talking to him and discussing what he may practice for acting. And
this is 'my learning' (as of now.) Some of which I had talked about
earlier too.
SCENE OF A FILM
One is to watch a scene in a film; observe the package of the
character or even multiple characters, write it down and try to play
it on his own. This one's tricky, since one may get influenced by the
actor especially if it's a good performance. Hmm...think Aamir in Dil
Chahta Hai (in the scene with Preity, where he discovers rather
acknowledges that he is love with her.) The deal is to behave in your
own way - Aamir does it in his own way, Bajpai will do in his own,
Bachchan will follow his route and Ankur should do it in his own way.
The thing is: you have to be in the 'REALITY OF DOING' (ROD). Let your
conscious mind imagine; use the magic 'IF' (If i want this...if this
is what I am...) - be what you want to be in those moments, in those
circumstances. I think this ROD is the key in performing - though any
one can and may act, one should be able to operate at a good level of
ROD; lot of top directors in the world have worked with non-actors,
like Ray, but....they wouldn't have picked up anyone; the ability to
ROD would be critical.
ANY SITUATION
Here's another way that I was thinking about - think of some
situation, any situation...think of a character...anyone....how will
he or even she would react. And work with the 'package', and change it
to see how it works differently. Involve Drupa, as i think she can be
a good observer, who can give good feedback, or anyway do it on your
own...say when you are in your car. Or record your performance in the
camera.
THE PACKAGE
Background (where he is 'coming from'; backstory; history)
Circumstances (what's happening now)
Inner Objective (what you truly want, rather need for yourself)
Outer Objective (what he wants from the other character)
Action Verb - what will you use to get into action to accomplish your
Objective against obstacles (conflict)
Two more things:
Energy (out or in; positive and negative)
Status (high, low, low-playing-high, or high-playing-low)
BASIC / CLASSIC STRUCTURE
The package flows from the same concept of story-writing:
a CHARACTER (has background)
WANTS something (objective)
takes ACTION (within the circumstances)
meets with OBSTACLES (conflict)
leading to CLIMAX and RESOLUTION
(the character - the protagonist, can be good or bad...and may
accomplish his goals or may fail...but the story will resolve; this is
the classic deal; of course there are films/stories, which can be very
open-ended or too random.)
PLAYING THESE CHARACTERS
I was thinking: How will you play, Raj Thackeray?
What will be his package:
While talking to his people?
Talking to Bala Saheb?
Talking to someone who points a gun to his head.
Another character:
A worker of Raj Thackeray
CHANGING PACKAGE
Change the package by changing circumstances:
What if one of the worker of Raj Thackeray's best friend is a Bihari?
Raj's Status is evident:
High
(but it could change with Bala Saheb...maybe not; NOTE: it can be ANY
thing...just 'behave' within that package)
You change circumstances and things change.
You change Action Verb and behavior changes
Change anything for that matter....
BREAKDOWN-SCRIPTS / BEATS / PARAPHRASING
Ok, here's another gyan, which actors should do, and even writers:
Breakdown Script (capture the beats:)
Beats: Behavior change within the text
Take a scene and see the package. Observe the change of behavior; also
remember - there is no right or wrong - all of us can observe and work
with different beats; of course in the end, you work with the director
since he is the person taking the call.
Another interesting exercise we do while breaking-down to understand
the character: Paraphrasing (figuring out the emotions at play.) In
fact, Galina at times tells us to forget the dialogues, if memorizing
is a pain - just observe the emotion at play. (Of course in front of
camera, while shooting for a film, you better know the exact words!
The writer / director have it for specific purpose; yup...some
directors are open to changing that too. But it's an interesting
insight - typically, once you are at the set, you stick to the words
and everything; the changes and improvs should happened at rehearsal.
It also seems as if not everyone is able to 'find time' for rehearsals
in Hollywood! Personally, I think it's essential for solid
performance. Though for my next film (In-A-Minute), it's likely it
will not happen! (Managing my own work/assignments and actor's
schedules is quite a pain.) But yeah...for a film that's not too crazy
time-bound, I will hopefully get into it.)
NEVER EVER
Do Note: while directing or acting: NEVER talk 'feelings' (emotions);
just action verbs - your action/behavior will result in right
emotions: if you are begging for life, when someone points a gun at
you, automatically you will start crying; you don't have to cry for
the sake of it! And what if we change the package: you won't beg for
life, you will 'challenge' the guy to shoot you....your behavior
becomes very different! Your status changes from low to High in this
case, and you will work from +ve energy, which can be in or out.
I think this needs practice, to get into the right 'mindset'; even I
am guilty of operating from 'feelings' perspective. So
yeah....practicing right is the solution.
EXAMPLE
So take the text/dialogues and try to see what's the underlying
development: what's the character doing / wanting in that particular
dialogue - write in english (in different words.)
Let's take Dil Chahta Hai scene:
Hmm...was it Preity or Aamir who says (think it was Preity) - "both of
us know that moti opera singer was not the one you were talking
about"? (It's a powerful scene within the film, since both of them
acknowledge their connect/love for and yet know that their
circumstances are different, as she is already hitched.)
So...what's Preity really saying/doing:
If we paraphrase it, it would be the person saying to the other:
"Don't fool yourself, you know the truth: it was ME, you meant"
(Well, yeah, this is the subtext we are trying to figure out.)
What's her:
Status: Hmm...it's (kinda) Low
Energy is '-ve' and 'in'
Action Verb: Acceptance (of truth), (kinda) confrontation, (maybe)
challenge {you can put any and work with one...but one can see it can
border on many}
Want (Outer Objective): Tell him the truth
Inner Need: Wants true love (at this moment, she will not get
it...that's why the scene gets pretty touching; of course, it has been
built up by showing their rapport/connect with each other.)
So pal, keep practicing and observing and analyzing...that's all there
is to this :-)
If you have any thoughts, suggestions, questions, let me know....
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