Boost Your Career with these Screen Acting Tips for Success: Personal and Camera Etiquette

When choosing to excel in screen acting, there are skills you will need to develop, in your screen acting success will be quick to follow, so be on the look out!
performance as an actor, as well as interacting with the camera and other people of the crew. Today, I want to focus on the actor's personal and camera etiquette.  Other tips for

Screen Etiquette 

• Always keep going until the director shouts “Cut!” and then keep on acting for a bit.
• If you mess up a line, keep going until the director call a halt to the take. Let it be HIS decision.
• Do not stop a take for any reason, except for possible injury or death.
• Never look directly into the camera lens unless specifically requested to do so.
• Never ask the director what size of shot it is – ask the camera operator.
• Hit your mark! Being in the right place is often more important than saying the right line.
• Maintain your concentration and eye lines all through the tedium of lineup and rehearsal; it helps both your fellow actors and the crew. 
• An actor only has status between “Action!” and “Cut!” Exception: A star may have it all the time.
• Never say you do not want to play a role; say that you are unavailable. Never say “No,” say “Maybe” instead. It keeps you more available for future consideration.

The Camera 

• Generally, ignore the camera lens; let it discover you.
• Don’t merely cheat an eye line, motivate it.
• If both your eyes cannot “see” the camera lens, your face will appear to be obscured.
• Keep on an imaginary narrow path that stretches out from the front of the camera. Remember that shots are composed in depth, not width.
• In a 3-shot, put the lens in the middle of the gap, not yourself.
• If you have trouble hitting a mark, line up 2 objects at the final position you have to hit. Establish a “web.”
• Shoulders angled toward the camera often look better than straight-on ones.

As always, the New York Acting School for Film and Television is always here to help you improve your acting skills and to prepare you for acting success with our acting classes,  coaches and more! Please call today to see how we can better your career!