Directing The Perfect Acting Performance by Mark W. Travis
Film Courage: So how do you work with directors who get so married to their production plan that they can’t deviate from it because that’s how they envisioned the work? And they know their vision “Just trust me on this one! This is going to work. We’ve just got to do it this way.”
Mark W. Travis: Okay. This is a plan in terms of…
Film Courage: Shooting the film.
Mark W. Travis: With a scene, with the actors, with the visuals? What aspect of it?
Film Courage: Yes. Okay. With an actor and let’s say the actor was one way in the audition and one way in the table read, bringing a good level of emotion to both. And then you get them on set and they’ve kind of retracted into a little bit of a shell. But it’s working in some ways, just not the way you initially envisioned it. So you can still play the scene but they are going to be a little more awkward and introverted. Not maybe more emotional (how you wanted them to be)…(watch the video interview on Youtube here).
See all of Mark W. Travis Film Courage interviews here on Youtube
CONNECT WITH MARK W. TRAVIS
Markwtravis.com
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@MarkWTravis
MARK W. TRAVIS is regarded by Hollywood and independent film professionals internationally as the world’s leading teacher and consultant on the art and craft of film directing. He is known as “the director’s director.”
Fueled by the desire to generate organic and authentic performances in an instant, Mark developed his revolutionary Travis Technique™ over a span of 40 years. Not limited to filmmakers, The Travis Technique™ has proven to be an essential set of tools for all storytellers, writers, directors and actors.
Mark Travis has taught at many internationally acclaimed film schools and institutions, including Pixar University, American Film Institute, UCLA Film School, FAS Screen Training Ireland, NISS — Nordisk Institutt for Scene og Studio (Norway), Odessa International Film Festival (Ukraine), CILECT — The International Association of Film and Television Schools, and the Asia Pacific Screen Lab (hosted by Griffith University Film School, Brisbane, Australia).
Productions directed by Mark W. Travis have garnered over 30 major awards, including: an Emmy, Drama-Logue, L.A. Weekly, Drama Critics’ Circle, A.D.A, and Ovation awards.
His film and television directing credits include: The Facts of Life, Family Ties, Capitol, Hillers, and the Emmy Award-winning PBS dramatic special, Blind Tom: The Thomas Bethune Story. Also the feature films Going Under (for Warner Bros. starring Bill Pullman and Ned Beatty), Earlet (documentary), The Baritones, and The 636.
On-stage, over the past 20 years, Mark has directed over 60 theatre productions in Los Angeles and New York, including: A Bronx Tale, Verdigris, The Lion in Winter, Mornings At Seven, Equus, Café 50s, And A Nightingale Sang, Wings, Linke vs. Redfield, The Coming of Stork and others.
Mark is the author of the Number-One Best Seller (L.A. Times), THE DIRECTOR’S JOURNEY: the Creative Collaboration between Directors, Writers and Actors. His second book on directing,
DIRECTING FEATURE FILMS (published in April of 2002) is currently used as required text in film schools worldwide. His third book, THE FILM DIRECTOR’S BAG OF TRICKS: Get What You Want from Writers and Actors was published in 2011. Mark’s popular DVD, HOLLYWOOD FILM DIRECTING, is available now.
MARK TRAVIS and ELSHA BOHNERT offer workshops and consultations on all aspects of storytelling for writers, directors and actors.
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