Acting for Film in 2024: The Ultimate Guide

1/6/2024

Acting for film is WAY different than acting for theater. Why? Camera location, script being shot out of order, microphones that pick up EVERYTHING, specific acting techniques for natural performances ... the list goes on and on.

In this article, we'll dive deep on acting for film so you do your best and stand out in the audition room AND on set.

Acting for Film: The Ultimate Guide

So what are the biggest differences between acting for film and other types of acting, and why do those differences matter?

Let's jump in by first discussing the right kind of training:

Which Type of Acting is Better Suited for Film?

There are two types of acting training that often considered the best when it comes to acting for film and television:

Meisner Technique: Focused primarily on imagination and instinct, this form of acting does not require decisions to be made in advance for each moment in the scene. You're meant to imagine being in a situation for real, responding to everything that happens in the moment by pure instinct. For example, if you're being investigated by law enforcement for selling drugs, what would that really feel like, and how would you react to it? Picture it exactly – you have all kinds of drug paraphernalia in your basement, and you're standing at the front door as police are questioning you and attempting to come in and search your house. If you do it right, it's impossible not to feel emotions, and those emotions that come naturally (unlike forced, fake emotions) look fantastic on film. Learn more here: Meisner Technique: The Ultimate Guide
Method Acting: Unlike Meisner Technique, Method Actors fully immerse themselves in the minds and lives of the characters they're playing, often for weeks before a shoot begins. They do in-depth character research and live as the character – even off set. Method Acting requires an actor to draw upon their own memories and emotionally connect to them in the scene, using those memories to draw up realistic reactions. Reese Witherspoon, Robert De Niro, and Halle Berry are just a few Method Acting greats.

Both acting styles have advantages and disadvantages, but they typically depend on your personal preferences as an actor, along with how much prep time you have.

If you're prepping for an audition and only have a few days, Meisner Technique will probably give you better, more authentic results. However, once you've landed the role (or if you have weeks to prep for an audition), Method Acting can allow you the necessary space to fully immerse yourself in a character and give a much more nuanced, engaging performance.

Acting for Film vs. Acting for Stage

So what are the main differences between acting for film and acting for stage?

Camera position: In theater, you need to do large-enough movements with your body to ensure the entire audience can see you. In film on the other hand, the camera can be anywhere – 500 feet away or an inch from your face. This means you need to tailor your acting for varying distances and be hyper aware of camera placement and framing. If, for example, the camera is 3 feet away from you, it might not see what you're doing with your hands, so you have to take that into consideration as you make choices for the scene. And if the camera is extremely close, it will notice the tiniest of unnatural movements on your face, so natural acting is absolutely critical.
Microphone position: Similar to camera position, microphone positioning is much different in film than it is on stage. Some major stages like those on Broadway use microphones, but many smaller ones don't, meaning you need to project your voice loudly enough for the audience can hear you. In film, microphones are always very close to your mouth to pick up clean sound, so you don't need to worry about projecting unless the director asks you to.
Shooting order and takes: Another major difference is that with film production, the script is almost always shot out of order, since much depends on availability of actors and locations. This means you need to know where you are in the storyline and how that will impact your performance. Additionally, because scenes are shot at different times, there's often a LOT of waiting time on sets. They might need to do multiple takes of a segment of a scene where the camera isn't on you, and so even though you're technically in this scene, you're not needed for HOURS and simply have to sit around and wait. Finally, with takes, a director might have you say the same line 30 times in a row in all different ways – which is something that almost never happens on the stage.
Editing: Films are almost always going to be edited together later. This means it's OK to mess up a line here or there, and it's also OK to try saying your words in different ways. That said, you also have to do certain things EXACTLY the same each time, like how you move your body, when you put the cup of water down, etc., because if you don't match from take to take, it makes the editing process extremely difficult. Bigger sets have continuity directors to help with making sure your movements match, but as a professional actor you should always pay attention to your movements and try to match them as closely as possible from take to take – directors appreciate this.
Location & Weather: Unlike a stage where you're in a controlled environment, with filmmaking, you might find yourself outdoors in a major city with tons of people walking around in the background, loud airplanes flying overhead, and pouring rain. Have you ever tried acting in the frigid cold? Sometimes you'll even be asked to pretend it's a warm day (when the temperature is near freezing). Are you ready to wear a short-sleeved shirt and smile like it's a sunny summer day?

