You need to be ableto walk in the door looking like the picture you send

so the agent knows who to expect, so make sure thepicture looks like you. Show the pic to a dozen friendsand ask does this look like me? Hold o on paying forprofessional headshots until aer youve signed with anagent.

Headshot

A headshot is one half of your professional callingcard, an 8 x 10 photograph used to promote you asan actor. Casting directors look at your headshot whentheyre deciding whether to bring you in for an audi-tion. Its your introduction to the industry side of act-ing, so you should do it right.

When youre ready to get professional headshots, go

to the best photographer you can aord, and expect topay $300-600. Keep your wardrobe simple and wearthe outts that you look best in. Newer clothes gen-erally look crisper and have a better shape, and its agood idea to wear something close tting so agents andother industry folk can get an idea of your body type.Remember that your headshot should look like you ona good day.

Find a Photographer: Browse photographers portfolios onlineat any repro company (i.e. www.rocketrepro.com)


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raining IsExperience

Ongoing

training is helpfulfor actors toemerge with anunderstanding& condencethat helps themto succeed in theindustry.

Ally CopelandAgent,Premiere alentVancouver, BC

Te photographer will give you proofseither digitalimages or 4x6 prints of the photos from the shoot.Youll have to choose one of these to be printed into8x10 photos. Expect to pay about $100 for 50 copies.

Te bottom line with headshots is that if you cant walkin the door looking like your headshot, its no good.Te best glamour shot in the world doesnt help if youcant walk in the door looking glamourous. Casting

directors expect the person in the headshot to comewalking in the door, because thats who theyve re-quested from your agent.

Resume

Your resume is the other half of your professional call-ing card, a one-page list of your credits, training and

skills. Te rst and most important thing to list on thetop of your resume is your full name, and then youragents name and contact info, or your contact infoif you dont have an agent. Right below that put yourheight, weight, hair and eye colour. Women interestedin modeling may also want to include their sizes.

A resume should list all of your performing experi-

ence, including lm, television, commercials, theatre,comedy, improv, dance, singing, high school plays, etc.It should also list any of your performance training,and any sports, languages, and special skills. Keep yourresume to one page, even if you have to delete a fewthings. Most industry people will look carefully at yourheadshot, but only skim your resume.

Online Resume: Keep your online resume up to date atwww.castingworkbook.com and www.imdb.com


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FULL NAME CONTACT INFOHEIGHT (your height in inches) Phone ( )WEIGHT (your weight in pounds) Cell ( )EYES (colour) Email ( )HAIR (colour) Parents Names

FILM & TELEVISION

NAME OF PROJECT all in capitalletters, dont worry about putting aheading Name Role etc. you dontneed to spell it out whoevers readingwill get the idea i.e. JANES LIFE

SIZE OF ROLE, listed all

in caps; no lines = SOC,1-2 lines = ACTOR, 3-6lines = PRINCIPAL,more lines =SUPPORTING or LEAD;If its a very recognizableplay or movie you caninclude the charactersname in brackets afterthe size of the role , i.e.LEAD (Jane)

NAME OF DIRECTOR/NAME OF PRODUCTIONCOMPANY. If its a student film list the school, i.e.Jane Smith/VFS for director Jane Smith at theVancouver Film School, etc.

COMMERCIALSJANES COMMERCIAL SOC JANE SMITH/COMMERCIAL PRODUCTIONS

INDUSTRIALS/MUSIC VIDEOJANES MUSIC VIDEO ACTOR JANE SMITH/MUSIC VIDEOS INTERNATIONAL

COMEDY/IMPROVJANES COMEDY IMPROV SHOW LEAD JANE SMITH/VANCOUVER THEATRE

THEATRE/LIVE PERFORMANCEJANES VARIETY SHOW SUPPORTING JANE SMITH/VANCOUVER VARIETY THEATREJANES HIGHSCHOOL SHOW LEAD (Juliet) JANE SMITH/VANCOUVER SEC. SCHOOLJANES LOCAL DANCE SHOW LEAD JANE SMITH/VANCOUVER DANCE SCHOOL

TRAININGJANES ACTING CLASS INSTRUCTOR ACTING SCHOOL (VANCOUVER)CONFIDENCE ON CAMERA MICHAEL BEAN BIZ STUDIO (VANCOUVER)

