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Resources for Actors

Screen Acting Tips

As every artist knows, switching mediums means implementing a new set of techniques. Acting is no different. What works in stage acting doesn’t necessarily work in screen acting. In this article, we’ll look at the important differences between stage acting and screen acting you should keep in mind, and we’ll present our top tips for actors transitioning from stage to screen. 

Differences Between Stage Acting and Screen Acting

Performance Style

The viewer’s perspective is the most obvious difference between stage and screen. Screen acting is up close and personal, and that affects everything from your physical movements to how you use your voice. 

This means using a much more restrained acting style in screen performances. Subtle, nuanced expressions and tones of voice that no stage audience would notice are exposed by the camera and microphone. Stage acting and screen acting call for completely different performance styles. 

Delivery and Timing

On stage, you must constantly adapt to your audience and the performances of other actors. Lines must be delivered on cue, and the cast develops a rhythm that carries the audience through the plot until it reaches its denouement. 

Screen acting, on the other hand, doesn’t follow this unstoppable rhythm. Scenes can be retaken and edited, and shooting may not align with the timeline of the plot. This allows for more experimentation, but it also means that actors must be very adaptable. For example, you could be involved in a climactic closing scene before the shooting of the events leading up to it begins. 

Rehearsals and Performances

Preparing for a stage show means perfecting every detail in rehearsals before you face an audience. In screen acting, rehearsals are less important. Every scene can be shot multiple times while actors explore different approaches to performance. Directors can then decide which take to use, piecing together scenes to create a final production. 

Audience Interaction

One of the challenges of screen acting is that you can’t gauge audience responses as you go. A stage actor can get a feel for audience reactions and adapt to them – a skill every actor should have. In screen acting you have to guess how your ultimate audience will receive your performance and you must rely on the director and crew to guide you. 

Spatial Awareness

On stage, you know that your audience is seeing the entire space around you. This affects how you move and interact within the setting. 

In screen acting, the focus is on camera angles and framing and you have to adapt your performance according to the camera’s perspective. For example, your director could call for closeups in which you occupy much of the frame, or you could be performing as a component in a larger scene in which you are only one element of what the audience will ultimately see. 

Technical Aspects

In stage performances, actors and behind-the-scenes technicians work together to create a consistent production that will be replicated in every performance. In screen acting, directors may experiment with a variety of tightly-controlled technical environments that may require actors to adjust their performances in a single scene from take to take. 

Script Memorisation

In live performances, actors must learn all their lines before the production can be staged. In screen performances, you only need to prepare for one shoot at a time. While this has the advantage of allowing you to focus on small segments that you’ll perform at different times, the lack of storyline flow can present challenges. 

Character Development

As a stage actor, you have control over a continuous narrative in which your character creates an impression for the audience to interpret. In screen acting, your director uses and edits footage to piece together character development. You have less control over the finished product, and must rely on your director to finalise your performance. 

Tips for Transitioning From Stage to Screen Acting

Prepare to Deliver Face-to-Face Performances

The devil’s in the details. Every muscle movement and every facial expression becomes part of a screen performance. Screen acting means thinking through tiny details that no stage audience would notice. Do your eyes widen at the sight of the protagonist? Do you blink? Do the corners of your mouth harden or relax? While stage acting is all about projection, screen acting is all about controlling tiny cues that tell your audience what your character is experiencing. 

Focus on the Frame

Are you part of a larger scene or is the camera focussed on your face? This has an enormous impact on your performance. Broadly-framed scenes may require an approach that’s closer to stage acting, while intimate closeups require attention to detail and nuanced delivery. 

Don’t Project Your Voice – Unless it’s Called For

In a similar vein, adjust the way you use your voice based on the scene’s context. If you’re shouting across a battlefield, project in a way that’s even more intense than your stage voice. If you’re delivering your lines in Madame’s boudoir, speak naturally. If you’re whispering a secret, tone it right down to the barely-audible. Explore your vocal range to the full. 

Be in Touch With Your Body

Every actor needs to understand body language. On stage, it will be more exaggerated, allowing it to convey a message even when audience members are seeing you from the back row. When acting for the screen, your movements are smaller and each one takes on greater significance. Stage acting requires control. Screen acting requires ultimate control. 

Work With the Camera

Understand what your in-frame position will be. Understand the camera perspectives. Hit the mark precisely when you move. The overall vision your director has for each scene should be clear to you. Know the atmosphere they’re striving to achieve and work with the camera to achieve it. 

Change Gears Based on Context

A stage production flows smoothly from its beginning to its end. You can build momentum as you go, portraying your part in the story in chronological order. 

In screen acting, you need the ability to jump into your most emotional scene without the warmup. As a result, You need a detailed understanding of context and the ability to throw yourself wholeheartedly into scenes without any preamble. 

And, since one day of filming can leap from one point of a story to another, you need the ability to “be” in the moment your character experiences – even when timelines are disjointed. 

Expect the Unexpected and Adapt

You prepared your scene with care and know just how you’ll portray it – but your director has the final say. Be ready for surprises, and don’t be fazed if they want you to change things up. So, you thought your character would be gentle in this scene, but your director wants a hint of steel? Run with it. Drop your preconceived ideas and follow the leader. 

Listen Well

One of the biggest challenges in screen acting is that you don’t know all the details that your director has in mind for the final production. Sometimes, not even the director knows what they want the final product to look like until they’ve tried several alternatives in search of a good fit. 

They may try various iterations of a scene before deciding on a specific approach. You need to listen well and be open-minded. Try to grasp what directors are trying to achieve with each take, and give it your very best effort. 

Stand on the Shoulders of Giants

As Isaac Newton said: “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” As an actor, you can do this too. Analyse great screen actors’ performances and learn from them. Attend classes to learn screen acting techniques. Your personal interpretation remains all your own, but learning from masters hastens your progression. 

Top Tip: Practise in One-to-One Situations

Have you ever noticed how tone of voice, body language, and facial expressions are interlinked? Relax and smile when you’re talking, and the smile shines through – even when your audience can’t see you. Sit up straight and firm the corners of your mouth: you project a completely different persona. Try it! 

When you perform onstage, you’re talking to an audience of hundreds. Screen acting ultimately reaches viewers much more personally. Although your total audience may consist of tens of thousands of people, each one experiences your performance as if you’d acted it just for them. 

Here’s an exercise every aspiring actor should try – and every established one should navigate with ease. Take a commercial brand. “Be” its character. Engage an audience of one person. Lead them through an emotional spectrum that transports them to a place where they feel satisfied, cared-for, and recognised. It’s as intimate as any screenplay. Are you ready for this? If so, we’re ready for you! 

At RSVP, we employ actors to represent brand voices. Join our community. Earn and learn. From famous faces to up-and-coming talent, our team is waiting for you. Visit the RSVP careers page and make it happen!

 

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