The Camera Never Lies – How to Get Your Face Out There: An Interview with Brenna McDonough, Author of “You Can Work On Camera”
Q: What kind of and how much on-camera work is available in the Washington, D.C., Richmond, Baltimore, Philadelphia market?
A: There’s a tremendous amount of work in this region in corporate training films and industrials. We have Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, and Richmond, all within a three hour drive. We don’t shoot as many commercials here as we once did, but that could change at any time. Many television shows shoot their B roles here, meaning the exterior shots of the Nation’s Capitol. Washington is a government town so they’re not looking for flash and dazzle, they’re looking for real people who can communicate a message credibly. Big stars aren’t necessarily broken out of this area, but there’s a steady stream of work if one pursues it. You can work as an extra here and you can work as a principal and nobody thinks a thing of it. It’s not a step down. I’ve never seen that in any other market.
Q: How does one go about getting on-camera work?
A: Throw yourself into the marketplace-get good training, a good headshot, put together your resume, and send it out. You’re going to get hired to do small things first because people are going to test your ability. The good jobs will increase with your confidence level. The little things you do will build into bigger things.
Q: Is there a difference between the skills needed for theatre and those needed for on-camera work?
A: The skills are similar, all good performance requires honesty. It’s about internalizing the character and conflict and creating an emotional life. Create in your head the surroundings for what you are about to do at your audition or for your role. It isn’t physical, it’s internal. The physical will follow the internal. It’s about connecting with the camera.
Q: How does one connect with the camera?
A: The camera responds to a number of things when it sees you. Confidence and Personality are the two things it sees first. Some days you might not feel confident. This is an opportunity to remember something about yourself that makes you feel confident. Finishing a marathon, being a really great cook; it doesn’t have to be show business related but it reminds you of a success and that translates. Remember the camera sees thoughts. Think the good ones!
Q: How do you approach copy for camera?
A: Just like you do for theatre. Who am I talking to? Where am I? Am I doing an activity? Am I just delivering straight to camera? What am I selling? What am I enthusiastic about? You’ll get into the habit of asking yourself those questions quickly.
Q: How much control do actors have over their careers?
A: Actors have a great deal of control over their careers. It’s not at the whim of who’s going to call. It’s getting out there and knowing what you want. Expect to do well in this industry, but don’t expect anybody to hand it to you. You’re going to have to work hard at it, and you’re not going to get everything you go out on. But you can’t get discouraged by that. People can work in this industry full- or part-time and be successful at any age.
If after a year you don’t get any job other than the free ones you’ve invented for yourself, you need an objective assessment. Get a mentor, somebody in the business you know and like, and who knows and likes you and have a heart-to-heart talk about what’s not working. Is it your headshot? Attitude? Haircut? Training? That ten or fifteen pounds? If your day job getting in the way of your dream, would you consider temping?
Q: How does one make an objective assessment of oneself?
A: I don’t think people have a clear picture of what they really look like and I think that’s why people are so surprised when they see themselves on-camera. In my classes, I stress the relationship with the camera, not how one looks on-camera. The relationship you have with camera determines your getting hired. It sounds so cliché, but it’s true, you have to imagine talking to someone -you have to imagine the camera being the face of a friend or family member. Once hired to do a job, you’ll be dolled up and look great, but that’s unrelated to how you connect with the camera.
Q: You also teach classes on TelePrompTer and Ear-Prompters. How important are these skills and are they difficult to learn?
A: If you can read, you can use a TelePrompTer. It’s eye-page coordination. You take in a few words at a time, look away, and come back to where you left off. It’s not about locking onto the TelePrompTer and looking at every single word. You want to look natural. Looking natural comes with practice. If you took a TelePrompTer class with me, by the time you left that afternoon, you can list TelePrompTer on your resume.
Using an Ear-Prompter is not something you can learn on the job. It takes concentration and practice and is not something you can fake. If you list Ear-Prompter on your resume, you’re expected to have your own equipment and be terrific. I tell students who take my Ear-Prompter class to not put this on their resume until they’ve practiced four hours on their own with their own equipment.
Q: What do you think about children in the business?
A: Children in the business need training too, but they’re hired to be kids so they don’t need much polishing. I tell parents who enroll a child in my class that kids need to enjoy the process. If a child doesn’t feel like going to an audition that day, even though the parent said yes, we’ll be there, don’t make your child do it. Don’t let your dreams be their dreams. There’s no sense in dragging a screaming six-year-old to an audition. If she doesn’t want to be there, she’s going to make everybody miserable and she won’t do well. Kids do well when it’s their idea. They don’t do well when it’s just the parent’s idea. On the other hand, kids reach an age where if they’ve committed to go to an audition that day, they’ve got to show up. If teenagers say they want to do this and make some money and you, as a parent, sense they have the discipline to stay with it, support that. Kids in the business can do well, but it’s a lot of work and they should know that.
Q: What do you think about taking jobs for the experience?
A: Never work for nothing. That’s a bad policy. Actors many times are underpaid because that’s what they agree to. Nonunion actors need to set up their own pay schedule. In the beginning, you can do a few free things but you need to know when you’ve graduated from that category. When that person calls again, even though you may have worked for them in the past for a DVD copy, you need to charge them. They might say no, but they might say yes. You have to be willing to bite the bullet and maybe not get that job, but you also get to graduate yourself into another category.
ABOUT BRENNA MCDONOUGH
Brenna McDonough has worked in commercials and corporate videos in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles for over 25 years. She grew up in a theatrical family with nine brothers and sisters and is married to actor John Leslie Wolfe and they have two children – Kate and Aidan.
Brenna McDonough and John Leslie Wolfe offer On-Camera Training and classes in Ear-Prompter, TelePrompTer, and Narration. They also offer one-on-one coaching for actors and models, and other professionals whose jobs require them to appear on camera. “You Can Work On-Camera: Acting in Commercials and Corporate Films” (Heinemann) by Brenna and John, and John’s new book, “Great Sex Notes” (Source Books) are available at your local bookstores.
http://www.oncameratraining.com
