Acting ... is it truly a load of bollix?

B.A._Baracus

I'm just watching the special features of a movie right now and they are just blowing out the struggles of performing in it :P
It was hard, it was tough, it was this, it was that .. while in reality its just saying a few lines into a camera. Maybe requiring a bit of physicality in a scene or two :P

... IMO All crap and if you get going you can make good money. But i've actually heard just regular people, who have never done anything more than extra work try to blow out acting.

so boards. Acting a load of bollix? / something one does because it beats busting your ass clocking in and out? .... or some challenging magically skill? :P

im invisible

you're only actin' the bollix, OP

4zn76tysfajdxp

Acting is a load of bollocks just like creating music, comedy or any other kind of art. They are indulgences that are wholly unnecessary for our survival but they enrich our culture.

B.A._Baracus

im invisible wrote: »

you're only actin' the bollix, OP

I beat you actually had to think hard about that one

sgb

A late night Dutch Gold inspired thread?

B.A._Baracus

Bryant Thousands Candle wrote: »

Acting is a load of bollocks just like creating music, comedy or any other kind of art. They are indulgences that are wholly unnecessary for our survival but they enrich our culture.

erm ... yeah.
See if you read my post you'd kinda see i'm talking about the profession :P you know in the sense its not as hard as they make out. Not the reason for actors. You know? ...


ah of course you dont know you just wanted to share you two cents :P

Max Power

Bryant Thousands Candle wrote: »

Acting is a load of bollocks just like creating music, comedy or any other kind of art. They are indulgences that are wholly unnecessary for our survival but they enrich our culture.

Look at you with all your big words.

Bless.

DEFTLEFTHAND

To succeed in it definitely takes something. I've no experience in acting but I know often times it's easy to scoff at a profession from the outside looking in, it appears easy because the people who do it are seasoned and have honed their craft.

Pottler

I've done technical crap on a couple of films and actually, it takes a rare breed of self confidence and talent/charisma to stand up in front of a big crowd and act normally. I don't think I could pull it off, and considering what a bright, thrusting thing I am, that's a rare admission.

Casillas

Yeah OP, why pay Pacino millions when we could have you for a fraction of the cost

KKkitty

You just don't understand the pain and trauma actors go through to convey a film's message. Just think of all the fake tears and tantrums they have to throw to get more in a few hours than normal people would have to work years for :pac:

Chuck Stone

Performance art is where it's at.

B.A._Baracus

Casillas wrote: »

Yeah OP, why pay Pacino millions when we could have you for a fraction of the cost

I'D BE BETTER THAN ALL OF THEM!!! :pac:

Nah seriously tho, Its just what is acting? I actually had a friend who did acting for years when she was growing up. She said to me the same thing "what is acting, dont we all act in our daily lives? with people we interact with?"

Now obviously there is a skill to it ... being believable or not being that skill. But cant the same be said for such a liar? ... maybe a person who lives in there head and pretends things happen to them? :P

What I mean to say is "pretending" really such a skill? obviously some people can do it and some cant. But can "pretending" really be classed as a skillful art? :P

TheUsual

KKkitty wrote: »

You just don't understand the pain and trauma actors go through to convey a film's message. Just think of all the fake tears and tantrums they have to throw to get more in a few hours than normal people would have to work years for :pac:

You just have to remember the golden rule

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fwJo3bA05Q

Esoteric_

I've been doing acting on and off for about 20 years (since I was three years old). I haven't done any big movie type stuff, but everything I've done in the past 8 years has been paid work.

I'm not going to say it's so difficult that I want to tear my hair out, but it IS difficult. It's not about acting like somebody else. It's about becoming somebody else. A bad actor will act, a good actor will become, retarded and all as that sounds. :pac:

It takes some amount of balls to stand in front of a camera or on a stage and not only remember your lines, but actually be in character, not being yourself, crying in front of people and, depending on the role you play, tapping into your own emotions and becoming raw and vulnerable in front of a crowd.

It's not necessary, it serves feck all purpose other than culturally, but it's a good bit more difficult than it looks.

Call Me Jimmy

Yea right it's easy. I've never done it, but for say film it takes a lot to be interesting and believable.

And any time I hear anyone having a go at actors/musicians I just think how terrible the lives of most people going into their **** jobs in the IFSC would be without their box-sets and ipods.

4zn76tysfajdxp

FionnMcCool87 wrote: »

Look at you with all your big words.

Bless.

Thanks for that, Hemingway.

