5 Simple Tips to Get The Most Out of On-Camera Talent

Here we are again typing human things from human brains for my human-loving producers, creative directors and ad-agency friends!   Let's get crazy and chat from an on-camera talent-perspective on how to get the most out of your on-camera talent during your budget and time-sensitive commercial/film video shoots.

Many of my voiceover colleagues are unaware that I spent the first chapter of my career focusing on film, tv, commercial and industrial on-camera acting.  In fact, I have confusingly posted samples of this chapter of my life on this voiceover website.  If you would like to see what I looked like in my 20s or if you need to fact-check this, or if your Zoom call is boring and on-mute, you can see some of my work here. 

We are feeling extra today, so here is a bonus introduction:  Many times, video productions have a fast-paced kinetic energy leading up to shoot-day - phone calls about fittings, text messages about call-times, emails regarding contracts.  While this all necessary for the production team to move the project forward, it is not related to crafting a narrative through a lens, therefore, tend to these matters prior to shoot-day, and strive to leave this energy off-set.  I have found that the best sets are calm environments - creative sanctuaries, if you will, where small details have been accounted for, freeing up creative bandwidth for the talent and the creative team to focus on the actual art.  For the best performances, directors should strive to foster ecosystems that allow creative focus and malleability.  With that in mind, here are 5 SIMPLE tips to establish a production environment that invites maximum professional creativity from your on-camera talent:

1) First, before the shoot-day, send a shot list and storyboard to the on-camera talent before arriving on-set. 

Since commercial shoots are often last-minute bookings for the on-camera talent, a shot-list and storyboard helps the actor get quickly up-to-speed with memorization AND framing.  For memorization, if it is a day of dialogue-heavy shooting, the actor can stay ahead of the day by looking at the next scene during lighting set-up.  I always prefer a shot list that details the order of the day so I know which scenes to focus on to memorize.  For instance, if a dialogue-heavy scene is being chopped up, I know that I can focus my memorization efforts on different scenes that are longer takes, knowing that I can memorize the quick-cut shots 'on-the-fly.'  Knowing beforehand where the day is going, the actor can deliver a better performance, because preparation can be done between scenes.

Meanwhile,  a storyboard assists the talent with an understanding of the framing of each shot.  This is particularly helpful for on-camera talent during emotional scenes or shots requiring a tremendous amount of physical effort.  Giving the actor the awareness of when a close-up shot will take place allows the on-camera talent to save the internal energy for the more intimate shot versus using all of the 'good stuff' on the wide-shot.

2)  Next, provide detailed directions to the set before the shoot day. 

While technology is wonderful, there are many times that I have been on rural locations where cell-service is not as reliable as typical urban environments.  Therefore, in addition to the physical address of the shooting location, consider adding old-school directions that are written in an email or text.  There is no shame in this game and let us all pause for a moment of silence for Mapquest...Okay, thank you.  There is nothing worse than wasting time and energy on finding the location for a shoot and showing up stressed to the first day of shooting.

3) On the day of shooting, ensure that video village, the client AND the advertising agency people are out of sight-line of the actor during takes and during playback. 

From a talent-perspective, I am at my best when I am free-to-play, unhindered by critical eyes and blissfully unaware of individual tastes.  As a keen observer of body-language, it can be nerve-wracking to have the client and agency in the sight-line, because I can watch a hive-mind weigh-in on a performance.  It is better to shield on-camera talent from critical eyes, and for the actor to be allowed to focus solely on the performance.  Once a consensus has been reached between client, agency and the director on the previous take, then the director can return to the on-camera talent to offer clear, concise feedback that is free of critical snark.  This protects the creative space and keeps performances loose, playful and spontaneous.

4) During meal-times, offer healthy, light food options.   This is not an actor "diva" thing; if you have read this far, please hear me out.  

Many sets serve doughnuts or tacos for breakfast and pizza for lunch.  While these are great and delicious American staples, a heavy/greasy or high-sugar meal creates unnecessary fatigue as the body digests sugar and carbohydrates, so the actor can appear tired during takes after a meal.  If you want an actor to give you 'three cappuccinos-type-of-energy,' it is simply inhumane to offer the talent a sausage breakfast burrito and a chocolate doughnut before saying, "roll camera."  To keep creative energy up on-set, allow lighter, healthier options to assist the cast AND crew in avoiding an energy crash.  And if you are an on-camera talent reading this, consider bringing your own breakfast and lunch to sets because, well...there is this thing called a production budget, and most production companies do not spend it on food.

5)  And finally, please offer a comfortable chair to the on-camera talent on-set.  This sounds SO basic, but it is FREQUENTLY over-looked. 

This is not a "needy" actor-thing (yes, I know that Christopher Nolan and Bradley Cooper have a "no-chair" policy on their sets.  If either of you have taken the time to read this humble blog, that is AWESOME and thank you, and congratulations from this corner of the web!  You will be the two exceptions to this point about chairs).  Most on-camera acting jobs (particularly hosting, spokes, or teleprompter shoots) require what I call, 'heightened reality' or 'subtle enthusiasm.'  For natural enthusiasm on-camera, it necessitates a slightly unnatural over-energetic performance for the energy to read on-camera.  Consequently, during long shoots, the actor's energy needs to be harnessed and conserved between takes.  As my mentor, Larry Cure, once said, "film acting is hurry-up and wait."  Most on-camera acting jobs require the actor to be "on" for a few brief, intense moments, and then wait while the next shot and lighting are prepped.  For the best performances from an actor it is essential to allow the actor to conserve energy by having a seat immediately adjacent to set.  This allows the talent to be "at the ready" while also free to study the upcoming scene/shot and conserving energy that will be used for the camera.  

Did you read all the way to the bottom of this?  Thank you!  Remember when you read a blog post from a creative and thought, 'this person is doing something unique and I would like to collaborate creatively with him.'  And that person was the person typing this and that blog post was this particular post.  Let's get together.  Do you agree with these tips?  Did I miss something?  Let me know what you think.  [email protected]