See film and write an essay according to questions that my teacher gave

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Performance

  • Performance, more than any other aspect of filmmaking is the most common way we evaluate a film.
  • Performance, more than any other aspect of filmmaking is the most difficult to evaluate.

Performance- Definition

  • Lawrence Olivier once stated:

‘Acting is the art of persuasion’

  • An Actor is an artist who assumes (in the context of stage or screen) the identity of another person; one who presents themselves on screen, as if they were a person other than who they are in real life.
  • One way we can evaluate a performance is to ask how thoroughly are we persuaded?

Believability

  • Credibility is the ‘cornerstone’ of a successful performance
  • Two fundamental tenants of a ‘good’ performance

The ability of an artist to transform characteristics in order impersonate a fictitious character

  • Creating a role

The actors natural disposition as it relates to a fictitious character

  • Screen Persona

Identification

  • A property that is essential in a performance is to create a connection with the audience.
  • The audience must IDENTIFY with the character

Suspension of Disbelief

  • The actor must convince an audience that he or she is a real person (in a real situation) despite the fact that the audience knows that the person on the screen is fictitious
  • To willingly believe an illusion
  • Disbelief is our disposition We suspend that disbelief in order to believe
  • Verisimilitude- Having the appearance of truth

Character and Actor

  • In order to create believability, it must be possible for an actor to manifest qualities that the character possesses.
  • Appropriateness (Barsam)
  • These include attributes such as:
  • Age
  • Physical type
  • Behavior/Mannerisms
  • Intellectual ability
  • Psychological disposition

Motivation

  • An actor must make believable, the reasons for a character’s actions
  • Actions motivated from a genuine need.
  • Objectives
  • Reasons may be withheld from an audience, but we must be convinced that a character is driven by this need
  • Motivations come from the ‘Inner Life’ of a character reacting to the narrative context (script)
  • Actions without motivation lack credibility, and may appear ‘incomprehensible’ or artificial.

Consistency

  • Pudovkin states that: “The aim and object of technique of the actor is the struggle for unity, for an organic wholeness in the lifelike image he creates”
  • In order to create believability, an actor must have consistency in a role.
  • this includes, actions, reactions, transitions, mannerisms and emotional range
  • Expressive Coherence (Barsam)
  • A character trait, inconsistent, un-premised, artificially, or inadequately expressed, would be considered ‘out of character’ and destroy credibility.

Complexity

  • Another trait which increases our identification with a character is complexity. There must be ‘depth’ or ‘dimension’ to a character
  • Variety
  • Spontaneity
  • Unpredictability
  • One of the ways complexity is introduced is when we see the dynamic between personality, or outer character traits, struggling with ‘inner’ emotions or thoughts of a character.

Unity AND Diversity

  • A well rounded character has both Unity AND Diversity
  • Complexity AND Consistency

Attention/Concentration

  • One of the qualities developed in the training of an actor is the ability to concentrate and focus attention.
  • An actor must have the ability to assume qualities of a fictitious character for extended periods of time
  • getting into character
  • An actor must have the ability to transcend the artificial context of the craft (technical demands)
  • Maintain consistency in a scene, often building emotional content, with the interruptions inherent in the process production
  • Continuity
  • Wholeness in performance (Barsam)

Subtext

  • One of the ways an actor creates a consistent, believable role is through Subtext
  • Subtext: the thoughts, inner emotions, or moods, not expressed in dialog, that ‘color’ a performance.
  • Sometimes referred to as the inner life of a character
  • One of the challenges of an actor is to express a character’s thoughts or emotions without appearing artificial.
  • Affectation - Exaggerated mannerism-gestures
  • Telegraph – overtly revealing - exposition
  • Subtext is often represented in The Reaction Shot

Emotion and Identification

  • One fundamental way in which we ‘identify’ with a character is with their ability to express emotion.
  • We often Identify with a character because they can feel, and in turn cause us to feel.

Persona and Character

  • There are two basic ‘approaches’ to the role of an actor
  • Developing a Character
  • Screen Persona
  • In most performances both are present
  • Screen Persona, in varying degrees works in ‘tandem’ with Creating a Character

Creating a Character

  • Manifests qualities of the character (fictitious), that may be radically different from the ‘natural’ disposition of the actor.
  • The ability to modify, transform, or ‘stretch’, the physical, emotion, intellectual disposition of the actor to fit the character
  • To make believable the unique traits of a fictional character
  • Craft in the ‘art’ of acting
  • Characteristics are unique to the fictitious character and are not shared from role to role.

Screen Persona

  • Persona is an actor’s personality, presence, or ‘charisma’ on screen
  • innate physical, emotional, intellectual, appeal of actor
  • The star
  • It is the ability to utilize the natural disposition of an actor and apply it to a role
  • Screen Persona, arguably, more than any other factor, creates audience identification
  • We relate to a character because we like the actor
  • We are attracted to a character for many of the same reasons we are attracted to people in ‘real’ life
  • Screen persona, is carried from role to role
  • Audience Expectations - Relationship (screen history)

Development of Screen Persona

  • Although Screen Persona can be considered ‘innate’ it still requires skill to develop (‘work on oneself’)
  • Screen persona is often intentionally cultivated, as a career ‘investment’ carefully ‘groomed’ image through publicity.
  • Studio system
  • Screen persona can be damaged, or improved with ‘inside’ knowledge of an actors personal life (Christian Bale, Lindsey Lohan, Charlie Sheen, Mel Gibson)

Types of Roles

  • Casting often determines the success or failure of a project
  • Star power
  • The type of role that an actor is cast can determine the effectiveness of performance
  • It is said that casting is 90% of performance
  • The script can radically impact the effectiveness of performance.
  • Working with other actors can also radically impact a performance

Types of Performance

  • Character Driven films- the events of a single character is prominent – Character development
  • Buddy films- Two actors compliment one another.
  • Thelma and Lois, Midnight Cowboy, Hangover.
  • Epic films,- Character(s) in context. Explores the impact of environment the individual.
  • Often explores ‘human drama’ set against the backdrop of a historical event.
  • Ensemble films- Several characters of ‘importance’ playing off one another

The Ensemble Performance

  • A chemistry created when a group of actors work together. Creates a collective energy, in which each performance impacts the others
  • Performances are complimentary
  • Strength of a performance can reach a level that a single character could not.
  • Screen ‘magic’ when ensemble performance ‘gels’
  • Performances are memorable, often launch careers or ‘generations’ of actors
  • Rat Pack, Brat Pack etc