ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

11 years, 4 months ago - Olly Ginelli

I agree with Sue, a cold stare could be enough shot, cut and edited with the right sound design etc. All depends what emotion you want. If you want distressed shock and screaming, then perhaps ask the kid to use a motif that they are scared of, like spiders, make it a game almost. You don't even have to shoot her face, coverage of the back of her head splitting the frame and the body might be more effective. All depends on the scene of course.

11 years, 4 months ago - Yen Rickeard

This is always difficult. You want the performance to be great, but you don't want to traumatise the child. At 10 she will have a great imagination and should be able to pretend well. But you want real emotion to show.
So firstly, there are the mundane bits about hours worked and breaks and a comfortable environment off set. Sort that out so that the scene is obviously different from the film crew etc. and she feels safe with you. Of course you will have her parent/guardian around at all times, but preferably not involved directly.
Second, may not apply to you but, choose your camers angles well. Not everything needs to be as it will be on screen. You can remove anything that might be over the top for a child, and just not have that bit in shot while she is there.
Third depends on the child. If she is good she can imagine enough to give a suitable reaction. Otheriwse you can talk her into the right mood. If that isn't enough and you want her more on the edge how far are you prepared to go? It might help for someone else to act angry/upset/unsettling to change the emotional background. It could be you, but you might want to keep a warmer relationship yourself for later scenes.
Just remember you have a duty of care for the child as well as for the film, its a balancing act. (Killing her pet rabbit might be a step too far(:-) )

11 years, 4 months ago - Sue Shearing

Hi
I had a stage school for 12 years with 300 kids, and have just finished directing a feature film called 'Archie' which was based on the life of a seven year old boy.
You must be very careful here. As previous people have said, the child's mother should be there at all times, and you should get to know the child well so that she trusts you.
Sometimes less is more. It's hard to say without knowing the script, but if I was directing it I think I would have the child enter the room, stand stock still and just look at the scene. That's all you need. Nothing even needs to be there for her to see. There doesn't need to be any great over reaction.Maybe just a sharp intake of breath. At ten she should be able to get what you are after. And remember to praise her and reward her. You will only get the best from her when she is confident.
Good luck!

11 years, 4 months ago - Steve Hope Wynne

Agreeing with Sue ; A great face and eyes shot even in a numbed and implicit CU single can be hugely impactful. The Shining has some great examples. Children are hugely resourceful, offer brilliant contrasting performances and love the job as long as the time is spent with child Artist Parent/Guardian and yourself with lots of options. Obviously licences etc should all be in place to put all of that admin concern to rest. Good wishes. Stephen

11 years, 4 months ago - Felicity Josling

Some great suggestions here. I have coached young people for many years and have to say I think less is more. We underestimate the long term impact that a single moment can have on a child even if it is playing pretend. I worked on set a lot as a child and so did all my family. I still remember the exact nature of every scene I filmed as a child and remember all the positive fun moments off set as well as the focus and attention that was asked to me during scenes. It is a very powerful experience that will no doubt be very special for this child. And if done well, which I am sure it will be, the child will always look back on the experience fondly. Children are also very natural and come with a lot less baggage and no bad acting habits which is also a gift to a director. They will often come up with more truthful moments in the moment that us as adults just would not even think of. So capturing those is really the skill. I also highly recommend not giving them "lines to learn" but rather feeding them any lines that are required before each scene and let them be looser with the dialogue to bring a more natural effect. Stilted dialogue from a child is always painful on the screen and can detract from the film's key storyline. The main thing is to set up a situation where it is all about the imagination for the child. They will give you everything you need. Having mum or dad on set the whole time is essential and it sounds like you are being careful with hours too as there are rules around how many hours you can work with a young person - you sound very on top of it which is great. I feel really pleased that you are asking all these questions. Many people don't consider the emotions or the psychological impact on a child until after the film is over. I think the most powerful image is the one that Sue mentions, which is the reaction. Ultimately, the child doesn't need to see any gore or any action to create that. (one of the scariest films I have ever seen, I hardly saw any gore and it was all about camera angles and tension with music and editing) It then becomes up to you as to how you want to shoot it to create more tension. Good luck!! It sounds like an exciting film project and I am sure you will be terrific. Felicity

11 years, 4 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

Pick your angles as Yen says. You can shoot her from behind entering the room (no dead body in sight), shoot reverses of her reacting and running from the room, then shoot the body with ketchup and use it to cut into the girl's scene during her reaction. It'll create the same/similar narrative flow, but she never needs to see anything gruesome and can be back at home before that bit is even staged.

11 years, 4 months ago - nena eskridge

Wow. thanks everyone. I've been freaked out for weeks about this and now I know exactly what I'm going to do! Thank you! I love the more is less idea and I have to say that wasn't the direction I was heading. The child is a friend, her parents are friends and all are excited about the whole thing. I'm the only concerned one but with your suggestions I've got it. thanks again.

Nena

11 years, 4 months ago - Marlom Tander

I have two boys, and gruesome is good :-) In this case context is king. If the child has seen the actor getting made up, having the gore applied etc then no matter how gruesome the scene, to the child it isn't.

What does upset children, and what they should not be exposed to is realistic violent/sad/unpleasent emotion. I think that if that was in your film, in scenes where the child had to be present when it was filmed, the child needs to spend a lot of time with the actors, getting to know them, working up through increased levels of emotion etc so that they fully internalise the fact that it is acting and is not real.

If I was employing children in scenes that could be stressful, I'd def want a child psychologist on the team to ensure everything was done right.

11 years, 4 months ago - Dan Selakovich

I'm sure she'll do fine. Get a lot of coverage. If she doesn't give you a good performance, you can create one in the editing room if you have a lot of different angles and reactions to chose from.