Posts Tagged ‘professional conduct’

Be good at small talk.

Many of the jobs you get at first will only be a day, maybe two. You're going to be making a LOT of small talk with people.

Get some conversational skills. Ask polite, but appropriate questions. Practice listening (it's called small talk, because you should listen more;)

And here's a really good one; try to remember one distinct thing about each person. Even if you don't remember a person's name, if the next time you see them, you can say, "Didn't you tell me about a great place for pizza in Austin?" They'll be both surprised and delighted that you remembered something unique about them.

If you remember their name too...even better.

“Be nice to people on the way up, because you may meet them on the way down.”

– Jimmy Durante

Be nice to everyone. No one is trying to piss you off on purpose. Everyone wants to do a good job, including the lowest guy on the totem pole. He's just like you. He wants to do well enough on this job that he gets another.

Word travels. Make an effort for the words said you to be at the least, very professional, and at best also a helluva fun time.

The stuff that we're doing on set, the stuff that fills our life with meaning?

It really ain't that important. Seriously.

Sure we move people. But we're not firefighters, or heart surgeons. What we do is mostly fluff. It's entertainment. Entertainment that makes some people, and hopefully ourselves, a shit-ton of money.

I'm not saying that what we don isn't important, but lets' put it into perspective.

In general, no one is going to lose their life if we mess up a take (nod to the stunt men, for whom this may not be true). It's just another take. Now, once you get past the 3rd or 4th take, you may start costing people money, and by the time you're on take 10, they're wondering what the hell is going on. But still, no one's life is at stake.

What we is important, in context. We all love out-takes, but you don't want the set to be a free-for all. And you don't want to be unprofessional.

Believe it or not, being more relaxed about the whole process will make you better as an actor. More relaxed = more emotion. More emotion = more dramatic takes.

So, remember that shirt you were so awesome about putting on before you sat down to get your make-up and hair done?

It's got a secondary purpose. It's multifunctional. Yeah, that's how awesome this shirt is.

Your On-Set Shirt should also be a little bit big for you. Big enough that you can throw it on easily over whatever other wardrobe you're wearing.

Why is this important? Because, hopefully, at some point, you're going to break for lunch. When you do, you're going to be able to save yourself some hassle by being able to put your "On Set Shirt" on right over your regular wardrobe. I know, so frikkin' genius.

This will stop you from getting food all over yourself, and, therefore, will keep wardrobe happy, and make you look more professional, because you are. Wardrobe and make-up are both in charge of how you look, so making their jobs easier, and less stressful is going to make you look that much better for the final product.

I know, I know. You don't spill food on yourself when you eat. Yeah, yeah. Neither do I. But you know what, it's a good thing I've had that damn shirt on, more than once. Cause sometimes, there's ice cream for dessert.

The natural next step after "Be a fuck-up," is naturally, not caring at all whether or not you get the job.

This may seem counterintuitive at first. As in, "If I don't care, I won't do a good job."

But that's not what I'm saying. Getting the job would be nice and all, but that's not why you're in the room. You're in the room to show them the shit you can do with those four pages in your hand. You're there to show them the work you put into these four pages. To show them that you made some frikkin' choices. That you're NOT BORING. That you're engaged with the material. That's why you're in the room.

Whether you get the job or not is soooo far out of your control that you shouldn't even be thinking about that AT ALL. The more you think about the job, the more your stupid brain starts spinning out of control with all kinds of crazy scenarios and stories about how you're finally going to get your new apartment and by a house for your mom. Guess what, you're not. All you're gonna do is walk into that room, and kill it. After that, who knows.

Acting can be seen a little like learning a second language. From a practice standpoint.

In the beginning, you know a few words and have a few tools at your disposal. As you get better you can go deeper into a language, and maybe even get a few jokes, and carry on a conversation. Go even deeper, and you will get the "inside jokes" of a language, things like playing of words and such. When you become turely fluent, you're not even thinking of what you're going to say. You have a thought and communicate it.

Acting is very very similar. At first, you do everything with just the few tools that you have. You're really good at angry, so everything takes on that color. After a while, you get a little better, and have some measure of proficiency, and can call on different emotions. Go even deeper, and you see what the writer meant or the deeper meaning in the script and how it all ties together. But when you're really fluent, when you've reached the point of virtuosity, you find that you're just communicating. You're not thinking of what to say next. You're feeling, and the words just flow out.

This all happens, of course, through practice.

It's amazing, really, that people would never think of going to a foreign country without even picking up a phrase book. Yet they would get up on stage and try to give it a go. Even better when the director, or casting looks at you like, "What was that?" and you go into a explanation of what you were trying to do!

You need daily practice, just like you do in a foreign language. Sure, if you live on set, and you're on day 106 of a 200 day shoot, I would think that you have your stuff pretty well dialed in. This is like living in France for a year, and really having your french dialed in. If, however, it's been a while since you've had a audition, and you're current scene partner is lame about making it to rehearsals, Wwell, you're probably going to get a little rusty. Just like if you came to the states and didn't speak a lick of French for a while.

If you met a French person, you could get your point across, but after parting ways, you'll probably be thinking, "Ah, I should've said it this way, not that way." Does that phrase sound familiar? Ever had that internal dialogue inside your head after an audition?

Yeah, thought so.

You need to practice every day. You need to be emoting. You need to get your tongue around some words. You need to be moving. There are a lot of ways to make all that happen. Stay tuned, and we'll give you some tools.

AP

So, you booked a gig. Sweetness. The fun isn't over. You've actually got to do the job and at the very least not embarrass yourself.

The first thing you should do when you get on set is to ask who the 2nd Assistant Director is. This is the person who is, essentially, "in charge" of you.

Reporting to this person once you get to set is key, since you'll wan them to know where you are at all times. Nothing too extreme needs to be said once you find this person. Something simple like, "Hi, I'm AP. I'm one of your actors today."

They'll show you to your trailer, room, or to wardrobe, depending on the location & budget of the shoot.

If you are going to be anywhere other than your trailer or on set, you should let the 2nd director, or some other friend you've made with a walkie talkie know. Make-up o wardrobe will tend to be around, and if you need to run to the rest room, letting them know is alright as well.

Basically, let SOMEONE know where you are at all times. You may think that you have an hour before they shoot, but nothing's worse than finally having the sun in the right spot to get the perfect shot and they can't find the actor.

Don't be that guy. Please.