Casting Tip #10 - Understand your Framing · The Actors Copilot Green Room

Casting Tip #10 - Understand your Framing

There is one note screen actors hear more than almost any other, and it's often the one that changes everything.

𝗗𝗢 𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗦.

But before we talk about doing less, let's talk about something every actor should understand before they record a self-tape.

𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗚.

For most film and television self-tapes, unless casting requests otherwise, your ideal framing is a 𝗠𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗨𝗠 𝗖𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗘-𝗨𝗣 (𝗠𝗖𝗨).

That means framing yourself from approximately mid-chest to around three or four inches above your head. Depending on your proportions, the bottom of that frame might fall roughly 12 to 20 inches below your chin. The important thing is the composition, not an exact measurement.

Your camera should be at eye level, filming horizontally, with your eyeline just off the lens towards your reader.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁?

Because your framing determines how much of your performance casting can actually see. Too wide, and those beautiful, subtle changes in thought can disappear. Too tight, and you lose the freedom to move naturally.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗰𝘁.

One of the quickest ways an actor loses an audience in close-up is by doing too much. Not because they lack talent, but because they're performing for a space that simply isn't there.

They're playing to the back row of a theatre when the camera is capturing the smallest details of their face.

Think about that for a moment.

On stage, your performance needs to reach the person sitting in the very back row. On camera, a single genuine thought passing behind your eyes can be enough.

The lens captures details that an audience sitting twenty rows away would never see.

And when you pile a big expression on top of a genuine feeling, the camera doesn't read more emotion, it simply reads the effort.

𝗦𝗼 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗱𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲?

𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧: 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘁.

In a medium close-up, we can see your eyes, your facial expressions, your shoulders and some natural physical movement. You don't need to demonstrate every emotion with your entire body. Understand what is visible and allow your performance to live within that frame.

𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗: 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.

A small, genuine shift in what you're thinking can communicate far more than a rehearsed gesture. Don't manufacture a facial expression to tell us how your character feels. Allow yourself to experience the thought and trust the camera to capture it.

𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗗: 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴.

The moment you push an emotion outward to make absolutely certain we see it, we see the effort rather than the feeling. This doesn't mean making your performance smaller emotionally. It means allowing the internal work to be as rich as possible without unnecessarily demonstrating it physically.

This is an important distinction, particularly for actors transitioning from theatre to screen.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀.

And that brings me to something I believe passionately.

𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝘁. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀.

Understanding lenses, shot sizes, camera angles, eyelines and how a Director of Photography creates an image can fundamentally change how confidently you work on set.

It's one of the reasons we're so excited to be welcoming 𝗘𝗱 𝗥𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗕𝗦𝗖, a BAFTA- and RTS-nominated Director of Photography, to an upcoming 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗣𝗜𝗧 masterclass.

Ed's impressive credits include The Serpent Queen, The Long Shadow, Little Birds and The Eternal Daughter. His work offers a wonderful opportunity to explore how cinematography and performance work together.

And we're not stopping with cinematography. We'll also be bringing professionals from makeup, the art department and other filmmaking disciplines into our masterclasses.

Because our goal at The Actors Copilot isn't simply to help you become a better actor. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗼.

So here's your challenge for your next self-tape.

Get your framing right. Record your scene. Then try another take where you remove the unnecessary physical effort without losing any of the emotional truth.

Watch both takes back.

𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴?

I'd love to hear what you discover.

Head over to the Classroom for more Casting Tips.

𝗟𝗲𝘁'𝘀 𝗴𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸!

Tracey and Claire ❤️

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Casting Tip #10 - Understand your Framing