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Confidence on Camera: Tips to boost your confidence

10/23/2020

When training actors who are starting their career, the team at IPM often hear the first thing that people want or need to work on is their confidence. Building your confidence is not an overnight process. Many great names like Chris Evans, Hugh Jackman and Jennifer Lawrence all have bouts of nervousness and anxieties before performing. We are human, it is normal to feel nervous. But how you choose to overcome those anxieties will help boost your self esteem, open new opportunities and help you grow as a performer. Our team has put together some tips on building confidence for your performance.

Positivity

Avoid the negative thoughts about yourself and your skills. When you put yourself down, you manifest those thoughts, your personal growth falters. and it shows in your performance. When you don't take a moment and see the positive experiences, progress or performances that you have produced, your confidence will not grow as a performer. The first step to personal growth as an actor is your own thoughts and comments. Keep them positive and you will feel your mindset change for the better. Anything you say to yourself should be about constructive criticism and not self doubt.

Repetition

When you are learning anything new, repetition allows your confidence to grow. As we mentioned, growing your confidence isn't an overnight process. The more you practice anything about confidence building, a technique or even an accent, your confidence will grow over time and you will feel the progression you've made.

Meditation

Breathing connects us to everything. When we learn to control our breathing, we can allow ourselves to overcome anxieties that keep our confidence down. Breathing is a very important part of performance and to control that breathing will not only grow your confidence it will enhance your performance skills to a new level. Meditation is a large influence in finding your confidence and easing your anxieties to start your career as an actor.

Taking the first step to build you confidence may not be easy, but with time you will feel the positive changes in yourself. It takes time and practice, but it will get easier the more you keep practicing!

Want to find new ways to build your confidence in your Acting Career? Join IPM Acting Academy today with NEW class options available to fit your schedule.

JOIN HERE

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Tips for Working with Animals on Screen

10/2/2020

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Animals are a recurring element in cinema, and often roles will require interaction with them. It’s important to know what to expect and how to treat your furry (or feathered, scaly, chitinous etc) co-stars with respect and professionalism. Our team has put together some great animal performances on screen and tips on working with them on set!

Most animals you’ll see in major roles in film have a handler on set at all times to make sure that they don’t do anything to endanger themselves or others. Dogs particularly make excellent actors; if you’ve seen John Wick, you’ve seen how a dog can be well-trained enough to pull heartstrings as well as the best human actors. Since 2001 the Cannes Film Festival has run the Palm Dog Award to recognize the accomplishments of the the most talented canine thespians (the most recent winner being Sayuri, the pitbull who played alongside Brad Pitt in Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood). Then there are our other furry companions. Cats. Cats are intelligent enough to understand direction, but far too proud to consider following it; despite this, there are notable cat performances in film such as Jonesy from Alien and Mrs Norris from the Harry Potter series.

Capuchin monkeys are intelligent, personable and easy to get along with, making them the most commonly utilized primates in film and television; see Marcel from Friends or Crystal the Monkey, Hollywood’s go-to tree dweller who has starred in films such as George of the Jungle, Night at the Museum and The Hangover Part II (incidentally, the highest paid animal star!). Chimps are also intelligent, but more erratic and less friendly; generally having them on set is a risky proposition, and for this reason chimps have become rarer in film recently. Put bluntly, when mistreated they can get violent. Pound for pound, chimps are much stronger than humans. Do the math.

This brings us to the number one rule when interacting with any animal on set, whether it’s a mouse or an elephant; LISTEN TO THEIR HANDLER. They know the animal better than you, often having raised them from birth. They know what different behaviours indicate; whether an animal is distressed or upset, whether they’re about to become a danger to those on set. This advice might save your life one day, so if you take nothing else from this article, remember this.

The second thing to remember is to have patience. Animals, as intelligent as they can be, aren’t human beings; they don’t have a concept of what ‘film production’ means, and I can guarantee you that (with the exception of well-trained dogs) they won’t do what the director wants them to do in the space of a few takes. Be calm, and take it as an opportunity to observe your co-star; realise that they have their own intentions and interests, and learn to work with those to make the process more expedient. If you have a pet dog or cat, you’ve probably experienced this process yourself, so draw upon that.

The final tip for working with animals is to always be professional and ethical, small or large, these are living creatures with their own intentions, thoughts and way of seeing the world and we must respect that. We love our furry friends on set and on-camera. Who are some of your favourite animal performances?

Want to be Screen Ready for your next Casting? Join IPM Acting Academy today!

JOIN HERE

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Confidence on Camera: Tips to boost your confidence

Positivity

Repetition

Meditation

Want to find new ways to build your confidence in your Acting Career? Join IPM Acting Academy today with NEW class options available to fit your schedule.

Tips for Working with Animals on Screen

Want to be Screen Ready for your next Casting? Join IPM Acting Academy today!

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