by Laura Sherman

Created on: July 02, 2009

While editing my first full length feature film I really understood what was needed from actors in the editing room. I realized I had a unique viewpoint from which to offer advice to the actor starting out in the business.

Now keep in mind that I had the massive budget of $7000 to shoot and edit (and market) my little indie film. So my viewpoint is completely biased in that direction.

Let's start with sound, volume. There is a myth that film actors don't need to worry about their volume, as the microphone will pick everything up. This is not necessarily true, especially on a low-budget film. Perhaps when the director has more than a few thousand dollars to put the film together you can slide with poor volume, but on a low-budget film you can't. I highly recommend that you do daily vocal exercises to strengthen your voice.

Regardless of the film's budget, it is vital to learn to speak clearly and to not make extraneous noises. In the editing room I could hear all the popping p's, hissing s's and smacking lips quite clearly. Sometimes I found creative ways to edit around them, but other times, they were in the scene for good. It makes the actor look unprofessional and the sound is irritating, especially to the trained ear.

I noticed that some of our actors had a tendency to step on another's lines, saying his lines before the other had completed his words. While this may go on in real conversations all the time, it is very tricky to handle in the editing room. I had more options in the editing room if one actor gave their line and then the other gave theirs.

Keeping continuity in film is extremely important. Of course I knew this, but it became crystal clear when I was editing. A director will shoot a scene from many different angles, covering different people. It is usually pretty easy to do when the scene is covered in one day, but sometimes the different angles are shot on different days.

On a low-budget film you as the actor need to know exactly what you were wearing and what mannerisms you were doing with each line, so that the editor can give a fluid feel to the movie.

Have you ever seen a high-budget film where the actress's hair was different as they cut back and forth between shots? Or maybe the glass being held was full in one shot and half full in another? It is highly distracting for the audience, removing them from the magic of the film and into the reality of the mistakes.

Keep your poor editor in mind when acting and you will have a friend for life (and you might get called back again and again for more films).

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