IN FRONT OF THE LENS: A SHOOTER’S DAY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CAMERA

Let me start out by saying: I am not an actor. I write, shoot, direct, and edit. Acting, however, scares me. I have taken some improv classes and an Acting 101 class in college to fulfill a credit, but I’ve never professionally acted in anything. I’ve always been behind the scenes. That is, until two weeks ago.

I wasn’t sure if I was about to be the victim of a cruel prank, or perhaps an unsuspecting subject in a social experiment, but when director Brandon Peterson of ECG Productions and musician Nick Fullop of the band Beggars Farm Reunion asked me to be in the story portion of their upcoming music video, I was a bit confused. Why not use professional actors? Apparently, I would be able to bring an “authentic quality” to the (small) part. Of course, it didn’t hurt that I was the editor on the project, so I was already close to the production and the material. After learning the story, which includes me crying a bit, as well as plenty of kissing, I (somewhat reluctantly, but secretly a little excitedly) agreed.

I’ve directed a few short films with actors. I’ve taken classes on working with actors. I’ve read books about actors’ processes and methods. But I’ve never, until now, had to actually do what they do. Let me share with you a few things I learned while having the camera pointed at me for a change.

Acting Is Hard

One thing I’ve read, but never fully understood until now is the saying that acting “is not pretending, it’s being truthful in an imagined situation.” I completely get it now. It isn’t enough to just try and make yourself look like you think you should look if you’re sad. You actually have to get sad. You have to start going through the same emotions your character is going through, or at least a close approximation. Trying to be honest is more important than trying to look a certain way. And getting yourself up into a certain state of emotion is tough, particularly the more unfamiliar you are with the emotion you’re going for. Not to mention the fact that it can get tiring. In real life, if you’re going through a tough situation, you might break down and cry it out until you have nothing left. That might take a couple minutes, and then you’re spent. Now imagine having to relive those couple minutes over and over, being filmed from multiple angles, while trying to maintain that level of intensity. All the scenes with my character going through turbulent emotional turns were shot first thing in the morning. After about four hours of crying and contemplating in front of the camera, I was totally drained. And then we had to shoot the rest of the video. Acting takes some serious endurance!

“Divas” Are Completely Justified

Have you ever had an actor continue to ask how their hair was, or makeup, or wardrobe? Don’t you just want to kill them. “Just get the shot. You’re an actor, you’re attractive, don’t worry about it.” These are things I used to want to shout at the talent. Now that I’ve been in their shoes (except for the attractive part), I completely sympathize. When you’re in front of the camera, it’s you up there on screen, with everyone watching. You’re incredibly vulnerable. And if your hair looks weird in the shot the editor chooses then your hair looks weird for eternity. Take a look at the driving scenes in the video, and you’ll notice my hair doing something weird on the back of my head. It drives me crazy, and while it may just be me being vain, I now know what actors go through when it comes to how they look on screen. And I’m totally on their side.

Actors Need (Good) Directors

When you’re acting, you aren’t supposed to be watching yourself. You should just be going through what your character is going through. This means you may act or react in a way that is unexpected and may or may not work for the piece. It is not the actor’s job to determine if it works or not. That’s the director’s job. And having a director that you can trust to make that decision, a decision that 99% of people will think you made, is paramount. Also, sometimes you know where your character should be, but you just can’t get there yourself. And it takes a talented director to pull that out of you. While it may not have been too pleasant for me at the time, having Brandon Peterson ask me some very personal questions about my experiences and thoughts on love, relationships and heartbreak absolutely took me to the place I needed to be for my character. And he was not afraid to take me aside on set and bring those things up if I wasn’t delivering what he needed on camera. Actors can’t work in a vacuum. You really need a good director that you trust enough to do their job, so that as an actor you can be fearless when doing yours.

Be There For Your Acting Partner(s)

So there you are, right in the moment, and the director calls cut and you think to yourself, “Man, I can’t say for sure, but I think I nailed that scene. I was really feeling something and I bet it showed on camera!” And then you realize that the camera wasn’t on you, but on your acting partner. Hey, sometimes that happens, but if you were really feeling it, chances are your scene partner was too. Giving just as much when the camera isn’t on you is just as important as delivering when it’s your closeup. In fact, something I learned on my senior short in college was that if you want to tweak an actor’s performance, one effective way to do it is to give their scene partner directions and just watch them react to what their partner is doing. If your scene partner is angrier, you might do it angrier, or perhaps more hurt. I was very lucky to work with the very talented Jenna Williams (you may remember her from Vitaly K – Universe) in this video, who gave everything she had no matter where the camera was. I remember hearing cut and it took me a solid five minutes to stop feeling what I was going through after the scene where she throws the ring at me and walks away. I hardly knew her before this project and there I was being seriously affected while she’s acting with me! That’s being there for who you’re working with.

Acting Is Fun

It could be that I got to ride horses, play with farm animals and kiss a pretty girl all afternoon, but even the more serious scenes made me realize how much fun actors have. Maybe not right in the exact moment of the most dramatic scene, but afterwards you realize how enjoyable, and rewarding, acting can be. My love for filmmaking aside, just pretending to be someone else for a day was a blast. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I caught “the bug,” but I can relate to why people refer to it that way. If you have any inkling to act, go for it. If you don’t and just want to stay behind the camera, try acting anyway. You’ll have fun. I promise.  Most importantly, you’ll have a greater respect for the actor’s process.

Now I’m not going to delude myself and think I gave some sort of life changing performance or that this video required the acting range of an Oscar-winning screenplay. But for me, it was difficult, and I’m proud of my performance and of how the final project turned out. I have no doubt that acting in this (and then being forced to watch my own acting as the editor) made me a better filmmaker. Understanding the experience of an actor is an important quality, and taking a turn on the other side of the lens is something I recommend every filmmaker does at least once. And who knows…you just might enjoy it!

Anyone else behind the scenes ever have to get in front of the camera? Let me know in the comments!

Want to make a music video with us? Want to make sure I act in it (or don’t act in it)? Whether you’ve got a concept in mind or you need us to help you develop one from scratch, we love collaborating with artists of all types. Let us put our passion for the moving image to work for you! Reach out to a member of our team today and get the conversation started!

David Wappel