The Moment it Clicks

While directing the feature film, BOUNTY, I discovered a lot of things that are important when directing actors. Not only do they help in creating memorable performances but they help the over all through line of the story, connecting story elements in a way you may not have thought of before.

While working with the actors in one scene I was noticing that something was just not clicking. Don't get me wrong, the performances were great but there was something that was missing from the scene. Between each take I would talk with the actors to discuss the scene. Often times I try using the technique given by Judith Weston in her book, Directing Actors, about giving action verbs to help make quick adjustments to the scene. I felt that this was not the moment to use that technique. The performances were fine it was something that the actors needed to discover. After further discussion the lead actor came upon something that I could not have done myself, he made a discovery about his character. We did the scene again and the missing element was found.
Often times I see directors wanting to dictate exactly how each moment of the film happens but to truly have full creative control over how you direct a film you need to be willing to let the actors discover things for themselves. If I had told the actor that this was the moment in the film where his arc was complete and that he learned he truly loved the girl the performance could have come out flat and stale, but instead I was able to talk the actor down a path of discover. Our discussion was not one of me telling him what was happening but was me asking him what he felt was happening. I was able to give suggestions that lead him right to where we needed to be. When he told me that this was his moment of discovery I thought for a moment he was talking about himself as an actor, but what he meant was it was the scene that his character made a discovery. I am almost certain that whatever way he meant what he said it applied to both the actor and the character he was playing.

It is important to not only help an actor discover something for himself but also to understand where a character is coming from, what causes certain things to happen and why their responses are the way they are. The moment it clicks for the actor is when you are on the verge of an incredible performance.