While a director’s work with their crew should be an artistic and emotionally rewarding process, the language used is often quite technical. If you want a brighter light, you can ask for a brighter light. If you want the camera to dolly from Point A to Point B in six seconds, you can ask for it to happen in six seconds.

The director’s work with their cast is a different beast entirely. While there are certain technical elements (”I need you to hit your mark before she finishes saying her line”), the work actors do is both more emotionally taxing and difficult to explain than just about any other job on set. For this reason, the only person on the whole set who is allowed to give notes to an actor is the director. On most projects, working with actors is the most important on-set job that the director has.

Actors are busy doing incredibly internal work and are often so locked in on their character that they can (and frankly should) lose sight of the big picture. So it’s up to the director to take a step back, see how an actor’s performance is meshing with the project as a whole, and give that actor the note, adjustment, or suggestion that will help get them where the film needs them to be.

Rehearsals#

There are two kinds of rehearsal: rehearsals done before you get to set and rehearsals done on set.

Pre-Production Rehearsals#

Rehearsal done before you get to set may not be a 100% necessary, but they are often very helpful. At these early rehearsals, there are no rules so here are three things you can try out...

1. Go through the script: When shooting a project, you rarely go in chronological order. For reasons ranging from location availability to simple convenience, you seldom get the opportunity shoot the first scene of the film first, nor the last scene last. Because of this, pre-production rehearsal can be a great time to go through the script in order with your actors so they can see the emotional through-lines of their character.

   Alternatively, you can also use this time to jump around the script, drawing connections between scenes that may not be obvious to an actor upon their own read-through (”When you break up with him in this scene, think back to this earlier argument scene”).

   The important thing is that, unlike rehearsals on set, these early rehearsals are allowed to be dictated by what you and your actors want to do, not by what practically makes the most sense.

2. Try different things out: It’s crucial to remember that actors are not just tools employed to achieve your cinematic vision; they are artists with their own creative impulses. As such, actors may have different ways they want to try a scene. Some of these ideas may seem great; some will clearly be awful; and some ideas will seem to be bad until you see them in action and realize they’re brilliant.

   This last kind of idea is why rehearsal can be so important. While you have a certain amount of room to “play around” and “find something new” during production, if you encounter an actor who is prone to bouts of inspiration, you may not be able to indulge every one of their whims on set. However, in rehearsal you can afford to eat up a whole day trying out bad ideas until you find something that works. That way, even if you and the actor inevitably adjust some more on set, you won’t lose valuable filming time by starting from scratch.

3. Long conversations: It’s important to give concise on-set directions (we’ll get into that in a second), and it’s also important to get to know your actors (we’ll get into that in two seconds). For both these reasons, it can be beneficial to use pre-production rehearsal time to have some longer conversations with your cast members. This way you’ll get a sense for them as actors and you can give them all the deep character insights that you won’t have time to discuss on set. Anything you tell your actor here, they’ll have time to process before cameras start rolling.

Production Rehearsals#

So we’ve talked about pre-production rehearsals, but there are also rehearsals done on set. First comes the blocking rehearsal, which is predominately about figuring out where the cast and camera are going to physically move during a scene. Blocking rehearsals are the first step of getting any scene up on its feet (more about that HERE) and you likely will not give your actors any performance notes during this time. Actors may want to “save” their performance for the camera so if they act at all here, it will usually be more about warming up.

Then, after blocking, you’ll send the actors away, set up the shot, and bring the actors back for last looks. At this point, you may also do another rehearsal. This is a way to give your actors and crew (especially if there are any camera movements) a chance to run through everything at full speed and with full emotion without the pressure of knowing that the camera is rolling. However, while this is a rehearsal, remember that you’re on the clock so you have to be far more concise and focused than in a pre-production rehearsals. In fact, in the age of digital cameras where there is no concern for wasting film stock, it’s not uncommon to just roll camera on this first go-through. Some people may even call this a “filmed rehearsal” to alleviate some of the pressure , but make no mistake, if the camera is rolling, we’ve entered the realm of takes.

How to Give Direction to Actors#

So you’ve called cut and your actor’s performance isn’t exactly where you want it to be. Now is the moment to give your actor a note to hone or re-direct their performance. So, what do you do? And what don’t you do?

DON’T give them an adjective. Never tell an actor that they need to be more “happy” or “scared.” Oftentimes, this will only lead to a performance of a person “trying to seem happy” or “trying to seem scared” rather than someone who is actually feeling one of those emotions. After all, happy people don’t look like they’re trying to be happy. These types of performance are referred to as indications, because the actor is so concerned with indicating to the audience that they feel an emotion, they lose sight of the behavior actually associated with that feeling.

DO give them verbs or comparisons. If you give an actor an action verb which they can do, it will always get you better results than giving them an adjective to be. “Don’t let her see what’s on the other side of the door.” “Flirt with him.” “Figure out what he knows.” are all actionable notes.

A classic example: If you tell an actor to seem “more drunk,” they’ll give you an indication of a drunk caricature. But if you tell them, “don’t let anyone know how drunk you are,” suddenly they’ll start slurring through their lines with uncanny inebriated reality.

An alternative to the action verb note is the comparison note. These directions often begin with the phrase, “Do it as if...” Here, you’re not telling the actor the literal action to do but rather how to do an action. This comparison should speak to some emotional truth of the line while still being a playable moment. For example, “Say it as if you’re slamming the door shut” or “Say it as if you’re giving an awards acceptance speech” or “Say it as if you don’t want them to know how bad their cooking is.”

