I never knew the distinction between an ok actor and a good actor until now, because I never realised exactly how hard it is to make everyday actions look good on camera. Something as simple as walking down a staircase, done by someone who can’t get the motion quite right, transforms a work into something resembling a B-grade horror film.

I have learnt yet another aspect of filming that hadn’t even crossed my mind previous to this course. For the class exercise we were asked to come up with an action that we can do well. It could be as simple as unpacking a laptop bag, or it could be doing a cartwheel, as long as we could do it well. I chose crochet, a hobby I’ve had for years and can do without thinking by this stage. Or at least I could before you put me in front of a camera. I never realised quite how stiff I am while I crochet, and while the fast movement of my hands looked good in a closeup shot, when we pulled out I was hunched over and my head was tucked down staring intently at the hook and wool in my hands. Doesn’t make for a great shot.

This became a therapeutic experience for me, because for years I’ve been irate at movie fight scenes where the combatants refuse to keep their guard up, and leave themselves wide open while they kick. As someone who has done that in real life and been punched in the face it annoyed me. But now I can understand the sacrifices in reality that must be taken in order to translate something to the screen. If I were to shoot a scene of me fighting the way I normally do in class you wouldn’t be able to see my face behind my gloves and my kicks, while realistically better, would look nowhere near as impressive as the sweeping blows on TV.

Every class I’ve had this semester has revealed to me a side of the film making process that I wasn’t even aware of. Its been daunting to realise exactly how much there is to learn, but on the other hand I relish the challenge.