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.Contemporary cinema on a global basis with the increasinginfluence of Asian cinema on the mainstream.More specifically the stylistic influences of cinema can be set outson that they include:Expressionism with its use in the horror film, Film Noir, thethriller and melodrama.Naturalism is the opposing influence to expressionism with linkswith Social Realism, Neo-Realism, Poetic Humanism, and the gritty style of some crime and domestic dramasThe High StyleThe comprehensive visual design of a film with costume, props,sets and locations becoming crucial components to theenjoyment and reception of a productionAlso, today, cinema is now drawing more and more heavily ontelevision for material and turning an original small scaledomestic production into a global product.The Influence of Cultural Production on Film DesignFrom outside film and television there are obviously otherinfluences on the design of screen production from:TheatreLiteraturePainting38FashionAdvertisingPhotojournalismDocumentary filmmakingAvant-Garde filmmakingThe music industryComputer gamesWithout doubt the potential influences on the design of aparticular film can come from a huge span of cultural products,but quite often the eventual design choices may bestraightforward; they will follow production norms.A televisiondirector will usually shoot masters and coverage with a pleasingand attractive style of lighting and costume and it will be rare thata television director will choose poorly lit drama documentarytype set ups with performers speaking in a dialect so sociallyspecific that it bear little relation to received pronunciation.Theinfluence of cultural products on film production is reduced by thestandards and style of production that operate within the industry.The stylistically daring film or television production is a rare andunusual item.The Director on the SetWorking With PerformersIn production a director s work centres on set ups, set ups andmore set ups.A director may know little, even nothing aboutlenses, light, film stock, or cameras, but what they do need to beable to do is to get the best possible performances out of the castand a good director will create the blocking and set ups whichmake this possible.There is no point in being able to block a brilliant set up that looksgood in terms of composition and action, if it destroys thespontaneity and quality of performance.The importance ofdirecting to support performers cannot be over stressed.It iscrucial that the director can work well in collaboration withperformers during production and to do this it is vital that adirector understands what acting involves.Performing can be broken down into two broad aspects:Internalising The RoleExternalising The Role39Working With PerformersInternalising the RoleFilm and television drama requires performers to undertake awide range of  naturalistic roles; police officers, surgeons,commuters etc.and each or any of these types of roles is madeconvincing if the performer avoids being awkward or selfconscious when undertaking actions which should appear sofamiliar that they are automatic.To achieve the requisite degree of realism performers undertakea range of preparations:Following or taking up the real occupation.So that theperformer can have actual experience of the real situation, thebehaviour of the participants and use this familiarity in their owncharacterisation.Performance exercises create the sense of securitynecessary for performers to express close interpersonal bodylanguage in a public situation.So that when acting, any selfconsciousness about the body is overcome and performers whohave met only moments before can behave as long time intimatefriends, even members of the same family.When a performerhas been trained to overcome self consciousness they canmaintain an easy, even intimate familiarity with other performerseven when in front of an audience or a camera crew.By rigorously learning lines and practising physical tasksperformers acquire an ease with the actions and dialogue of thescript, which is not the case with superficial learning.All of these preparations allow the performer to internalise therole; How to be a tired commuter, How to eat a sandwich on acrowded train and read a newspaper, etc.The performer learnsto  just do itInternalising The RoleIf a performer has successfully prepared their role theirperformance can be supported by the director who avoids overdirecting.A director who keeps on making a performer adjusttheir movements and behaviour to try and make a set up workwill soon destroy any spontaneous performance.Equally as pooras over directing is giving the performer their role as a piece ofmimicry.A director who insists;  play the role like this , or  playthe role like so and so , will only end up with a performer imitatingwhat they think the director wants, which is extremely limiting,because it s a superficial interpretation of the role.The performermust have the freedom to give their best possible performanceand any attempt to treat them as a puppet and dictate theiractions will become stilted and unsatisfactory.40The same is true for dialogue.Most dialogue is naturalistic and ifthe performer finds it awkward then it should be revised inrehearsal to accommodate their own preference.Forcing throughand retaining awkward dialogue means that it will remain stiltedand unsatisfactory.Any pushing of the performer to simply mimicthe director s line reading of the script can only make theperformer self conscious and therefore defeats the internalpreparations the performer has made.If a performer has studieda role, a director must never jump in and show the performer howto do it, because the performer knows best.Working With PerformersExternalising The RoleIt might be the case that in the perfect circumstances theperformer is so locked into the role that they can simply bring outthe character on tap and their performance perfectly fulfils thepart.However this is never completely realisable, because dramais not reality.The performer has to be open to work and developtheir role with the director and the other performers as well asmeet the demands of blocking and continuity.Performing is a livesituation and requires a performer who can respond creatively toevolving situations.Also, it is essential that performers can matchthe stylistic parameters of the style of drama they are performingin; a cop in a heroes and villains action movie does not performin the same style as a cop in a social realist drama.To meetthese challenges a performer has to be able to consciously focustheir role and be able to channel and adjust the signals they aregiving.Performers develop these abilities in two main ways:By developing voice control through singing and vocalexercises.Emotion is carried through the voice and the voice canbe consciously trained as an emotive tool.By undertaking exercises which teach the body to beexpressive.Emotion is carried through the body and can beconsciously trained through exercises in movement and dance.Building voice and movement skills gives a performer strength,versatility and a broad range of expressive techniques to drawupon.A performer who is limited often cannot respond to meetthe demands of their role when working with others.In isolation alimited individual performance may be fine, but may not supportthe piece as a whole [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]