DON’T tell them what results you want. Try not to concern an actor with how you want the audience to feel. “This needs to get a laugh.” or “This needs to be surprising.” isn’t helpful. They need to focus on how to play the scene internally. The audience is your concern, not theirs.

DO give them technical advice. Directions like slower, faster, quieter, and louder are always easy enough for an actor since they has to do with what the actor is doing, not how **it will come across.

DON’T overload them. If you already have a version of a scene in your head, then after seeing it performed for the first time, you my have seven different places where you want the actor to do something differently. Hold back on some of those notes. If you give an actor seven notes, rather than being able to incorporate those notes into their performance, the next take will inevitably look like their character is trying to remember seven different things.

DO give them concise notes in chronological order. Firstly, being concise makes it easier for an actor to remember a note. But secondly (and perhaps more importantly) being concise gives the actor more emotional room to attack the note in a way that makes sense to them. If you ramble on for a minute, the actor either has to try to hold on to every specific thing you said or they’ll decide that they’re going to ignore parts of what you’re telling them. Neither option is good for you as a director.

So even though you might be bursting with ideas, it’s almost always better to just say, “Quieter.” than it is to say, “You know how some people, it’s worse when they’re disappointed than when they’re angry? I think this is going to be more effective if you’re a little quieter. You know, almost like you don’t have to raise your voice to get your point across and be impactful.”

At least, that’s what you should do at first. If they ask for clarification or still aren’t getting it after a couple takes, you can always jump into your thoughtful explanation.

Now, as for giving your notes chronologically, you’d be surprised how often an actor will be able to smooth out all of the issues in a scene just by getting themselves on track at the beginning. It doesn’t always work out this way, but sometimes if you give the right note at the start of the scene, a great rest of the scene will fall into place.

DON’T give them line readings. Try to always give a note or a direction rather than telling the actor to “say the line like this.” For starters, the line reading in your head will almost never sound as good out loud as you want it to. But secondly, line readings tend to fall in the earlier dangerous category of “results-oriented direction.” When an actor hears a line reading, they’re now aiming for a result (”the line should sound like this”), rather than building up to that delivery in a way that makes sense for the character.

Now, some professional directors may disagree with this point. However, even those who give line readings, tend to do so only to give an actor a sense of the scene’s rhythm, rather than saying a line must be said exactly like this. These directors also tend to be working with professional actors who know how to extract the emotional note from the line-reading direction. For those of you who are just starting out at directing, you’re likely working with a cast who are likewise just starting out at acting. Therefore, the best practice is to avoid line reading directions.

Know What Your Actors are Feeling#

This one is a two-parter, but those two parts are deeply related.

1) Know what your actors are feeling (in general).

Being an actor is a strange gig. You’re trying to make yourself behave in a way that seems believable and natural while also pretending there aren’t a bunch of people a couple feet away staring at you. It’s a high-pressure, often awkward and uncomfortable job.

Which is exactly why all directors should try it out.

Nothing will make you better at giving notes to an actor than knowing what it feels like to perform yourself. Not only will you become a more empathetic director, but you’ll know what sorts of notes are the most helpful, what sorts of comments aren’t helpful at all, and what it feels like to be on the other side of the camera and hear that “we have it.” Once you know what it feels like to be an actor, you’ll have a much better sense of how to talk to actors.

2) Know what your actors are feeling (specifically).

You don’t necessarily have to know your actors in any personal way. It’s really not important to know their hopes, dreams, fears, or aspirations. But it is important to get a sense for what they need in order to act. A director should be able to answer these questions about the actors they’re working with, because no two actors are the same.

1. Do they like to stay in character?

2. Do they usually need takes to warm up or are they good right away?

3. Once they get their performance to the right place, are they able to keep it there or does it start to fade?

4. What do they look for in a direction? Do they need a hype man cheering them on or a thoughtful analysis from an objective observer?

5. Are they able to replicate the same performance multiple times or do they need to do something different every take?

Now some of these questions (like #1) you can just ask the actor outright. Others (like #3) you’ll have to get a sense of the answer on your own since asking an actor would only serve to get inside their head.

For this reason, if you don’t have time for a lot of pre-production rehearsal, you should consider saving your more emotionally nuanced or taxing scenes for later in the production. That way, during the comparably low stakes scenes you shoot early on, you’ll be able to get a sense for how your actors behave. Then, by the time you get to the important scenes, you’ll hopefully have a rapport with your cast that will allow you to go back and forth with minimal misunderstandings.

Conclusion - Only Great Performances#

Here’s an old saying which has some truth to it: When a movie has one great performance, that’s a great actor. When a movie has only great performances, that’s a great director.

Many DIY directors get so excited about trying things out with the camera and lights, that they lose track of their cast. They start to think that they’re working with amateur performers so the performances can only ever be amateur-ish. Fight that impulse! Great directors throughout history have coaxed wonderful performances out of non-actors, shy thespians, and divas alike. Just remember that each actor is different, and it’s up to you to learn what they need and then give it to them (preferably in a time-efficient manner).

You may not be able to turn an amateur into Meryl Streep, but you can get them to a place that seems believable. And that’s all you can ask for.