Action!
Written By Renato Rizzuti & Photo By Maria Rizzuti
Action! Action is a word that really means something on a film set! It is a signal to the actor to “come alive!” The actor has to be mentally and physically “on point.”
Mentally, the actor has to completely free his mind of any extraneous thoughts. An actor must completely and fully concentrate on the scene that is about to be filmed. An actor must not think of any “non acting thoughts.” Such as: I have to pick up toilet paper at the store, my co-star is hot looking, I have a craving for a hot dog, I wish I was being paid much more for this gig, I wonder if UFOs are really space aliens, and so on. You get the point!
In order to get mentally prepared for a scene any kind of meditative exercise is very valuable. Therefore, when “Action!” is called the actor will be mentally ready.
Physically the actor must also be ready to spring into physical action when “Action!” is called. Depending on the physical actions required for a scene, some sort of physical preparation must be made. It could be as simple as loosening up or as complex as performing certain physical exercises. The physical aspects of a scene will determine this.
In conclusion, when “Action!” is called the actor must be ready both mentally and physically. This will lead to those words at the end of filming: “It’s a wrap!”
