Week 8 Casting and lightning

The actors of Sneaker Spastic are now selected, and we looked at Robin’s aspects of lightning when casting. Before talking about lightning, the directing in casting linked this to the placement of both actors and the light set up. Reflecting back on the Pollack reading we avoided clichés and ‘worked towards causes and gave the actor a real life example they had to deal with’ (Pollack : 61). This shift between telling the actor what to do first and then implement it in a real scene gave the option to see three sides of the character; the becoming crew member, his unconscious side and how the lightning fell on his face. One example is:

Dir: Say ‘Oi!’
Actor: ‘Oi!’

Dir: Now, I’ve stolen something from you, I’m running away and your reaction is….?
Acto: (A LOT more emphasized) ‘OI!’ with more emotion and an obvious body language evoking more feelings.

I think as for being a director this is where I saw ‘what I really wanted’ and how to bring that out. The actor had personality enough to show it but the reality scene of it showed its meaning to a higher level. Knowing what exactly to look for made the acting behave truthfully under imaginary circumstances. It also made the character raise his face higher and we saw in the tape how we have to test shot with lightning.

But there was one simple question we had not thought about and it was: do you want me to cast with or without my glasses? The actor said. I realized, did Robin mention that? Does glasses matter at all? On a sunny day yes, we will have to ask Paul how to avoid too much reflection in the glasses if it happens.

In Malckiewic’s article, the practical example of the day interior and lights adjustment shows the importance of its pre-production. The choices of fill light and hard light and its placement will as in Robin’s example and also as experienced in the casting, affect (the main point in Mackendrick’s reading from week 7) what we are recreating. The whole act, with the scene construction and the actors needs to be filled with some sort of light to successfully do ‘the act of imagining the action’. Lightning here involves what was presented in the lecture and from the reading as:

-Daylight scene and strong back light
-Soft light and harsh sunlight
-Night interior - Which light sources? lamp?
-Simplicity is a key to beauty – Sven Nykvist on one shadow
-Amount of shadows
-The use of the cutter
-Controlling soft light- how much equipment does RMIT have?
-How to create night mood with using soft and reflective light?
-How to light faces? Eyelight?

To be explored.