How to Act for Film

Beyond Meisner Technique or Method Acting, there are some special shortcuts you can use to improve how you look and what you communicate to the camera. Here are some quick tips to help your performance look better on film:

Communicate through your eyes. Since film cameras can capture closeups on your face, if you ever feel the need to show a specific emotion to the camera (for instance, if the director gives you a note and you're having trouble communicating it without your performance looking fake or forced), don't try to communicate the emotion through your body or face. Instead, just use your eyes. Imagine making your feelings known through them. Imagine you had to look "sad" on camera. How could you show sadness with ONLY your eyes? The camera will pick up those subtleties, which look infinitely more natural and realistic than using your entire body or face. Learn more about "natural acting" here.
Truly listen to the other actor's lines. In film, reaction shots are very interesting for an audience to watch. Most actors simply focus on their own lines and don't react authentically when the other actor says their lines because they're not truly listening to the meaning of what's being said. For a more interesting and nuanced performance, you should deeply listen to and understand what the other actor is saying, and let your natural instincts kick in. Filmmakers love to include reaction shots, and when yours are authentic and interesting, you'll find yourself making the editor's job easier, which leads to more screen time for you!
Do not perform for the audience. In my guide Natural Acting: The Ultimate Guide, I go into depth on this, but remember that unlike in theater, performing on film is all about not trying to "indicate" and show your emotions. Everything you do MUST have a reason tied to the world of the story, meaning that reason can never be "to show the audience/crew/director something." The audience, crew, and director are not actually a part of the story, so to take them into consideration when making choices about what to do will make your acting inauthentic, which immediately takes the viewer out of the story. All this = bad acting.
Be professional. Even though this doesn't relate directly to acting, it's still important to keep in mind because your professionalism on set will impact the other actors' performances. Have your lines memorized cold – don't be the actor who constantly asks for line readings because it slows down production time and angers the entire team. You should also know the jargon – for instance, do you know the difference between a DP and an ECU? Hint: one is a crew member, the other is a camera angle. Finally, show up early, be polite, and just generally be fun & enjoyable to work with. Don't be the person everyone talks about negatively behind closed doors.
Read the entire script in advance whenever possible. Since films are shot out of order, it's critical to know where you are in the script on any given shooting day. If you're unable to access the full script, ask the script supervisor to give you a breakdown of where and when the scene is taking place. The fewer questions you need to ask the director (that you should already know the answers to), the better.

Remember that this is just one small article about it. There are tons of nuances you'll want to learn, so getting formal training is important. Try googling things like, "acting for film classes near me," or "nyfa one year acting for film" to get in-depth film acting training.

The Different Kinds of Shots

Since camera position is a critical element of acting for film, I decided to include a quick breakdown of common shots:

Extreme Closeup (ECU): This is when the camera is super close to your face, potentially just showing your mouth or eyes. The camera can pick up the subtlest of details (especially high-end 4K and 8K cinema cameras).
Closeup Shot (CU): This is a common shot designed to focus on the emotion in an actor's face, typically considered to be from about chest up all the way in to where the face almost completely fills the frame (anything closer than that is an ECU). These shots will typically be used less frequently in major motion pictures because theater screens are so big and it can feel overwhelming to see too many closeups of actor's faces. That said, whenever emotions are running high in a scene, most directors will want at least a few closeup takes to capture the emotion on their actors' faces.
Medium Shot (MS): This is the most common shot for film. Usually somewhere between waist and chest up, these angles are where most of the action takes place. Directors will almost always include a medium shot in every scene.
Wide Shot (WS): This is usually anything from about waist up or further out, all the way until you have the actor's entire body in the frame. These are often also considered Two-Shots because you'll see both actors in the frame at once. They're good to have as an occasional cutaway to keep scene from getting too stagnant and boring with just medium and closeup shots.
Extreme Wide Shot (EWS): These are often seen at the very beginning or end of a scene to show the entire space or location in which the scene is takes place. For instance, a camera might be positioned a few hundred feet away, showing you and another actor walking along a street. Or we might see an entire house from the outside as an "Establishing Shot" to inform the audience of where the next scene is about to take place.

To get used to each shot, try performing a monologue with your Self-Tape camera set at each angle described above. Notice how you need to perform much "bigger" the further away the camera is. Also notice how as it gets closer, bigger gestures are magnified, and in some cases no longer even seen because they're out of the frame completely!

