At a minimum, we know that for each scene we have to nail down
- the WHAT ... the Objective
- the WHY ... the Stakes
- the HOW ... actions / tactics
Have any of these been harder to craft and/or to connect with than the others? Have you come up with any insights you would share? :)
For me, the WHY is always challenging. I think that's where most of the emotional work needs to happen so that could be one reason. And sometimes I think it's because I was trying to find an emotional 'anchor' instead of finding an emotional 'storm' - much more helpful for once you get into the scene, isn't it?
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You know, it's interesting how perspectives can change when you work as a voice actor. When I dub here in Italy, I quickly answer to these same questions in order to understand why that actor played the character the way he did ;)
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Andrea Cirillo that's definitely an interesting case of this - you're basically re acting the actor, so you have to do much of the same work. I assume most of the time you do not have the opportunity to speak to the actor, correct?
also, very curious how AI has been changing the way your company operates? cheers
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For me, the hardest part is the beat breakdown. I can find my superobjective and my objective for each scene, but sometimes it takes me a while to figure what my objective is in each beat. What is it I am wanting in this exact moment? It has to be active because you can't act passive. "to listen" is not actable.
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Seb, this is such a thoughtful breakdown of the craft, and I really like how you framed the difference between finding an emotional anchor versus an emotional storm. That’s a great way of describing how the stakes can shift once you’re actually inside the scene.
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Suzanne Bronson you're 100% correct - what sometimes helps is paraphrasing the lines - more often that not, it will reveal what you're really saying and wanting, depending on circumstance of the scene. for example:
This beat from Mamet's Oleanna has Carol (a college student) confronting her professor, John, about a grade and his behavior.
CAROL: I don't understand.
JOHN: What don't you understand?
CAROL: Any of it.
JOHN: What do you mean?
CAROL: I don't know what it means. And I'm failing.
JOHN: Why are you failing?
CAROL: I don't know. I'm stupid.
JOHN: You're not stupid.
CAROL: I am. I am. I'm failing.
JOHN: ...What do you want me to do?
CAROL: I don't know.
JOHN: You don't know.
CAROL: No.
JOHN: Well, then, how can I help you?
The obvious choice would be that she is... well, complaining to him. But that's neither interesting as a choice, nor aligned with where the play is going. So alternatives may be 1) get him to compliment me 2) bate him into saying out loud I'm inferior to him, the professor - that would be a good one for this beat since the whole play is about authority, hierarchy, uneven power struggles, etc.
regardless, they all serve your scene objective, as you pointed out :)