Film acting BCU

To edit drama, we need to understand acting for film. Almost twenty years ago I saw a film acting masterclass presented by Michael Caine. One of the first things he said is:

[1:12] – “What we do, we actors in the movie, hang on to each other’s eyes. That’s the most important thing in film: eyes. If you are fair and have blond eyelashes like I have, you wear mascara, because if you have blond eyelashes, you might as well be in a radio play.”
[4:30] “If I look at you and I blink, it weakens me… If I don’t blink, it makes me strong”
[5:40] “Listening is what acting is all about in movies… ‘Think of extraordinary things to say, and decide not to say them’ – that’s the greatest piece of advice I could give to someone who wants to act in movies.”

If writers write to help actors act this way, and editors capture these aspects of actors’ performances, we’ll have great films.

While the BBC leaves this on the web, watch the rest of the show on YouTube. It is an hour long. Part 1:

Here are the links to the following parts: Part 2 · Part 3 · Part 4 · Part 5 · Part 6