Chapter 4: The Tasks of the Director Summary and Analysis

What to Tell the Actors and Where to Put the Camera

Just as the placement of the camera in a scene depends on what is to be accomplished in that scene, the instructions to the actor rely on the story to be told in the beat or the scene. Returning to the example of the student attempting to get something from his professor, the actor playing the part needs only to hear the basics. If the actor's done his homework, he understands the scene and its purpose in the film. If not, the director does (or should) and needs to tell the actor in the first beat, coming early, to walk down the hall, try the locked door and sit down on the bench to wait. The actor does not have...