Some Important Info Actors Need to Know About Film Shoots

Here are a few key things to be aware of when preparing to act for film for the first time:

Be fully prepared. Unlike in theater, script changes often happen last-minute (and even during production in the middle of a scene). A director might decide she doesn't like the way you're saying a certain line and might change the words right there on the spot. The best way to be flexible and open to these sorts of changes is by being fully prepared. You should be willing to arrive earlier than needed and stay later than expected because the easier you are to work with, the more good word of mouth that will travel around about you, eventually resulting in more opportunities.
Get to know the team. On a film set, there might be 20-30 crew members running around at any given time. The more people you meet and chat with on set, the more comfortable you'll be because you won't feel like a bunch of random people you don't know are staring at you perform. At bare minimum you should get to know the DP (camera operator, also known as Director of Photography), Boom Op (person who holds the microphone), and Production Manager (also called the showrunner on television sets – this is the person who organizes the shoot). You'll also need to know the Director of course, and might even want to spend a few minutes speaking with the Script Supervisor, who makes sure everyone is on track with what scene is being shot, specific lines, and continuity. Finally, you should also chat with the other actors in between takes – not just for networking purposes, but because it's helpful to have some friends in a new environment. Every film set is new, so make friends and you'll feel that much more comfortable!
Know how films are shot. Most of the time, they'll start by doing a Wide Shot, where the camera can see most of what's going on in the scene. They'll run the entire scene a few times through. Next, they'll move into Medium and Closeup Shots on each actor, running the entire scene through for each take. Before they begin recording, they'll call "Sound Speed!" which means the sound is recording. Next they'll call "Camera Speed!" which means the camera is recording. Finally the director will call, "Action!" and you'll start the scene. Make sure not to get out of character until the director calls "Cut!" because sometimes they'll want to roll the camera on you for an extra 10-20 seconds after the scene is done just to capture your final reaction. Finally, at the end of the scene they'll usually ask everyone to be completely still for 30-60 seconds to record "room tone," which is just silence of the room. The mics will pick up air conditioner noises, little creaks, etc., and this "room tone" will be used later during the edit process to smooth out the sound.
Understand how to read the call sheet. Every morning, you'll receive a Call Sheet, which is simply a breakdown of what's shooting for the day and what time you'll need to arrive on set. Read through it so you know who's who, what clothing/props you'll need, what the weather will be, and what exact scenes and lines you'll be doing. Here's more info about Call Sheets to familiarize yourself with.

How Do You Get into Film Acting... Without an Agent?

If you already have an agent, just ask them to start submitting you for film roles. But if you don't have an agent (or your agent is unable to help you get film work) use some of the tips below to start getting film acting work:

Self-Submit Through Online Casting Websites: There are a few key websites where you can create a free or paid profile and start finding weekly or daily opportunities to submit yourself to auditions. Online casting websites are probably the fastest and most straightforward way to find film auditions, and I recommend you start with some of these:
Connect Through Social Media: You can connect with casting directors and other industry gatekeepers through Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. If you love social media, this might be right for you, but if you're not into it, feel free to skip this step.
Network in Other Ways: Most people hate the word networking, but the fact is, if you really want access to professional film auditions without an agent, you'll have to network directly with people in the industry. Most online casting websites and social media casting calls only offer roles for independent non-union gigs and student films. Networking directly with casting directors is the second-best way to start getting access to legit film auditions, only after having an agent.
Be Creative: There are plenty of other creative ways to find auditions, including contacting your local film production office, perusing local theater websites, and even joining local school casting lists.

To dive deeper on how to find film auditions and get specific, actionable advice for each category outlined above, I highly recommend this guide: How to Find Auditions: The Ultimate Guide.

Of course, before actually submitting yourself to those auditions, make sure your basic marketing materials are professional and up to date. Here are my guides for each:

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Some Additional Q&A

What Does Acting for Film Mean?

Acting for film simply means learning how to act for a camera that records you. These days, most movies are digital, but when they used actual rolls of film in the past, they were called "Films." The word stuck, and so "acting for film" no longer just means acting for a film camera – it means acting for any type of digital video camera, including SD, HD, and 4K.

Think of it as acting for screen – any screen, including computers, mobile phones, television, and even major theaters. Another word for "Acting for Film" is "Screen Acting."

What Qualifications Do You Need to be a Film Actor?

There are no specific qualifications necessary to become a film actor! In fact, many great film actors have no formal credentials. Training in certain types of acting for film helps, but no licenses or qualifications are required. Check out How to Become an Actor: The Ultimate Guide, for in depth advice and a step by step path to build your film acting career.

Acting for Film in 2024: The Ultimate Guide

Acting for Film: The Ultimate Guide

​Which Type of Acting is Better Suited for Film?

Acting for Film vs. Acting for Stage

​How to Act for Film

​The Different Kinds of Shots

​ ​Some Important Info Actors Need to Know About Film Shoots

How Do You Get into Film Acting... Without an Agent?

​Enjoyed this article? ​ Book more work by thinking "Outside the Industry."

Some Additional Q&A

​What Does Acting for Film Mean?

​What Qualifications Do You Need to be a Film Actor?

​Further Reading: