Reflection

1. Directing Reflection Essay
For my analysis presentation, I compared the similarities and differences of Jim Parsons’
performance as Sheldon Cooper in the pilot episode and the final episode of ‘The Big Bang Theory’. I
chose these two episodes because I felt that this is where the difference in his performance is the
most noticeable and it shows that his performance has grown over the 12 years, he has played the
character. In order to compare the similarities and differences in each of his performances, I felt that
I could only do this by discussing the progression of the character he plays in order to show the
growth in his performance.
One element of the presentation that I found challenging was that it was very difficult to find any
official scripts of the episodes/performances that I was trying to compare. Although I managed to
find an unofficial script with dialogue only, they didn’t have any stage directions which made it
difficult for me to breakdown the script to show my understanding of the emotion that were being
conveyed and the intentions of the characters.
The concept that I decided to apply to my analysis presentation was Konstantin Stanislavski’s
method to acting. “The method is an actor training system made up of various different techniques
designed to allow actors to create believable characters and help them to really put themselves in
the place of a character. Much of the technique centres around Given Circumstances and the Magic
If;”. I applied this method to my presentation in order to show how Jim Parsons puts himself into the
situation that his character faces as he is performing and show how this makes each of his
performances very believable.
An element of the presentation that I felt went well was that I showed my understanding of Jim
Parsons’ character in The Big Bang Theory and the progression of the character as the series
progressed, although I feel that this could have been better if I could have broken down an official
script of the scenes that I compared. Another element that I felt went well with the presentation
was that I showed my understanding of the story and what was happening in each scene by putting
together a sequence of shots. I feel that this helped to back up my understanding of the character
and what is happening in the scene.
An element of the presentation that I felt that I could have done better is that I spoke too much
about the character progression and not enough about Jim Parsons’ performance which I felt
showed a lack of understanding about performance as I didn’t use enough terminology to describe
his performance.
If I did this again, I would conduct more research into performance in television. This will help me to
further my knowledge and understanding about performance and what it can bring to a production,
which will then help me to show my understanding of an actor’s performance. Furthermore, it will
also help me to further understand about characters and their objectives.
One thing that I learned from the analysis task is that close up shots allows the viewers to see more
of an actor’s performance as it can make the performance more convincing and believable by the
actors putting themselves in the circumstances that their character is facing, which makes a
performance mor authentic as they live the part. I also learned that an actor’s body language plays
an important role in an actor’s performance.
For my visualisation presentation, I chose to show my understanding and visualisation of the 1997
Disney film ‘Tower Of Terror’. I chose this film because it is a film that I have not seen before as well

2. as something that I wouldn’t normally choose to watch, and I thought that it would be a challenge to
visualise something that is new to me. I decided that I would visualise the opening sequence of the
film because I felt that this is where the viewers get to know the characters and their personalities
the most.
For the first part of the presentation, I decided to read the opening section of the script and I spoke
about the synopsis of the film and the main characters. I decided to do this in order to show my
understanding of the film and who the characters are and what their super objectives are. For the
second part of the presentation, I decided that the best way I could show my visualisation of how I
would shoot the sequence is to write up a shot list describing what is happening, where the scene is
taking place and why I would use certain types of shots (e.g., Tracking Shot). The concept that I tried
to apply to my visualisation presentation was from Mark Cersosimo’s approach to visualisation.
“Shot lists will propel your vision forward into the production phase of filming”. I feel that using this
method as an approach to visualisation allowed me to create a clear vision of how I would shoot this
section of the film while still making the story easy for the audience to understand. Furthermore, I
feel that this made me feel more confident about explaining my ideas to the group.
One thing that I felt went well with my visualisation presentation was that I showed my
understanding of the film, the characters, and their super objectives clearly by using more
terminology to describe the characters personalities and habits. Another element of the
presentation that I also feel went well was that I showed and clearly explained my intentions of how
I would shoot this section of the film using my shot list.
One thing that I felt that I could have done better for the presentation is that I could have shown my
visualisation more by using more means such as mood boards and storyboards rather than just using
a shot list. This would help to give an even clearer picture of how I can visualise my vision of this
section of the film. Another thing that I felt could have been better is to breakdown the script to
show more of my understanding about the story and the characters and what their intentions are.
Something that I learned from the visualisation task is that a director needs to show their vision of a
film very clearly to the cast and the crew. This is so that the story can be told clearly and
convincingly.
For the working with actor’s task, I choreographed and recreated a scene from episode one of the
BBC One drama ‘Happy Valley’, using my visualisation. My concept for the scene was the two
characters, Kevin and Ashley, are on the caravan park, and they have seen a bag of drugs land on the
floor amongst a bag of sand. Kevin panics as he doesn’t know what to do, but Ashley is very relaxed
and care free. Kevin wants to be with his family, but the two characters do not realise that Kevin’s
wife Jenny has been watching in the background. I decided to add the element of Jenny watching on
in the background in order to create suspense, making the audience wanting to watch more and
discover what happens next. From this, Kevin’s objective is that he wants to stay with and look after
his family, whereas Ashley’s objective is to try and get Kevin to calm down and not to worry too
much about the situation that they face and what could potentially happen. From working with
Andrea and the actors, I feel that it was very useful because it allowed me to gain an insight into
what the role of a director is and what tasks they undertake on a daily basis, as well as allowing me
to gain some experience choreographing a scene with the two actors.
The concept that I tried to apply to the task was inspired by Konstantin Stanislavski. “(4) They should
be real, live and human, not dead, conventional or theatrical. (5) They should be truthful so that you

