Filmmaking / Directing : "no" action yelling on set? what do you think? by Joel Orellano

So it's like canceling a gun shot at sprint race so poor athletes don't think is war? I think the issue of "concentration stress" is that too many actors think of the acting instead of doing it by feeling it...acting is not about pretending....it's becoming. You do that no freaking order barking director will mess your play...Believe me, directors are usually tense on a set for a reason...

I've actually done things like that while shooting stuff. I remember one time I walked up to my partner the DP and told her that when I say cut to keep rolling and told the 1ad and sound guy that it's still the same scene and that we're still rolling. Then said cut and talked to the actor and then just asked them to do a couple of practice lines. We actually used a lot from that take.

But I guess it has to do with an individual situation.

i watched Clint Eastwood direct and the crew said they start packing up the trucks after lunch. Eastwood, at age 90, works & directs fast on-set; one or two takes per shot.

I've also been on set with Eastwood. There's no bullshit. He gets in and out, always comes under budget, and has worked with the same crew since the 70s. Well, most of them. Some are now dead. Anyway, it's the most efficient set I've ever been on and I never heard him yell action once.

I recall being on set with him in the '70s in the old Kezar stadium and on location at land's end when I lived in San Francisco - fond memories.

Obviously there are huge differences in sets. Two people in an office shooting a video is somewhat different than 100 people working on a large stage where other sets might be being put up, taken down, being lit, etc and many of those people may not have an eye-line to the person calling "Action". There is a lot of work that goes on beyond the view of an outside observer or, gosh, even the view of the actor who just left their private trailer. On other sets there are many people and actions that have to be put into motion at the start of or during a shot, rolling multiple cameras including those that may be some distance away, mechanical effects, background action, etc where whispering in the ear of the actor would do nothing. On a large set, “action” has to be loud enough for everyone to get the cue, which might make is seem loud to those close to the person giving that cue. There is an old industry joke that ends with the punch line “ready when you are C.B.” which is quite appropriate in this context.

The author of the video refers to the terminology sequence, “Lights, Camera, Action” without seemingly to have any comprehension what so ever of why each was said, separately and sometimes loudly. For example just think about why “lights” would be called. What lights, and why?

The ideas expressed that just leaving the camera rolling is another indication of those speaking having absolutely no idea as to why you would start and stop the camera. Doing so just to save the sanity of the assistant editors that will have to go through reams of nothing looking for the elusive take is a good thing. Consider that a 1000’ roll of 35mm film has an 11 minute run time. If you waste most of it waiting on someone feeling like starting, the odds of running out at the wrong moment and missing part of a performance increases with every foot of raw stock rolling through the gate unnecessarily. With electronic recording, one of the things I stress to my Operators and First AC’s is to only cut the camera at the end of a take once the shot is naturally busted by someone, something, or some action within the frame. Those final bonus seconds of shooting have made it into finished pictures.

The “Action” cue is the info that what is starting RIGHT NOW is for the screen. It is the cue to be very attentive to that part of the set where the action is taking place. It is the cue to stop any other work. It is the cue to stop any other noise. It is a cue for everyone on the set, not just an actor. So it is important for everyone to hear it.

there is no one size fits all answer to how to cue things on set. Thinking about it and experience doing it are usually enough to provide a valid guideline. This isn’t difficult. This video seems to provide another example of reasons for being judicious when believing what is being said in a random video, and by who, based upon what. Sorry, this video leans toward the uninformed opinion referred to as “internet wisdom”.

This is a GREAT find, thank you for sharing, Joel Orellano! I definitely think there is another way to roll and capture a moment than "action", but it depends on the energy of the scene. If it's an action sequence, then it kind of makes sense because how you call it can charge everyone up. I tend to also want to keep everyone calm, but that's based on my time as an AD and before that as a massage therapist. Reading the moment, confirming with your actors how they like to work, and working with a great team that can go with that flow is also totally worth it so you can adjust to the situation, not dictate it.

It's funny that you have Clint Eastwood on this one. He never said "Action" on any of the films he directed. It was an old habit from when they were filming the Spaghetti Westerns. Yelling "Action" would startle the horses, so he just got into the habit of saying "ok we're rolling, go ahead..." or something to that effect.