I told him that it was a matter of intuition, that I didn’t feel I needed an establishing shot in that scene. But that didn’t suit him. He insisted that I should give my reasons. I could tell that the whole crew was just as wary as he was. He had another idea in mind, and I had to fight him for an hour before winning the point. It was a very important shot – in fact, it ended up on the cutting-room floor – but it was a matter of principle. I had to impose my credibility as a filmmaker. And that lasted throughout the shoot.”

From “Moviemakers Masterclass – Private Lessons from the World’s Foremost Directors“, Laurent Tirard,  2007, Faber &Faber, New York.

Here’s a list of the basic requirements and dos and donts to think about:

1. Make sure your face is centred in the frame and not favouring one side
2. The shot of your face should be sharp and well focused and not soft in any part. It is better if the background can go out of focus.
3. You want to look like an actor and not a model.
4. Your portrait should be color for the U.S. and black and white for Britain.
5. Try and eliminate any distractions on the background of the frame. When a casting director is scanning through dozens of pictures you want the fleeting glance to look at you and nothing else.
6. Don’t wear anything with logos or have anything in shot with names, graphics etc.
7. Avoid patterns in any clothing in shot i.e. shirt collars, scarves etc. No stripes, lines and so on.
8. No head wear, hats, caps, feathers!
9. Wear little jewellery, preferably none at all.
10. No makeup.

You’re not really selling your own personality here; you’re selling a version of you, a look or a set of features.

What you have to remember is that the photo isn’t about how you would like to look, but it’s how you actually look, real and unmade up, flaws and all. This is your uniqueness. A film director or casting director wants to see the person in the photo walk in to the audition; not someone who looks one way in their headshot then arrives looking completely differently.

Want more acting tips?

Why do we need lighting?

Lighting our films creates depth, atmosphere and a type of ‘reality’ that engages the viewer’s brain and helps create the believability necessary to sustain the world we’re depicting. Flat, dull and lifeless scenes just give the viewer a reason to stop downloading press ‘eject’ on the dvd player.

How do use light?

Light is used to ‘model’ the subjects or actors we shoot. Next time you watch one of your favourite movies check out any scene with faces in it. Chances are you will see a shadow on one side of the nose and a patch of brightness under the left or right eye. This indicates a light source placed in front of the subject, a bit higher than their height and also off to the left or right side by about 45 degrees. This is an important position for a light in order to create good ‘modelling’ on an actor and will probably be their ‘key’ or main illumination in that particular shot. This modelling is then built up with side lights, back lights, top lights and so on all helping to separate the subject from the background and realise that all important feeling of ‘depth’.

Two dimensions or three?

Film and video lighting is about creating three-dimensionality in a two-dimensional medium. Without the contrast of light and shadow, shooting with a camera – even if it’s the best camera in the world – will produce images that are flat and uninteresting. It is up to the film-maker working with a DP (and everyone else) to create that interest and bring the film to life.

Do we need lamps?

If you don’t have access to lights or don’t know how to light properly, you can still work with what is available naturally. Some directors of photography only work with light found on location, practical lamps and so on; some use combinations of mirrors to direct sunlight into the correct positions without any electrical lamps at all. You might say you are only limited by time and your own inventiveness.

Use what’s available.

If you don’t have room in your budget for lighting equipment then sunlight and location ‘house’ lights will be your sources. You will have to position your subjects in the most favourable positions. For example, when shooting outside, a good rule of thumb is to keep the sun behind the camera and off to one or other side (similar to the 45 degree key light); this will create at least some basic modelling on your actor. It is always a good idea to avoid having the sun in front of the camera lens or behind the subject that you’re filming in order to minimise under-lit faces, flares etc although this is one way to achieve any silhouette effects.

Sunshine and rain

If you are outside on a cloudy day there isn’t a great deal you can do to make things look good if you’re lacking in lights; everything will be pretty flat and shadowless as the sky is one big source of diffused light. However, sunlight will create very bright and very dark shadow areas in the same shot and exterior shooting almost always involves the generous use of reflectors; these are specially made or improvised highly reflective surfaces that can be used to direct light into shadow areas making them less dark. This ‘fill’ in or ‘bounce’ light makes the contrast less noticeable and the ratio of light (the range of exposures) easier for the camera to deal with.

