Approach Tips
Know what you are marketing.
Make a realistic, educated assessment of your strongest casting probabilities. Be purposeful. Think as a filmmaker, a storyteller, and a casting director. How would you cast this actor that is you? Grab a piece of paper and a pen, and organize these results into archetypes.
2. Know your archetypes.
An archetype is a calculated amalgam of like characters you are marketing. These archetypes will become your looks. You’ve heard of “The Girl Next Door” or “The Blue Collar Guy.” Same idea, but with more detail, intention, and specificity. Give them an occupation, a want, a need, a time, a place. Now you’re getting somewhere. These details matter, exactly the same as when you’re working. This is what you’ve trained for. Use it.
3. Become the Costume Designer.
Dress these archetypes as if they were characters in a film or play you are directing. See them. What do they look like in your mind’s eye? Seek inspiration from your favorite films and shows. Have fun! Most important of all, make sure you feel great in the garments you are wearing.
Keep it civilian. Keep it malleable. No uniforms, no props. Stay away from loud patterns or stripes. Let nothing upstage the main character in the frame.
4. Write the Script.
I’m not talking about writing a screenplay, but do create stories for your archetypes. Commit them to paper. Make them specific. They don’t have to be long, just potent. What these personal stories are should be informed by what you wish that archetype to portray in that single frame. What do you want the audience to see?
5. Rehearse.
Try out your characters. How do they present themselves physically? What kind of posture do they have? What are some of their gestures? Get comfortable with their physicality, keeping it as natural and grounded as possible.
6. Perform.
Work small. Remember we are shooting mostly closeups. Keep your adjustments small, as if you are working in a closeup on camera. Comedy and pure joy excepted.
For the most part, it is an unnatural act for an actor to stare directly into the lens of a camera. If you ever feel like a deer caught in headlights, try this:
Look away, fill your instrument with whatever you’re going to fill it with, then when you’re ready, notice me. “Me” meaning right down the barrel of the lens. Maybe you notice me for one shot, maybe you notice me for ten. Do not worry about looking away- I will know what you are doing, and I will never look at my watch. Repeat this as many times as you want.
Again- use any, all, or none of this. No one thing works for everyone. If you show up to shoot, step in front of the camera, and employ techniques that have worked for you tried and true for years, that’s absolutely fine with me. I’ll be right there with you, cheering you on and capturing the magic as best I can.