Acting takes quite alot of training, however can watching a lot of movies and TV series help you learn too?

Question

A friend of mine told me that, if I want to be an actor, i can learn a lot from what i see in the movements, expressions, emotions, and vocals from professional actors in movies and on TV. Also, I'm starting some extra work next week, so will that give me some experience too?

Answer 1

All the great masters, in any art, have learned from the masters before them. So, learn, as you watch all the great movies you can. Studying the best actors out there will give you insight into how they express themselves and seemingly develop the traits and quirks to make their characters stand out and be remembered. And as far as the extra work goes, this is great experience. I have also used this avenue to learn. And, as suggested by a previous answerer, it is "sit and wait" only if you allow it to be. In your down time, watch, observe, and just generally feed your excitement of being part of a production. It can be fun.

Answer 2

Try this. Rent a movie and watch it. Then study acting for a year or so. Rent the same movie and watch it again. You'll be looking at it with a different set of eyes. If you want to learn from watching movies you need to know what you are looking at. But I say there are things you can learn from watching movies and TV shows. As far as extra work goes, it's a good way to learn your way around a set. You won't get much out of it after the first few times you do it. But it can be fun. You seem to have quite a bit more going for you than most of the people who post here wanting to be actors. Good luck to you.

Answer 3

Definatey!! Watching other actors can really help you to learn new techniques and to get more familiar with different types of characters. Watching TV and movies is also a good idea because it can keep you in touch with whats going on in the biz. Knowing whats out there and knowing the market is a very wise idea. For example, if a casting director says "it's a CSI type show" you should know what she means by that. As far as doing extra work, I'd say that yes, it will give you experience. You will be around other actors and get to watch them live. You can learn about the people who work on set and what they do, and you can make conncections that could be useful in the future. Hope this helped!

Answer 4

You can learn from watching TV and movies IF you know what to watch for. Just watching the movie to enjoy it won't teach you much of anything. It's on the 4th or 5th time through that you really start to see how this actress subtly begins to build to an emotional peak (perhaps by moving a little more or a little less, by pacing, by shifting her weight, clenching her jaw, etc) before she just starts shouting, or how that actor shows just the subtlest hint of sneakiness before he starts talking about the bridge he wants to sell someone. Watch the eyes. See what the performers do with them. Watch for the little idiosyncrasies a good performer will give a character. In one role, you may see a twitchy foot --while in another, the same actor playing a different character seems to have fidgety hands.

If you're watching to see how things are done, yes, you can learn from watching others' performances. Acting classes are irreplaceable, however. These classes can even teach you how to learn by watching others' work!

Answer 5

Working as a Movie Extra, is a lot of sit around and wait. It will not give you experience, you may or may not be able to get close enough to the actors and director to see what is happening.

Watching movies is not of much value, as you are missing the "technique" the actors used to develop their character for the role.

You may want to consider taking acting classes.

Answer 6

In TV, you learn how to act in one situation. Same with facial expressions and feeling. You have to take acting classes though too, because TV isn't the only thing you need.

Answer 7

depends on how you learn things, some people can watch other people and learn some cant..watch some of the old greats like spencer tracy and sidney poitier, or watch some new ones like harrison ford or meryl streep...go to some of their biographys on the web or TV you can learn alot by listening to them....yes being an extra gives you a heads up if you watch it all instead of standing around...listen to the likes and dislikes of the director and producer...they can give you great tips...hope it helps

Answer 8

actually, tons of directors tell there actors certain movies to watch that resemble the movie their creating. it does help when u watch the movements, not just watch the show.

Answer 9

It can help and it's good for you to observe these mediums but also look into theater. They can help you learn things like stillness, poise, technique, as long as your performance is not imitating that of one you watched in a movie, make every character and choice your own.

Answer 10

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