u/Potential-Turnip-583

I'm filming a scene with an actor soon that's a 3-minute monologue that ends with them in tears for the final 20 seconds or so.

I have the edit very meticulously planned out and I know that I'm going to cut to a close-up of the actor for the tears at the end.

For the more general medium shots/coverage, what's the preferred course of action? I don't really want to make the actor perform a breakdown 5 or 6 times for parts of takes I know I'm definitely not using, and also risk fatiguing them for the big CU.

I could end the master early before the breakdown to avoid them getting emotionally fatigued, or they could simply perform that part in a lower gear for the coverage so they save themselves for the big CU shot? Or I could shoot the CU first, but I'm not sure how conducive that would be to most actors' process, to just jump into the breakdown without the monologue before it.

Basically I want to respect the actor's process and do whatever makes sense for them, I guess I can ask before shooting, I just want to make sure I won't offend them by offering to call cut early or have them tone it down before we get to the CU we'll definitely be using? Thanks!

In Judith Weston's book Directing Actors she encourages you to, if you have time, give actors a "this one's for you" take where they can basically experiment and do whatever they want.

I like this as an idea, but generally how often in a shoot day is it done? Like at the end of every setup before switching angles/lenses or just a final take at the end of every scene?

Obviously not something to prioritise if time is running short, but if we have the time it'd be nice to play a bit and actors apparently appreciate it?

I'm shooting a short film (12 pages) in July and I've got the two lead actors coming over for a table read in about 2 weeks.

They're both extremely capable and experienced and I feel very very lucky to have them for these roles. This is my first time working with a proper cast and I've never done a table read before, so was just curious what's the standard.

Is it usual to read through the entire script first with me reading any non-dialogue directions? Then we can go through specific parts to discuss tone etc, answer any questions they have, and then maybe talk about blocking/movement (the table read is at the shooting location)?

And is it standard to record it with a camera and lav mics etc?

Anything else worth knowing for a green director? Thanks!

I'm shooting my first short with lav mics soon and was just curious about the general etiquette for dealing with actors needing the bathroom during shooting.

Obviously I fully expect to turn the transmitter/receiver off and can disconnect the lav from the transmitter if it makes them more comfortable.

Is it generally a rule to also detach the lav itself from talent when they go to the bathroom and re-attach when they return? As otherwise won't the lav just be free-dangling from them if not connect to the transmitter?

Basically just want to maintain cast comfort while keeping lav resets fast. Obviously I will talk to my cast about this and gauge what they prefer, but thought I'd see what's the norm here. Thanks!

Very very newbie question here before I shoot my first short with a real cast. How often do you show actors takes while shooting? Is it common to just show them takes you love, or not show them much of anything? I really have no idea. I don't want to be weird and guarded about the monitor but also don't want to linger on playback if we need to keep moving. Thanks!

I got some incredible self tapes for a role in my next short film. It was really hard to choose between 2 actors. I really wanted to message the actor I didn't hire and tell them I really loved their self tape and hope we can work together in the future, but I also don't want to patronise or annoy them.

This person is somewhat in my filmmaking circles and has seen my previous short films and said it motivated them to submit for this one, so I feel like there's at least a foundation there where it wouldn't be totally weird. But I thought I'd defer to you fine folk and what the etiquette is. Thanks so much :)

I'm making a microbudget short in a few months and though I know The Rules are a bit more lax on low budget productions I still want to do everything to respect my cast and ensure they're not overworked and have a good experience, especially as they're travelling about an hour to set.

I'm hoping shoot days won't run over 12 hours for any single actor, ensuring 12 hour turnaround, but is a shorter turnaround of say 10-11 hours more acceptable if the actor hasn't done a full shooting day beforehand?

On day 1 I will only need one actor for around 7-8 hours, from 3pm to an absolute maximum of 11pm to get some night shots.

But I also need them back at 9am for the next full day of shooting, meaning the turnaround would probably be 10-11 hours. Is this a big faux pas and I should rethink my scheduling?

EDIT: There are definitely a few shots I can film with the other cast member the next morning that this person won't be needed in for the first 1-2 hours of the day, so that's probably the way to go right?

I guess this might just be a discussion with the actor. Just don't want to make a rookie mistake and upset my cast so was curious on your input. Thanks!

In a few months I'm shooting my first short film with a real cast.

The meatiest scene in the film is a confrontation between two characters where one (A) is in a chair being interrogated by an aggressor (B).

B has about 80-90% of the dialogue in the scene and it's a fairly intense, emotional monologue, while A is played by a far more experienced actor.

My original thinking was to shoot the coverage for A first as they're more experienced and it will give B more time to find their rhythm before we flip to shoot their meds/CUs etc.

But I also read some guidance online suggesting it might be better to let the actor with the bigger emotional load (B) do their coverage first to avoid fatiguing them by the time we get to theirs? And we can always use the master shots to find the rhythm anyway.

Would love to know your input, thanks for your help!

I'm making a low budget genre short and was very lucky to get support from an actor who has a bit of a cult following.

He is starring in and executive producing my film, and we're shooting in about 3 months - when do you think is the smart time to make an announcement?

I'm super excited to talk about it though don't want to announce too early and there be a huge chasm of time before we film, or they have to pull out and it makes me look silly.

I'm probably also still convincing myself it's actually happening, but they seem extremely committed to my script and my vision which is just the nicest thing.

I'm also still casting the other main role in the short so wondered if I should wait until I've cast both so I can announce them a few days apart (though they will be considerably less known than this actor). Thanks!

I'm shooting a very low-budget short soon but have been very very lucky to get a somewhat known actor in my particular genre.

They're not only acting but also doing a lot of things to make my life easier - doing their own hair/makeup/costuming and even volunteered to stay at our house during the shoot to save on hotel costs.

This person brings a lot of value to the film and will almost certainly help it get more eyes from festival programmers.

We had a meeting recently and they joked about being an executive producer, but I honestly feel like maybe I should genuinely offer it.

This person is being incredibly generous with their time and effort and while it might seem like a token gesture it might also be appropriate? Would love the thoughts of more experienced folk, thanks!