Lighting styles

Lighting for film also involves choices such as what ‘style’ to use to best express the story we are telling. Soft and hard lighting, high key and low key and high contrast/low contrast and others all help to generate different reactions within the viewer by communicating visually, the various aspects of the human experience.

Cameras don’t yet match our brains

We are blessed with an incredible image-making system built into our brains that helps us interpret the world we live in; it is very difficult for a recording medium to reproduce that to the level we’re used to. It’s getting closer all the time but we still need to build those three-dimensions to transport our audience out of the cinema, bedroom or beach hut and into our film’s reality. The most important part of filmmaking will always be the story and if that’s good enough you could shoot on pixel vision and still make it compelling for people to watch but the art of cinematography and the skill of the D.P. will enhance and complement your movie-making immeasurably and produce a more satisfying and memorable experience for everyone.

Why waiting is hardly ever a good idea

The longer you wait the harder it is to get going. Inspiration and the first excitement of that initial motivation ebbs away like an outgoing tide and you have wait sometime for it to return in full force. Other people you have got involved begin to lose interest where before they were brimming with enthusiasm at the thought of helping you out. Like mostly everything in life, there is a moment to act and if you let those moments pass ‘Murphy’ or ‘Sod’s law’ will make you wait even longer the next time you are ready. Use that beginning energy to seize the moment and throw yourself into the process. Start moving forward from your ‘eureka’ moment and much of the time lots of the things you need will fall into place. But you have to start with drive and energy.

Nobody wants to fail

If you put off making your film it is probably because you don’t want to fail at it. That’s understandable. But so what if you do? Fear of failure or fear of making a mistake keeps a lot of potential filmmakers frozen in place.

• I’ll never have another idea as good as this one.
• I’m too young to write/direct
• I’m too old to write/direct
• I’d better wait till I know more about filmmaking
• I don’t know how to work with actors
• My script isn’t perfect yet
• I don’t have the confidence

Recognise any of these? These are some common fears which keep us stuck where we are. We can only learn by doing; there’s only so much reading you can do before you reach a brick of wall of knowledge. The rest must come experientially, by doing. Confidence comes by doing too.

Don’t get obsessed over the first film

So many film-makers I have met become obsessed over their first movie script. It’s their baby and everything about it has to be just so. The problem with this is that these guys think when they turn it into a film, it is going to be a masterpiece and propel them into the film stratosphere. Don’t try and make your first few films into masterpieces…they are highly unlikely to be and all you will do is waste precious time tinkering and fussing over irrelevant details when what you should be doing is cranking out decent movie after decent movie. When you work like this you are learning your craft all the time. You are laying the foundations of future great works! You are building a show reel, making contacts, doing deals; you are developing as an individual and as a filmmaker.

Do your best but its not life and death

The trick to all this is too not hold on too tightly. Don’t be a perfectionist in the very early stages of your career. I’m not talking to the artists here, I’m talking to the guys and gals who want to work in the industry at whatever level. Getting it right, details and timings are crucial issues no doubt but don’t let them become an excuse for not moving forward to your movie goals.

Start with that picture in your mind

That’s how I begin writing; I have a picture that inspires me. It could be something like ‘three Knights on horseback on a hill overlooking a village’ or an ‘alien sitting in a restaurant looking at his watch as it countdowns to something.’ The point is, in the beginning there is very little to go on except this image but once I have it and it excites me enough I can start to ask questions about it.

Start asking questions

Questions are great for opening up the little material you have and expanding on it without you having to just think of stuff out of the blue.

Take the alien example above. I can ask questions such as:

• How did he get there?
• What’s his watch counting down to; is it the destruction of the earth?
• Does anyone recognise him?
• Where does he go after this?
• Is anyone chasing him?
• Meat or fish?

You get it anyway. What happens when I start asking these questions is that more images and ideas develop in my mind, some good, some not so good but a whole load of material will start to come together. It’s exciting at this point to think of the possibilities of the story; you can take it anywhere you want.