SKILLS

A list of anything that you can imagine being asked to do on filmespecially any sport or physical activity, languages,and all performing skills including dance, singing, theatre, improv, clown, etc. Dont lie, and dont pad the list withthings that arent really skills. List only the skills you might be asked to do on film, which means you can leave outbabysitting, essay writing, etc. You can include anything that you can do at a 3/10 level where 0 is not at all and 10 istotal mastery, and you may want to include brackets after some skills with your skill level i.e. Skateboard (basic),Baton Twirling (Champion), Squirrel Imitations (Intermediate). Feel free to include one or two funny or strange skills asconversation starters, as long as they are things you can actually do, just to give casting directors an excuse to askabout those things and talk to you more.


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alent Agents +Demo Reels

e demo reelgives us a sneakpeek at your skilllevel; this can

help us decide ifyou move on tothe next step, the

rst interview foragency represen-tation.

Brenda WongAgent, alent Co.

Vancouver, BC

Demo

Some agents will ask for a demo when theyre consider-ing you for representation. ypically a demo is a 2-3minute online clip or DVD of you acting, used to showagents, directors and casting directors your range andskill as an actor.

If youre new, your demo should have two short con-trasting scenes shot in closeup (head and shoulders).Use footage from an acting class that shows o yourrange, or record a couple of scenes yourself. You cannd scripts online or at the public library. Te videoquality of this kind of demo doesnt matter much, butthe acting quality matters a lot, because anyone watch-ing it will assume that it represents the best acting youcan do. Be prepared to throw it away and start again if

it isnt your best work.

By contrast, a professional demo should include clipsfrom commercials, lm and television, professional,student and independent (indie) projects that youveworked on. One of the best reasons to do student andindie lms is to build your demothe whole lmdoesnt have to be good as long as you get a 30 second

clip for your demo that showcases you well.

Online Demo: Put your demo on your website or on CastingWorkbook so your agent can send it to Casting Directors.


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Glossary o ermsAD: Short for Assistant Director. Te 1st, 2nd and 3rd ADs coordinate the extras,actors and lm crew under the supervision of the director.

Background: Performers used in the background of a shot to make a lm set lookmore real by sitting, walking, driving in cars, riding bicycles, etc.

Breakdown: Details of a character the casting director is trying to cast (i.e.SMAR GUY, age 14-16, riding a unicycle). Sent to licensed talent agents viacasting services like Breakdown Services or Te Casting Workbook.

Call Back: A second or later audition for the same job.

Call ime: Te time an actor is scheduled to be on set or in an audition.

Casting Director: Te person responsible for nding actors to ll roles in a lm,television or commercial project.

Close-up: A camera shot of just an actors head, or head and shoulders.

Credit: When an actor books a day on a production registered with the Union ofBC Performers they can register that job to receive a union credit towards becom-ing an apprentice member (1 credit) or full member of the union (6 credits). SeeUBCP.

Crew: Te production sta working on a lm set.

Director: Te head of the crew, in charge of making key decisions about actorsand action.

Equity: Canadian Actors Equity is the professional association of performers,directors, choreographers, ght directors and stage managers in English Canada

who are engaged in live performance in theatre, opera and dance. (www.caea.com)


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Extra: A background performer.

Eyelight: Te light reected in an actors eyesit makes you look alive on camera.Your eyes are the shiny thing, so people will look there rst.

Eyeline: Where an actor is looking on cameraas if there were a straight linebetween your eyes and what youre looking at. (i.e. Wheres your eyeline in thisshot?)

Feature: A full-length lm.

Frame: Te imaginary line around what the camera can see. (i.e. Step a little moreinto frame please. or Your le ear is out of frame, sir.)

Headshot: An actors eight-by-ten-inch (8x10) publicity photo.

Indie: An Independent Filmany lm not produced by a major studio or produc-

tion company, or any low-budget or no-budget lm.

Industrial: A V production or commercial for a company to use in-house foremployee training, etc.

Mark: A line placed on the oor to indicate where an actor should stand for thecamera.

