The Science and Art of Acting for the Camera provides a precise yet practical approach to help unlock the mysteries of acting for film and television. Written by veteran actor, producer, and director John Howard Swain, the book offers a clear-cut, no-nonsense technique that equips aspiring or working actors with the necessary skills to succeed on camera. The technique teaches you how to build multi-dimensional characters; construct truthful and exciting relationships; ignite stimulating emotions; craft a series of discoveries guaranteed to energize your work; and much, much more. The book also provides instruction for actors working in commercials-from slating, to the dreaded "tell us about yourself" interview, to nailing "the tag" and embracing the cliché-and supplies sample commercial copy for students to practice.
Shout Outs
Introduction
Chapter One: Things Every Actor Should Know
Chapter Two: The Basics
Chapter Three: The Bones
Chapter Four: Ten Positive Attributes
Chapter Five: Relationships
Chapter Six: Main Objective
Chapter Seven: Opposites
Chapter Eight: Moment Before
Chapter Nine: Discoveries/Emotions
Chapter Ten: Beats, Tactics and Actions
Chapter Eleven: Humor
Chapter Twelve: Place, Transitions and Sense Memory
Chapter Thirteen: Status, Power and Secrets
Chapter Fourteen: Summary
Chapter Fifteen: The Technique-Condensed
Chapter Sixteen: Self-Taping
And A Few Words About Commercials
Introduction to Commercial Acting
Chapter Seventeen: The Slate
Chapter Eighteen: From Slate to Copy
Chapter Nineteen: Relationships
Chapter Twenty: Line-to-Line Objectives
Chapter Twenty-One: Moment Before and The Tag
Chapter Twenty-Two: Banter
Chapter Twenty-Three: Environment
Chapter Twenty-Four: Embracing the Cliché
Chapter Twenty-Five: Double Copy
Chapter Twenty-Six: The Dreaded Interview
Chapter Twenty-Seven: A Few Last Things
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Your Greatest Asset-You
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Commercial Practice Copy
Appendix
Index