Follow the leads

Some of these new leads will inspire me again and form the basis of other scenes. At this point nothing should be discarded as it is too soon to decide or make judgements about what is relevant and not and what might be good in the long term. Later, much of this material may be discarded but for now every idea should be kept for possible eventual use.

Name the scenes

Now at this point I will separate what feels like different scenes and give them a short, one line description. Often they will not seem to link together in any feasible way but this again too early to question. If you try too hard to link scenes together before they are ready, you will only end up with a dull and ordinary script; due to the fact you are only using only remembered knowledge of how to write stories from what you’ve read, seen or done before. Your deeper mind will link your story together in far more interesting ways if you let it.

Don’t forget to start writing

The most important part of writing a screenplay is actually starting it! You have to follow an idea that excites you and that you feel you want to write about. It’s time to take that picture or line or whatever it is in your head and get it down onto paper. Don’t worry about a beginning, middle or an end just start with those images that inspire you and the rest will follow.

Here’s just a few tips on what not to do at film festivals:

1. Jump on stage naked and run about during any presentations
2. Grab the mike from the speaker and start singing
3. Get so drunk you don’t know whether you’re a man or a woman.
4. If bearded, get so drunk you try to pull your beard off thinking it’s make-up
5. If clean shaven or a woman, get so drunk that you get violent thinking someone has shaven your beard off.
6. Fall off the yacht in a drunken haze never to be seen again. Well, at least they might make an interesting documentary about you.
7. Fall of the yacht between another yacht and get squashed..oooh
8. Go up to Robert De`Niro and say ’Yeah I’m talking to you, m**********r!’
9. Go up to Joe Pesci and say ‘do I amuse you. Am I here to amuse you? Now go get your f*****g shine box!”
10. Give a ten minute speech and start crying and blabbing like a baby..
11. Start a fight with another director who is better and won more than you.
12. When you lose in the competition shout ,“It doesn’t matter. One day I’m going to be bigger than Spielberg”…Er, no. you’re not.

From “Directing The Film – Film Directors on Their Art“,
Eric Sherman, 1976, Acrobat books, Los Angeles.

DP’s generally fall into three categories:

• those who light to make it look good.
• those who light to make it look good and tell the story.
• those who say they can but actually couldn’t light their own granny, (Luckily, few and far between but they do exist!)

All things being equal, you want the guy or gal in the middle. These are the people who will use their understanding of cinematography to express all the elements of your story and it’s characters. They may be more or less than wholly successful but their intention is the right one.

How then do you go about deciding who is the right person to work with? Here are some tips:

1. Obviously, view the show reels of prospective D.P.’s/ this will give you an good idea of their work.
2. Send a script before meeting. People are busy but D.P.’s, if interested, should be able and will want to read a script pretty quick
3. Meet informally to discuss the film, choice of styles and creative issues.
4. Be prepared to answer questions about characters, motivation etc .A good D.P. will have suggestions and won’t just be a ‘yes man’. This is a creative role and they will most likely be ‘thinkers’ and leaders. They will often challenge the way you think a about certain things.
5. Be aware if someone just agrees with your every idea, this could denote a lack of ideas or confidence or leadership ability.
6. Based on your answers a good D.P. may choose not to work with you! They have a reputation to protect/build and wont work with just anyone. (if you do have a poor script/personality you better have a lot of money!).
7. References: Contact other producers and directors who have worked with the same person and get their view.
8. Make sure you can get on personally. You will be working very closely together over a number of weeks of the shoot both before and after in pre-and post production so be certain you can work through any disagreements or differences of opinions amicably and maturely.

Finding a D.P. to work with is something all aspiring and established film makers have to deal with at some time. Ideally you will find someone you can work with again and again on different projects and thereby create a successful relationship of mutual respect and admiration.

The importance of hitting marks

‘Marks’ are used all the time on set for many things. White camera tape can mark the position of moving cameras, points of focus over distances and people’s positions in shot and in frame.

When it comes to marks for a character’s position, an actor should try to ‘hit’ the marks correctly through each successive take. The camera and lighting will both be focused on this particular area to make the subject look as good as possible, as sharp as possible or achieve whatever purpose the Director and D.P. have decided. With lighting, after a couple of takes (if you have that long) you will know when you are in the light and when you are not and this is an awareness and knowledge that, as an actor, you will pick up as you gain in experience and time spent on set.

