I was in most of the scenes we shot yesterday, including a scene where I talked for almost three pages.
Three. Pages. Of. Dialog.
It was a lot, and we were filming right next to an airport so there were constant interruptions from airplanes, so I messed up more than I would have liked … but the cast and crew were really awesome and understanding, and we got through it.
Actually, we didn’t just “get through it.” We did some really great work together. You see, I break down my scenes into actions, intentions, goals, and a few other specific things. Just like in real life, I may want to Let Them Know I’m The Boss, or Put Them At Ease, or Make A Generous Offer. I may need to do all of those things in the span of a few lines, because my primary goal that ties all of that together is To Get Them To Go Along With Something I Can’t Live Without.
Being able to take all of that work and put it into a scene, but then also throw all the preparation away and keep it simple and in the moment is a challenge on in the best of circumstances (it’s easy to get wrapped up in the process, to go into my head and lose my connection to the character and the scene — this is what an actor like me goes to school for years to learn how to overcome) but when there are airplanes a few hundred feet away ever two minutes, it’s even more challenging than usual. It would be very, very easy to be so distracted by the noise and so concerned with just getting through the scene, that I could lose all the levels and character choices … but the director and the cast made sure that didn’t happen, by reassuring me that the performance was layered and communicated all the things I wanted to communicate. (I usually have a good sense of what I’m doing, but there was so much to think about, so much information to convey, and so much noise distracting me, I wasn’t able to know if I was on point or not — and this is where a good, engaged director and cast is the difference between a performance that is meaningful to the audience and a performance that doesn’t quite hit the mark).
So it was a very long day, and a very challenging one, but I’m proud of what we did and happy with the work.
I’ll be honest: I keep thinking that I’m done being an on-camera actor, but then I have an experience like the one I had yesterday, and I remember how much fun, and how artistically satisfying it is, to take the words off the page and bring them to life with some other people.
I’m in a lot of stuff, again, today. I get to work with an actor who I instantly liked tomorrow, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what we discover together in our scenes.
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that feeling of doing good work, surrounded by good people. simple. good. joyful.
Awesome!
My job is very different, but the past few weekends have been very busy. This weekend, I, well, didn’t cope well with that. The last? It was even busier and I just rolled with the punches and came out clean.
Sometimes it’s like that, and it’s great. Glad you had a good day, Wil. Hope today is fun, too!
(Also, I did a tiny bit of live theater [being generous with that description, really, but it was a musical, and it was live, so…] last year for the first time in decades, and I forgot how much fun it could be indeed.)
Sounds fantastic. I hope you’ll be able to tell us what you’re working on soon and when it will be on our screens. Best of luck for the rest!
I’ve always wondered what doing camera work would be like. I imagine I would be frustrated by it. As one who’s spent a lot of time on the stage, I enjoy being able to start in one place at the beginning of the night, and take my character through their journey in one complete event. Breaking things up by scene, doing them out of order, so that someone else in an editing room can put it all together I imagine would feel unsatisfying for the artist in me.
After reading this, I’m excited to play through your section of Broken Age, again. I played through it once, but I’m going through it again to get to Act 2. I hope he was as fun to perform as he was for me to interact with. He really makes me smile. Thanks.
The way you break down scenes into “actions, intentions, goal” sounds like building a character in a novel. That’s really quite helpful right now as I’m having some trouble writing my main character. It’s a good reminder to focus on what he really (secretly) wants in this scene. Thanks!
I’ll trade your environment for mine – I’d much rather be bothered by airplanes than be a half-mile away from the Exxon refinery. During a “burnoff” a few years ago, which made Mount Doom look like a wisp of smoke, the Exxon representative said the discharge wasn’t “any worse than you’d experience when you barbecue.” Yep, sounds about right.
When you are personally barbecued? 🙂
Don’t do that, man.
If you have issues with the Hollywood sausage factory, just do more personal stuff with Geek & Sundry, or similar (Channel 101, Blame Society, Red Letter Media). That’s the best stuff anyway. Don’t let those bastages beat you down. Just keep doing it and no apologies.
I just love the creative processes. How many forms they take! Don’t limit yourself to just a few. Feed that part of you. Thanks for sharing Wil.
since the beans were spilled on another blog, can i spill them here?
https://josephmallozzi.wordpress.com (may 5, 2015 entry)
No one can fight their destiny. You are great on camera and i look forward to seeing more. I subscribe to you on Utube. 🙂 have a great day .. 🙂 glad ur home safe with family ..
Why the heck are they filming by an airport. That seems like the most ridiculous idea.
Don’t stop acting you are incredible. I listen to a lot of books on audible that you read and I am positive you embody the intent of the author. I am very excited for Dark Matter