Acting for the Camera
When did you first hear the phrase "acting for the camera?" And
if that's hard to bring up, how about what you changed because
of those four words?
Acting for the camera is a misleading statement for some actors.
Misleading because you can't affect, impress or cause any effect
on a camera so why act for it? If you want to affect a camera,
take the batteries out or smear the lens.
How about acting for yourself? Many actors engage in this
fruitless activity onstage. This is like laughing at your own
joke. My question is why? If you want to impress yourself with
your acting, stay home and work with the mirror, as you are your
audience. And there is the key ingredient in all acting-
audience.
Actors act to affect an audience. Yet, as an actor you can begin
to think you are to act for the camera or yourself and not the
audience. As a result, acting for the camera makes actors too
aware of the camera, and acting for yourself makes you only
aware of you. Both of these can cause such an actor to fear the
camera or an audience who isn't being cooperative. This
apprehension affects an actor's performance.
Creating an effect on a person or many people is an entirely
different matter. People can be affected, made to feel or think
something. This is the real actors job - creating a strong
impression on an audience of any number.
In my book THE ACTOR'S MENU, I remind actors that their job is
to tell a character story to and for the audience. As for the
camera, it records this character story for an audience to be
affected. You also record what is going on as you gain
experience. The camera or your ego are not the targets, the
audience is.
Do you ever hear about acting for a theater audience as opposed
to a casting audience? Both audiences must be affected.
So the correct phrase should be, not "acting for the camera",
but "acting for your audience, whether or not a camera or a full
house is there". That may be a bit wordy but you get the idea.
Get your ego and anything else out of the way that comes between
you and the best performance you can dish up. Simply realize
that acting is for, and only for, an audience. People can be
touched, moved or affected if your character story is strong.