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Acting for Screen

Module description

In this module, you will consider various tools and methods for approaching acting on screen. Through the practical trial and error of working with cameras - as actors, operators and editors - you will explore how to best bring a performance to life on screen. You will consider, in seminar discussion as well as in the studio, a range of actor training techniques from the stage and how and when they are transferable to the screen. While there will be scope for experimental forays, the fundamental aim of the module will be to focus on preparation, on-camera audition, and naturalistic, character-based scenes for a performance reel.

Module aims - intentions of the module

Through the interrelated processes of actor training, practical experimentation, personal creativity, individual research, and seminar discussion the module offers you the opportunity to:

• develop and harness your range of expressivity and creative instincts as a performer for screen
• experiment with a variety of actor training approaches and camera/editing techniques to discover your own unique creative possibilities on screen
• interrogate pedagogic and on-set dynamics and consider how they inform your practice and collaborative relationships
• understand the relationship between individual exploration, personal creativity and collaborative group work
• establish techniques and strategies for prioritising respect and wellbeing in rigorous environments of creation; enabling effective processes that help you make your best work
• critically assess various screen performances to understand their cultural and historical significance as well as the techniques employed
• consider how cultures of power in the screen industry affect creativity and production
• consider other means and uses of screen performance (intermedial performance) and how the learning on the module might be applied in other contexts and for future employability

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Execute and deliver an acting performance for screen effectively
• 2. Analyse texts in preparation for performance on screen effectively
• 3. Effectively analyse performances on screen from technical, historical and cultural standpoints

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Engage with experimentation and considered risk taking by applying a range of trial and error methodologies in your creative practice.
• 5. Explore theoretical concerns through practice, and vice versa, and synthesise findings in practical and written tasks.
• 6. Contribute research to specified tasks and making processes, to develop confidence in the ability to analyse, propose and imagine around complex material.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Demonstrate effective group cooperation skills, including the ability to give and receive constructive critical feedback, valuing your own and others’ ideas and beliefs.
• 8. Effectively initiate and sustain creative work; set personal objectives that are linked to a sense of challenge; problem solve and adapt to change and/or the needs of the project or group objectives.
• 9. Effectively demonstrate confidence and agility in performance skills and presentation, both of practice and researched material.

Syllabus plan

Whilst content specifics may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that the module will cover some or all of the following topics:

• Performer training sessions to create a sense of ensemble and to develop techniques for character creation
• Exploration of the camera, how different shots effect performance, how to ‘be’ on-screen 
• Sessions on the differences between in-person auditions and on-camera auditions
• Sessions on learning basic editing  
• Seminar discussion of studio learning and analysis of selected screen performances and related scholarship.  
• Work in Progress sharing of students’ screen performances for in-class discussion / peer to peer and tutor-led feedback 
• Critical reflection and analysis of your process into performance and how it relates to the techniques learned, the history of screen performance and the related scholarship 
• Essay preparation through seminar discussions 
• Reflective sessions on the industry and how to apply the learning on the module to future employability thinking 

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a reassessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Indicative primary reading list

• Baron, Cynthia and Carnicke, Sharon Marie (2008) Reframing Screen Performance, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
• Belli, Mary Lou (2020) Acting for the Screen, Abingdon: Routledge.
• Britten, Bill (2014) From Stage to Screen: A Theatre Actor’s Guide to Working on Camera, London: Bloomsbury.
• Churcher, Mel (2003) Acting for Film: Truth 24 times a second, Virgin.
• Churcher, Mel (2014) A Screen Acting Workshop, London: Nick Hern.
• Eberwein, Robert (2010) Acting for America: movie stars of the 1980s, New Brunswick; NJ: Rutgers University Press.
• Ganz, Adam (2020) Robert De Niro at Work: From Screenplay to Screen Performance, London: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Leberg, Dan (2022) Screen Acting: A Cognitive Approach, Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh Press.
• Page, Kevin (2019) Psychology for Actors:Theories and Practices for the Acting Process, Abingdon: Routledge.
• Pomerance, Murray and Stevens, Kyle (2018) Close-Up: Great Cinematic Performances Volume 2: International, Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh Press.
• Soto-Morettini, Donna (2012) Mastering the Audition: How to Perform Under Pressure, London: Bloomsbury.
• Tucker, Patrick (2023) Secrets of Screen Acting (fourth edition), Abingdon: Routledge.
• Wangh, Stephen (2000) An Acrobat of the Heart: a physical approach to acting inspired by the work of Jerzy Grotowski, New York: Vintage books.

Indicative secondary reading list

• Blood Simple (1984) Directed by Joel Coen. [Feature Film.] Circle Films.
• I May Destroy You (2020) Created and Produced by Michaela Coel [Television Series.] London: BBC One.
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020) Directed by G. C. Wolfe. [Feature Film.] Los Gatos, CA: Netflix.
• Moonlight (2016) Directed by Barry Jenkins. [Feature Film]. New York, NY: A24.
• Raging Bull (1980) Directed by Martin Scorsese. [Feature Film.] Beverly Hills, CA: United Artists.
• Secrets and Lies (1996) Directed by Mike Leigh. [Feature Film.] London: Film Four.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• Exeter digital archives
• Digital Theatre Plus
• ELE 

Key words search

Acting, Screen acting, performer training, psychophysical acting, text interpretation, Character acting, audition technique