Movement in frame

Often when you are in tight framing such as a close-up (CU) or extreme close-up (XCU), movement must be kept to a minimum. The director will most likely tell you when you are in this sort of framing and communicate the necessity of remaining ‘still’ once you walk or lean into frame. Any excessive movement of the head and shoulders will mean you move in and out of the frame or focus. If you imagine yourself projected onto the big screen in a tight shot, the slightest movement will be exaggerated to a large degree; quite a dizzying experience for the viewer.

Hitting marks for focus

When it comes to knowing when you are ‘in’ and ‘out’ of focus and how much of you is in frame; you will probably not know. Really, you will never need to concern yourself about it. Marks are crucial here for focus, unless there is sufficient depth of field (area of focus); the camera assistant will know this and be adjusting during the take. If an actor is as little as a few inches off mark, they can sometimes be out of focus and this is where consistency and accuracy for hitting those positions each time comes in.

A digital camera operator or camera assistant will often ask an actor to look straight into camera when they are standing on their positional marks. This enables the assistant to use actors’ eyes as an object of focus. With the camera lens ‘zoomed’ in, accurate lens focus is made using the whites of the eye. The lens is then returned to the correct size for the upcoming shot.

If a crew is working with ‘prime lenses’ (lenses that have one focal length) a ‘focus puller’ will measure the distance from the camera lens to the subject of the shot and correct the focus manually using the distance marks on the lens focus ring.

When the camera crew ask an actor to do something, like look into camera, it is important for that actor to have patience and remain still while the crew make the measurements they need. Not being distracted by other actors and the activity around you is desirable and the crew will love you for it.

Usually the AD, the Assistant Director, will take charge of getting everybody ready for the shot. Any final make-up touches and powder will be applied to bright, shiny faces and last minute hair adjustments will be made. Continuity will be checked. Props will have been set in place and lights will be tweaked. On set, mobile phones should always be switched off whilst filming.

Unless you are on a sound stage, the sound recordist will wait for the numerous planes to pass by overhead and cars to disappear before giving the all clear.

Going for a shot will go something like this:

The Assistant Director will ask:

• AD: “Everybody ready?”
• EVERYBODY: Yes / yo / you bet / Do it, do it! / yeah / fuck yeah!/kiss my ass.

Everyone is ready to go.

• DIRECTOR/AD: “Roll sound” or “run sound.”

The sound recordist (opens eyes/puts down newspaper or porn mag) switches on his gizmos and announces:

• SOUND RECORDIST: “Rolling/running!”

The AD or Director will then say:

• DIRECTOR/AD: “Roll camera” or “run camera” or “turnover.”

The camera operator or his/her assistant will start the camera. (This depends upon the crew size,budget and whether shooting film or digital).

• 1st CAMERA ASSISTANT: “Rolling” or “Running” or “Speed*”

The 1st or 2nd camera assistant will then hold the ‘board’ or ‘clapper board’ at a distance where it will appear in a central position in the camera frame. You can determine this by either looking at the size of the shot in the monitor or the viewfinder or through experience, by judging the distance based on the lens focal length. The Operator will then say:

• CAMERA OPERATOR: “Mark it!“

On ‘mark it’, will declare:

• 1ST/2ND/CLAPPER LOADER/CAMERA ASSISTANT: “slate 1, take 1.”

The camera assistant may also sometimes announce the name of the production before snapping shut the board.

• DIRECTOR: “Action.”

The Action takes place.

• DIRECTOR: “cut!”

The director will check with both camera and sound departments for their feedback on whether there were any problems/issues with the shot. If shooting on film, the camera gate will be checked straight away for dust and small particles which could have scratched the film’s surface.

The Director will confer with the actors on their feelings about the performance and give them his/her comments. It’s rare to have a one take wonder so there will generally be another couple of takes to improve any or all of the elements involved.

* The term ‘speed’ comes from the camera operator announcing when a film camera had been started and run up to the desired amount of ‘frames per second’, its proper speed.