Silent Film -- telling a story and expressing emotion without the use of words

This week, we begin our unit on Silent Film. The above short silent film was made by George Melies, a French filmmaker whose life and work is showcased in the film Hugo and the graphic novel that it was based on, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Melies is a fanciful filmmaker who uses some advanced cinematic techniques to create a feeling of magic in his films, such as the way he duplicates one man into a whole "band" of men here. This short differs from other silent films that are well known in the U.S. in that it does not have music playing. Imagine this scene set to music. How would it be different?

In gathering some background information on the genre of silent film, you might look at the examples contained at this website: "Six Essential Silent Short Films". Also, you might look at the movie The Artist.
In looking at these examples, pay attention to the way that the actors use face and body to convey ideas. Also look at the use of props and staging (and sometimes) cue cards used with words on them) to tell the story. Finally, pay close attention to the role played by music and how it creates an emotional setting in scenes.

Thoughts from this week of Monologue Workshopping

It is hard to put your work out there, and it is also hard to find things (positive and constructive as well as critical and constructive) to say as feedback to someone who shares in front of the class.

This week, we have begun that process in earnest and are off to a good start. Remember that you may have your own preferences and style of delivery, but it's always worth it to try out someone else's suggestion...just to see how it goes, even if you just end up reaffirming your original choice.

There is a game that we will play next week that helps practice taking someone else's ideas and running with them:

"Yes, And..." (taken from 101 Drama Games and Activities by David Farmer -- www.dramaresource.com)

One person begins by making an “offer” (putting forward an idea) and the partner replies with a sentence that begins "Yes, and…". Try not to block your partner’s ideas, which can so often happen in improvisation. Instead, try and build on each other's suggestions. 

Example:

A: It's raining

B: Yes, and I've got a large umbrella

A: Let’s shelter under it

B: Yes, and the wind is blowing us into the air

A: We are flying over the sea

B: Yes, and we have landed on an island…

And so on. It can be a very liberating game, especially as we don’t often get the chance to say “yes” to everything! Participants should avoid trying to push their own idea at the expense of their partner's. Use the space as much as possible.  The literal “Yes” can be dropped completely as soon as acceptance of each others’ ideas begins to become more automatic.

Looking forward to next week! Until then, I leave you with this image:

Quote of the Week -- Week 2

"Our lives improve only when we take chances - 
and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves."

Quote of the Week -- Week 1

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty" -- Maya Angelou