This book approaches film and television acting from an actor's perspective rather than that of an audience member, and therefore theorizes how screen acting works as a process that engages an actor's memory, imagination, emotions, and physical body in the creation of a character. It argues that film actors strive to perform profound empathetic connections with their characters and fellow actors, and then put themselves out there through performing to make those connections clear to the eventual audience. It combines interviews with working professional film and television actors, key insights and methods from Film, Television, and Theatre Studies, and theories of imagination and embodiment to show that screen actors are more than just "the moving parts" of the mise-en-scene.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
In this important contribution to the study of screen acting, Leberg weaves together research from the cognitive sciences, different "Method" approaches to actor training, and his deeply-informed, practical experience as an actor to illuminate the process of creating moving performances on film. Screen Acting is an insightful and engaging book. -- Amy Cook, author of Building Character How are we moved by actors on screen? This excellent book reframes the analysis of screen acting to highlight the actor's creative agency in generating empathy. Drawing on professional practice and cognitive neuroscience, Leberg creates an impressively well researched conceptual scaffold that is inspiring, lucid, and far reaching. -- Rick Kemp, author of Embodied Acting: What Neuroscience Tells Us About Performance
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Produkt-Hinweis
Fadenheftung
Gewebe-Einband
Illustrationen
9 black and white illustrations
Maße
Höhe: 234 mm
Breite: 156 mm
Dicke: 14 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-1-4744-8413-8 (9781474484138)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Dan Leberg is a Lecturer in Media Studies and Journalism at the University of Groningen, and in Film Studies at Amsterdam University College. Prior to his graduate studies, Leberg worked as a professional classical theatre and film actor for almost 25 years. Alongside his studies, he worked as the Programming Coordinator of the Cinema Politica Network, the world's largest exhibitor of political documentary cinema. His research focuses on cognition in screen media, motion capture performance, and Shakespeare on film and television.
Autor*in
LecturerAmsterdam University College and the University of Groningen
Introduction - The Missing Parts
Chapter 1 - The Moving Parts
Cognitive Theatre Studies and Acting
Television Studies and Acting
Chapter 2 - All By Our Selves: Empathy and Acting
Situational and Selfless Selfhood
Empathy
Embodied Simulation and Cognitive Scaffolding
Connections are more than Imitations: Stein's Intentional Pull
The Project Ahead: Screen Actors as Solicitors of Empathy
Chapter 3 - The Actor's Three Empathetic Connections
Intrasubjective Empathy
Intersubjective Empathy
Performative Empathy
Conclusion: "Camera rolling... and, action!"
Chapter 4 - Acting Culture and Audition Preparation
Practice, Constraint, and Affordance
"It's nice work if you can get it...": Auditions and Precarity
Audition Logistics and Empathy
Auditions, Empathy, and Creative Guesswork
Chapter 5 - Empathetic Work Prior to Shooting
From Guesswork to Scaffolding
A Note on Terminology
"Bottom-up Script Analysis": Extrapolating Specific Memories into Emotional Common Denominators
"Top-down Script Analysis": Imagination, Abstraction, Archetype
Cayonne's Minotaur: Balancing Memory and Imagination to find the character's body schema
Conclusion: Arriving On Set
Chapter 6 - Empathy On Set
Actors and Production Culture: Inductive, Ecumenical, and Self-Effacing Practices On-Set
The Actor and The Camera: Habits, Techniques, and Technology
The Other Actor - Creative Labour and Intersubjective Empathy On Set
Real Fake Tears, and Talking to Tennis Balls: Incorporating Production Conditions into Acting Choices
Conclusion
Chapter 7 - Conclusion: "Ready for My Close-Up"
Histories of Force And Eloquence
Future Project 2 - Collective Cognition and Production Studies
Future Project 3 - Sympathy for Kuleshov: (Re-)Introducing Acting to Film Form
Acting Studies and Resets