3. yourself, the actors playing with you and your audience can believe in them.” I feel that this helped
me to create a clear objective for the characters in order to make them real and believable.
Overall, I feel that my directing and choreography of the scene went very well because the actor’s
performed it the way that I could vision it, which made their performances very believable.
An element that I felt didn’t go so well is that I didn’t feel very confident about directing the scene
because I felt unsure about what the characters motives were, which I felt affected the
performances as they weren’t so authentic. This could also be because I used too many adjectives to
describe what the characters are doing and how they are feeling in the scene.
If I did this again, I would need to work on my confidence as a director. I would do this by breaking
down the script so that I understand what is happening in the scene, who the characters are and
what their motives are. I feel that this will help to boost my confidence as a director so that the next
time I work with actor’s, they can channel the characters and put themselves in the circumstances
that their characters are facing, which will help to make their performances more authentic and
believable.
Something that I learned from the working with actors’ task is that a director shouldn’t use
adjectives to describe to the actors what they need to do as part of a scene because it can affect
their performance and potentially make it not so convincing as their actions could look or feel
forced.
For my SOL Task, I directed and choreographed a scene from the Green SOL Task script using my
visualisation. The concept for the scene was two people, Johnathon, an aspiring author, and Ellie, a
doctor, have met online and it is their first face-to-face date. They sit down in Ellie’s living room and
get to know each other, but Ellie doesn’t realise that Johnathon is a creep and has been watching
her because he really wants to be in a relationship with her.
I wanted the scene to have a feeling of unease, apprehension, and suspense all the way through as
Ellie doesn’t know what Johnathon’s intentions are and what he has been up to before they met
face-to-face. I wanted the character of Ellie to come across as a strong, confident, and independent
person, and I wanted the character of Johnathon to come across as sinister and creepy, but not too
much that Ellie becomes too aware of what Johnathon is really like, in order to create the suspense
within the scene.
I tried to apply a visual directing style inspired by Chantal Ackerman. “In the ’80s, Akerman adopted
a more conventional visual style in her fiction films, employing widely used norms such as
shot/reverse shot and analytic editing”. I wanted to use a similar style of directing because I didn’t
want the final edit to overcomplicate the navigation of the story and to make it easy for the
audience to understand.
In preparation for filming the SOL Task, I chose to write up a shot list describing what would be
happening in each shot and what the camera movements would be. The approach that I took to this
was inspired by Nick Larovere. “Attention to detail is always the best policy. Your film is made up of a
thousand small details, and you should never leave any of those details to chance”. I feel that this
was useful because it allowed me to work out the details and logistics of the SOL Task alongside
showing my visualisation of how the story would be told and why I would use certain camera
movements. I feel that this helped me to feel more prepared for the film shoot because it eased the
pressure of thinking about how I would shoot it, making filming run fairly smoothly.

4. Overall, I feel that my directing went very well because the actor’s performed the scene the way that
I could vision it. I also feel that they put themselves in the circumstances that their character faced
and that their performances were not forced because I didn’t use adjectives to describe what they
should be doing or how they should be feeling, which made their performances very believable and
authentic, which then made the storytelling clear to understand.
One of the challenges that I encountered for the SOL Task was that I found it difficult to find two
actors to film the scene with as I emailed York St John Universities drama society but did not receive
a response. Therefore, I used my backup plan and asked two of my classmates if they would be
actors instead. This made me feel like I needed to rush to find people to play the two parts. Another
challenge that I encountered was that I had a limited amount of time to work in the studio and with
one of the actor’s, which made me feel that filming needed to be completed quickly. The other
element which I found a challenge was that I only used one camera to shoot the scene with, which
made it difficult to get a wide range of shots, in order to make the actor’s performances even more
convincing.
If I did this again, I would try to cast potential actors a few weeks before filming is due to take place.
This will help as it would give the actor’s time to learn their lines and understand their characters. It
would also give the crew time to prepare all the equipment they need for the film shoot. Nick
LaRovere also states that “Pre-production is the king. This is a pretty common thing for people to
harp on, but the more I learn and the more films I make, the more I realize it is very true”. This is
something that I will take forward with me in the future as preparation allows filming to run
smoother. I would also think about whether the shoot requires multiple cameras, and I would also
think more about the framing of the scene and the types of shots to use. This is so that the story is
told more clearly and so that the audience can see more of the character’s emotions and the actor’s
performances.
Something that I learned throughout the module is that the director’s vision of a scene is the most
important element of a production because it is the element that drives the production forward.
Bibliography
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