After casting, I think the best way to create trust is to establish a relationship with your cast before the film shoot so they can buy into you as the director and your vision for the project and work towards the same goal. One of the most important components of great artistic collaboration is trust. And trust is a two-way street. This means that if you wish for your actors to trust you and your vision as a director, you must also trust them as an actor. In my experience, it’s the olde Determine how much direction (if any) they need from you as a director so that you can get what you want from them in the final product. The next thing is to make sure that every actor knows exactly what’s going on in the script and what their character wants. This can be done by discussing it with them individually or in group meetings, depending on how many actors are in the production. In extreme cases, pent up frustrations can lead to an argument or a meltdown on set, which is going to be disastrous for the project. “If you’re worried that it could happen, that’s going to shut you down. Handle that ahead of time, don’t wait for something bad to happen. Does it sound scary to do that? Practice! Don’t wait until someone else’s two million dollars is riding on it and you’re scared to death you will let people down. Practice telling people they can be honest with you, and practice being honest with them. Honesty is so important.” Adjust Your Process for Non-Actors and Children

Streamlining Plot: This involves focusing on essential plot points that drive the story forward. Subplots that don't contribute to the central narrative or theme are often minimized or eliminated. As a white male in western society, I have never experienced the type of discrimination Adidas wanted to portray in this commercial. On the other hand, I was familiar with rejection and the anger and frustration that comes with it and realized that everybody encounters rejection in life from time to time. Removing Redundancy: Cutting out repetitive scenes, dialogue, or descriptions that don't add to the story. Redundancies can slow down the pace and bore the audience. Catering: Feed them well, and on time. Don’t let your actors wait for even a second to eat. Actors are the athletes of film shoots. What they eat is also important. Pizzas are no-gos as they can make actors sluggish.Example: A director was working with an actress who was playing a scene in which she had just discovered her husband was cheating on her. The director asked her to be more upset and didn’t give much direction other than that. After the actress finished the take, I asked the director how he handled this situation and he said he told her to get angrier. To establish the circumstance of a scene for an actor, you must communicate three things to them: their character’s goal, the obstacle, and the stakes. With this information, actors can interpret the scene without limitations. Working with Actors on Set 7. Trust your actor

Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! The more time you spend rehearsing, the more comfortable and confident the actors will be with the material. In 2017 Simon directed his passion project, EDIE which tells the tale of an older lady who climbs a mountain in Scotland at the age of eighty-three. The film has had an enthusiastic and successful theatrical release in the UK and has sold to multiple territories. Rather than establishing the emotions your actor should be feeling, establish the circumstance of a scene. Renowned acting coach Sanford Meisner defines acting as “Behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances.” To behave truthfully, you must allow your actors to feel genuine emotions under the circumstances you create.

VOLUME 13-17: REAL-TIME DIRECTING

A crucial mistake made by directors starting out is the assumption that they need to have every answer to a question in a scene. This is not true. Often, the most difficult aspects of a scene relating to from character to plot to objective to action will be solved by the actors up on the rehearsal room floor. Learn to identify a good offer, and adapt to the discoveries you will make with a good team who feel as though their opinions will be valued. While the director may not need to have every answer, they will need to make every final decision: gather the best ideas from your cast and they will respect you for giving them some input and their opinions the time of day. Ultimately, they’ll respect your final say all the more if the process values their contributions. #7 Challenge Yourself Learn how to gain the confidence of your actors on the set and draw out performances they didn’t even know they were able to deliver. Meaningful Character: Writers focus on developing a few well-rounded characters instead of crowding the narrative with many underdeveloped ones. Each character in the story has a distinct purpose, whether it's driving the plot forward, revealing key themes, or contributing to the protagonist's journey. Someone once asked me to write down the “Top Ten Ideas Based on My Book.” Here they are – top ten ideas from “Directing Actors.” As a director the actors performance will not be the only thing on your mind during the shoot (On an Indie production you might be doing more than one job role). Everyone on set will want to talk to you before filming begins. It will be loud and busy, so you need to find the time alone with the actors.

They want to know they’re safe with you to open themselves up in front of the camera lens and connect with the other players. Establish trust before production. And then — secondly — that visceral, emotional energy needs to be directed toward achieving a goal. The actor needs to know her objective. One of the hallmarks of bad acting is self-consciousness, and the way you overcome self-consciousness is by putting the actor’s focus on what she is trying to accomplish in the scene. I’ve learned that the best way to communicate your ideas is to have a strong and confident vision and be decisive when giving directions. This will help the actors and models understand what is expected of them and ensure they deliver the desired results.

Separate yourself from filmmaking for a moment. Look at other art forms or athletic endeavors. How many virtuoso orchestra conductors have never played a musical instrument? How many great basketball coaches have never played the game? I’m sure that there are exceptions, but if you think that you are one of them, it’s probably your fear causing you to rationalize – so you don’t have to face something difficult. If you want to be a great director that has excellent rapport with actors, how can you ask an actor to do something emotionally difficult that makes them incredibly vulnerable, like performing a nude love scene? Is that artistically justifiable when you’re afraid to take a beginning acting class? A few years ago, I directed a diversity commercial for Adidas. The project was essentially about discriminating against minority groups. Listen more than you talk. If you have a strong and confident vision of your story, you do not need to be fearful of the actors’ ideas. Instead of telling the actors that their ideas are wrong, you can build on what the actors give you, to guide them to your vision without shutting them down. It’s not always possible to just ‘direct’ as a director – especially if you are an independent one – but you must make sure that you give the time needed for directing the actors – after all if the performances are not believable on screen, then that is your responsibility.