Thu, 25 Jan 2024 17:35:28 +0000WeeblySun, 06 Sep 2020 22:33:06 GMThttp://www.newlandfilms.co.uk/blog/working-with-actorsI'm an actor, I work with actors, many of my friends are also actors. I love actors, we're a special breed. At this point many 'civilians' would roll their eyes. They pronounce our job title, “Act-oooors'” . 

If you do this you forfeit the right not to receive a massive slap in the face.

I think I understand why people do think this, tho. 
Most people don't know many actors, they don't really understand what it is we do, the contortions of the creative process. They might think it's just dressing up games and to a point it is, but we're also creatives who have magic in our souls!
And we wonder why people think we're prone to pretentiousness...
As a director, actors are a necessary evil. I say this with love but to work with actors can be a deeply vexing experience. Usually this frustration is because under the pressure of making a film, even a short film, my ability to express what I want is massively curtailed & what I want is for people to somehow just know what I need of them & do it swiftly whilst I sit serenely sipping cocktails & updating my FB status.
I'm, however, self aware enough to realise that my frustration is really because of my own short-comings as a director!
An actor doing their job properly will have many questions, hopefully most of them are answered early in the rehearsal process, but sometimes it can carry over into filming. I know some folks who make films are scared or intimidated by the thought of having to work with actors, they seem to have the impression that we're gilded unicorns, too flighty to take mere earthly instructions. 
The simple truth, as far as I know, is that actors are just people & all you're trying to do as a director is communicate an idea from your head into the heads of others. 
I've been lucky insomuch as the actors I've worked with have almost all been wonderful & professional in attitude. Far more so in fact, than the co-workers I've had in the day jobs I've had to do down the years.
With our recent short film #tinymadanimals, our small cast were tremendously professional. Able to grasp what we needed even thru the dense fog of inarticulacy on my part. What we have is a beautiful and delicate story given life by the tender performances of some gifted actors. Something I will always be immensely grateful for.
]]>Sat, 08 Aug 2020 18:32:55 GMThttp://www.newlandfilms.co.uk/blog/providence-in-the-fall-of-a-sparrow"tiny MAD animals"

This film will be our 4th short, like our others it's based on a short stage play, written by Neil Bebber, and deals with the subject of unrequited love and how it can distort our lives if left unspoken.

Shooting at the end of August, we have a talented young cast & crew, reduced in number due to Covid19 precautions, but sharp as a razor and hungry to make this work.

Everything is exciting at the stage, and yet still uncertain.  Until the film is 'in the can' there's a suspicion that it could all collapse once again into ashes.

"The readiness is all..."
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