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Want to free yourself from unwanted pressure and worry? Want to never have the spectre of expectation hanging over your head? Done.
… you’re still here. No, really, I mean it. The secret to dealing with the pressures and demands of the world is not to. They don’t exist.
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Look, the big secret is that there is no such thing as external pressure. If ten thousand people all walked up to you today, and each and every one said “You should be an underwater basket weaver, and a good one at that!”, it’s meaningless. Unless, of course, you make the mistake of choosing to listen to them. Countless people lament the “pressures on an (insert group or type) in today’s society to (do stuff).” I suggest you laugh at these folks at the earliest possible opportunity. Not only have they chosen to absorb external influence, but they’ve taken it in a negative light.
Let’s take an arbitrary commerical as an example of an external pressure from ‘today’s society’. Now, (assuming I am male, and not rich, young and good looking) I can take this one of three ways (which is eminiently my choice):
(Negative): I don’t see what the big deal is; are they saying I’d have to have a BMW to get any women (at least, that wouldn’t fling their underthings at the next man by)? And not only be in shape, but have cat-quick driving reflexes to boot! I’ll never get there with my current job; that sort of thing’s only something the rich can have…I’ll never be that good that young; it’ll take me forever to even come close. I’m not even close to that good! I’ve never had a woman fling her underthings at me, and likely never will…I’m doomed to work a dead-end job for a soulless corporation and never see the profits of my work. Why couldn’t I have been born rich? I’m so depressed, I think I’ll call in sick, never mind going out… (and on)
(Positive): Ah. So, if I’m fit, trim and young, onw a BMW and have cat-quick reflexes, I can have women fling their underthings at me, too? I ought to get off my ass and hit the gym (I’m not getting younger, after all)! To say nothing of the fact that I need to burn it up at work to afford that….maybe I should finally get around to starting that side project/quitting to go work for a startup. Hm. He has a killer suit, too. I’ll need one of those, and maybe some driving gloves, too. Oh, wait, he’s in Italy? So, I need to buy a BMW, get in shape, slap on some classy threads, and drive through the ‘hot babe’ district of Italy. I can do that. What am I waiting for? Let’s go!
(Alt: (Positive, egotistical): I’m as good as, if not better than him, and my car is nicer; women should fling their underthings at me! Let’s go driving!)
(Irrelevant): Heh. He’ll be sleeping on the couch for life.
You decide which flavor you favor. In the end, the collected sayings, criticisms, assumptions, and expectations of you matter only in as much as you care about them.
-N. Noctis.
I knew him well; the person of no prior acting experience suddenly stuck in front of a few thousand people or a camera. Often, they freeze, or stutter; worse, if they’re in front of a camera, they’ll read the teleprompter and lose focus entirely. At best, you ruin the take; at worst, it’s live, and too late to recover. Remember, the best actors don’t seem to be acting; it’s as if they are their character.
If you do find yourself in such a situation, don’t panic, and do not suddenly develop a case of over-starched shorts. First, take a deep breath; realize that few mistakes you could make are catastrophic, and that recovery is far more important than perfection. Straighten up, but remain relaxed; be conscious of where the audience/camera is, and never close your body to them, unless absolutely necessary.
That said; be yourself. Odds are, unless you’re grabbed out of the audience and asked to perform, you’re either playing you, or some role similar enough that it should flow naturally from who you are. Ignore your audience. By this, I mean ignore a specific member, or the camera, just remain aware of their existence “somewhere, out there.” Do not play to part of the audience and neglect the rest. If you are being filmed, treat the camera/your focus as if another person, not something to be stared at fixedly.
Know your lines. Even if unscripted, have a strong idea of what you want to say in the course of the action. As soon as you know them solidly, forget them. “But wait! that makes absolutely no sense!”, you say. I do not mean to forget your intent, or the wording, but to forget that you know them. Each delivery should be fresh, as if you were speaking the lines for the first time, and as a natural response to a stimuli, rather than as if reading from a book. Even if trying to give of an air of calm preparedness, seeming scripted usually will not advance your goal.
Generally, seem passionate. What you say should matter to you; if it doesn’t, again, consider changing your lines. People instinctively resent disingenuous speakers, and rightly so; how can you persuade someone when you don’t even believe? If you are prevaricating, bend things effectively, so that they seem honest. Keep yourself in a strong character-appropriate posture, on film, return to a neutral posture often, as this makes the editor’s job much simpler.
So, present from the heart, present as if your audience matters, and present persuasively; make the audience want to believe you, and they will keep coming back for more.
-N. Noctis
