An introduction to techniques essential to promoting the best performances for the screen. To aid the more visual or technical filmmaker in gaining an understanding of directing actors.

Directing Performance introduces directors to the acting process and demonstrates proven techniques to enable directors to promote strong performances.

By developing the inner and outer worlds of the characters through relationships with their environments, other characters and themselves, a great story can be given further depth and will create a greater involvement for the audience.

Working with professional actors, Chris Thomas will demonstrate how the director can gain clues from the text, think creatively about casting, and together with their cast create rich characterisations and relationships, no matter what the film is about.

Participants will gain insight into how actors prepare, explore ways to use rehearsal, and direct actors during the shoot. The course will be illustrated through examples, demonstration, and review of scenes shot during the class.

Day 1: Preparation with Actors

• What makes a good performance
• Actors' tools and training
• Stage acting versus screen acting
• Developing characters
• Casting and auditioning
• Working with non-actors
• Result Direction: when to avoid it
• Playable direction
• Exploring the text for character
• Staging the scene

Day 2: Fine-tuning the script

• When and how much to rehearse
• Improvisation in rehearsal
• How the camera affects performance
• Business and endowment
• Keeping performances fresh.
• Rehearsal on the day
• Emotional scenes
• Intimate scenes
• Directing comedy
• Directing actors without rehearsal

Filmmakers, directors, performers seeking to understand screen performance.

Chris Thomas has been teaching and developing courses for film directing with Raindance since 2000. With a strong emphasis on storytelling and communications skills, he has created classes both practical and inspirational.

Chris learnt his key skills from acting and directing in Theatre where the focus was always on using limited resources and engaging the audiences imagination. It was a natural shift for him into filmmaking.

The camera classes he runs place weight upon storytelling and understanding visual grammar from a psychological and creative perspective.

As a teacher Chris has always prioritised clear communication of the techniques he has learnt and encourages his students to harness their individual talents through the methods he demonstrates. He believes learning is a two-way process and as a film maker it never ends, however there is a place to begin and his courses offer up an opportunity to do so.

Chris is has recently shot a teaser trailer for the upcoming psychological thriller, Dead of Winter, a short called emmas Last Date , both shot on HD and is devlopment on his first feature script The Devil You Don’t, a dark comedy about the power of influence and the battle between the nearly good and the fairly evil.