Move the Camera, Not the Actor

"On a recent shoot a discussion arose as to whether it was better to move an actor or to move the camera to maintain a composition. The actor kept settling into a position that obscured an over-the-shoulder angle, and there are some who would simply ask the actor to not do that.

That never works.

Every time I've asked an actor to do something slightly different--everything from holding their glass a little lower so it doesn't obscure their face in a dinner scene to shifting a sword a little bit to the right during a sword fight--it has never, ever worked. The bottom line is that actors act first and hit marks second.

What I've noticed is that most actors who miss their marks miss them consistently, by the same distance and direction every single time. It's almost as if they have a "mark offset" built in to their brains.

Actors will say that they will try their best to hit their marks whenever you ask them to, but during the take they'll be so busy "in the moment" that they'll just keep missing them. If you remind them then eventually their performance suffers because they're spending more time worrying about hitting their marks than they are acting.

The solution is twofold: move the mark, and/or move the camera.

Moving the mark almost never makes a difference to where the actor lands because they aren't watching it anyway. The mark becomes a reference for your assistant so they can better judge focus. Even though the actor's performance is "technically" flawed it will almost always be flawed in exactly the same way, so moving the camera is more expedient and reliable. The actor continues to do what they do best--act!--and you get your shot.

There are rare occasions when you do need to physically move an actor to get a critical shot, such as an over-the-shoulder shot. This usually happens after blocking but during rehearsal. In those cases always move the "lesser" actor. Never move the star.

I made this mistake on a TV series once. I was operating a shot looking over the star's shoulder at someone playing a lesser role, and to improve my frame I asked the star if he would mind if we moved his mark an inch to the left."

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