Reekwind

If acting was easy then anyone could do it. Even a casual glance at B films, amateur productions or daytime soaps show that this is not the case. There is a lot of bad acting out there on TV; something that we should not be seeing if it was "just saying a few lines into a camera". Like everything else, good acting takes talent and, yes, work

FionnMcCool87 wrote: »

Look at you with all your big words.

Bless.

You consider those to be "big words"? Really?

later12

OP can you perceive any difference in the adaption of a particular character by, say, Decco from Fair City versus, say, Dustin Hoffman or Tom Hanks in their movies?

I wouldnt suggest acting is necessarily physically or mentally laborious, but I'm not sure that such a trait is necessary for it to be impressive. Talent is talent, and yes, there is a clear hierarchy of talent in the acting profession.

padd b1975

Acting as a profession is fine.


Having to listen to some up their own hole luvvie in full flow about their art and how wonderful the (state subsidised) Abbey players are is a real pain in the bollox.

KKkitty

TheUsual wrote: »

You just have to remember the golden rule

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fwJo3bA05Q

I pity the fool that went full retard

Capt'n Midnight

The secret to acting is honesty.

Once you can fake that you're good to go.

flutterflye

One of my best friends is an actress - she has aspired to be one since I've known her (a long time!).
I always struggled with taking it seriously tbh.
I believed that while creativity, various forms of art, and culture are very important, I couldn't take it seriously as a profession - feeling it is more of a hobby.
It's funny because I thought I still felt that way until this thread.
I don't know when I changed my views, but I have!

Apolloyon

A mate of mine told me that that acting malarkey is all just made up.

Wait...hold on a second...*mind blown*

Scanlas The 2nd

It's easy so long as the lighting guy doesn't distract you.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=qrvMTv_r8sA&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DqrvMTv_r8sA&gl=GB

WoollyRedHat

B.A._Baracus wrote: »

I'm just watching the special features of a movie right now and they are just blowing out the struggles of performing in it :P
It was hard, it was tough, it was this, it was that .. while in reality its just saying a few lines into a camera. Maybe requiring a bit of physicality in a scene or two :P

... IMO All crap and if you get going you can make good money. But i've actually heard just regular people, who have never done anything more than extra work try to blow out acting.

so boards. Acting a load of bollix? / something one does because it beats busting your ass clocking in and out? .... or some challenging magically skill? :P

It requires passion as well as talent. If you don't have true passion, then there's no point. There's quite a lot to it, and it's not as simple as learning lines, and relaying them to a crowd. Then there's the stage and the screen. Just because you're good on the stage, doesn't mean you'll be good on the screen. Appearing naturally on the screen is no easy task.

If you do it right it can be emotionally intense, and requires preparation to bring out all that you want in the role. It is also highly satisfying when you have brought a character to life, that is completely different to your own persona. Consider different dialects that actors have to put on, that isn't easy. Consider movement, you have to put consideration into your characters movement, you can't simply adopt your own gait, it has to be reflexive of how the character would stand, walk, and position themselves. Then there is the strain of repetitiveness. Theatre actors are very busy, sometimes doing a show twice a day, and then in the interim they have to work on their part and stay fresh.

If acting was easy, then Fair City might be half decent. Do you think those guys want to be so awful? In rare cases, if it gets you by, it gets you by.

I will say that being an extra, is a draining and emotionally disturbing experience.

mikemac1

Speilberg is too expensive

Get me his Mexican non-union equivalent, Señor Speilbergo

Maximus Alexander

I did a bit of stage acting in the past. It's a lot of fun but a lot of work goes into it too.

I mean it definitely beats the crap out of office work, but that's because if you're working in that area you're probably passionate about it. There's a bit more to it than just reading words though.

I'm dead jealous of the people who make a living from acting.

Mardy Bum

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

If acting was easy, then Fair City might be half decent. Do you think those guys want to be so awful? In rare cases, if it gets you by, it gets you by.

I will say that being an extra, is a draining and emotionally disturbing experience.

More a combination of **** writing and bad production values. There are some very experienced theatrical actors and actresses in it that are quality at their job.

Speaking of audio commentaries - I absolutely loved the one for Dodgeball. It's wonderfully well done.

FloatingVoter

Its a cliche but walking and talking at the same time is quite difficult. You have to hit your mark to within an inch for the camera, all the while delivering lines convincingly. Its not rocket science, but its at least a craft.
Theatre acting is more like a dance - first night of rehearsals before the play is blocked, it mainly involves people bumping into each other - that applies to the school play in Tralee and Pacino on Broadway.