Working on set today
I received the best direction
Go faster.
That was the direction I was given.
Before then?
I was stiff.
I was in my head.
I was trying ‘to get it right’.
Do you know what happens when a clown tries to ‘get it right’?
You don’t want to know.
It’s neither funny nor pretty to watch.
It smells like the space between the party and just before starting to clean up.
The pleasure is gone.
If a clown trying to ‘get it right’ had a sound, the sound would be that of a terrified rabbit in agony.
Actually, it would be a terrified rabbit, screaming in agony and terror while dragging their teeth down a chalkboard and doing an overwinded jazz interpretation of some shitty national anthem.
A clown trying to ‘get it right’ is a clown who’s stuck in their head.
A clown stuck in their head needs to be decapitated.
You may be wondering, how might I decapitate a clown if so asked?
You don’t.
They do it to themselves.
Go faster.
That’s all you tell them.
Then tell them. Good.
Then tell them to go faster again.
Eventually they’ll run into a low flying helicopter and that will be that.
The clown will be out of their heads and into their bodies.
After that?
We have a chance that something funny might happen.
Specific direction based on the physical, observable attribute of speed caused a change in my mental state and level of nervous system arousal.
What do you notice around speed when it comes to altering someone’s state of nervous system activation? How do you notice speed and emotional states. How does an awareness of speed impact your ability to deal with an anxious person?
What happens when you speed up? Do you run into machetes, soften into your body and lose your mind. Once there do you start to feel free to play?
When you’re ‘losing your mind’ with fear or anxiety, might it be there with your body, somewhere behind you?
Any chance of either slowing down and letting that part catch up with your story? Or perhaps you might consider circling back to your body to see how the hell you mind got so lost?
Oh and this is a party in the 1980’s.
There was a lot more smoking inside
Stale. Stinky. And with the sensation that the bile has risen to the top of your stomach or the bottom of your throat. A situation with fifty fifty odds that you won’t vomit.
Perfect.
Ease. Ease doesn't reside in the head. It isn't trying. It is. Want to be engaging? Engage. Fully. With the environment. With the other person. Forget the camera.
Maybe faster is better. It will help with getting out of your head. Ask any luge pilot.
My advice? Not that you asked. Trust the team. It's the camera man's job to get the angle. Locate the camera before filming starts. Get a solid position and forget about the camera. The camera and all things lighting, angle, focus are his job. Your job is to be at ease. Ease is attractive, n'est pas?
Ease into the interaction like a bath.
It's hard to try when you are in a bath.
That's where we are perfectly at ease.