Mime: Pretending to use imaginary objects, or interact with imaginary things andsituations. Keep it to a minimum in auditions.

Monologue: One actor speaking, usually 1-2 minutes.

MOW: Movie of the Weeka movie made for television only.

Pilot: Te rst episode of a new V series. Oen a production company will make

a pilot and then try to get funding to produce more episodes.

Prescreen: A pre-audition look see for a new actor with a casting director so thatthey can see you before giving you an on-camera audition.


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Producer: Te business person who runs the production company and overseesmajor aspects of a production.

Profles: urning to show the camera both sides of your face and body (i.e. Slateand give me proles, please.)

Props: Any object (not furniture) used by an actor.

Reader: Te person who reads the scene opposite an actor in an audition. Tecasting director oen acts as the reader for commercial auditions.

Residuals: Film, television and commercial fees are paid partly for work done (thesession fee) and partly for the use made of the nal product (residuals or use fees).Tese are paid in advance for a period of use (1 yr, 3 yrs, etc.) in one part of theworld (one market).

Resume: A one-page summary of an actors experience, skills and training.

SAE: Skilled Actor Extra, an extra hired to perform a special skill on camera. Canbe anything from liing weights to juggling to walking in high heels.

SAG: Screen Actors Guild, the union for lm & V actors in the USA.

Set: A location prepared for lming, either indoor or outdoor. (i.e. Lets get theactors to set please!)

Short: A short lm. ypically two to ten minutes long and showcased online andat lm festivals.

Sides: Only those pages of a script that contain a particular actors lines (i.e. Youragent will send you your sides for the audition.)

Slate: In an audition, introducing yourself to the camera and stating your name,

age (if under 18) and agent for the benet of whoever is watching the tape (i.e. Hi,Im so-and-so, and Im represented by XYZ alent.)


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SOC: Silent on Cameraan audition or role where the actor doesnt speak.

Stand In: A person hired to stand in for the main actors so that the productioncrew can set up lights, etc. Also called second team by the ADs (i.e. First teamyou can relax, lets have second team in here.)

Stunts: Anybody who falls, tumbles, climbs, swings, lis heavy things, sets them-selves on re, or in any other way does something potentially dangerous on-cam-era. Extremely dicult work to break into. If youre interested, start learning theskills nowgymnastics, dance, stage ghting, how to take a fall, rearms, martialarts, stunt driving, etc.

alent Agent: An agent and personal manager for actors, representing and paidby a roster of clients.

UBCP: Te Union of B.C. Performers is a trade union in the Province of BritishColumbia and the B.C. branch of the ACRA. UBCP protects the rights of profes-

sional performers to fair remuneration and the fundamental respect for their craand artistry. (www.ubcp.com)

Union: Usually refers to the Union of BC Performers (UBCP), a member of thatunion, or a production that has registered with UBCP and so has to hire mostlyunion actors (i.e. a union production). Productions that do not register with theunion cannot hire union actors.

Wrangler: Te production sta in charge of looking aer children, extras, oranimals (i.e. Wheres the extras wrangler?). As an interesting side note, the termwrangler is taken from the word for someone who herds cattle for a living.

Wrap: Film talk for Finished with. or to nish with (i.e. Youre wrapped. Itsa wrap. A wrap party.)

Tis Glossary is Wrapped.


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Te Author: Michael Bean, owner+headcoach at Biz Studio.

Kids that study with Michael seem to book

more work, and isnt that the goal!- Brenda Wong, Agent, alent Co.

It tells me something if an actor is taking classes, if an actor is taking workshops, itmeans that this person believes in themselves enough as an actor to invest the time,to invest the money, to train, to work on themselves.

- Judy Lee, Casting Director, Vancouver, BC

Biz Studio is a professional screen acting school for kids and teens. Working

actors teach small classes and workshops for ages 5-7, 8-11, and 12-17 in a simu-lated audition environment. Classes are fun, with a focus on putting in the workto be professional, and developing a strong work ethic. Our actor training in-cludes acting+camera technique, audition skills, emotional access, commercialsand scene study, and builds self-awareness, self-management, listening skills,and self-condence.

For classes, info, and audition listing for kids+teens, visit BIZSUDIO.CA

Documents

Confidence on Camera