The Camera Never Lies: Getting Your Face Out: An Interview With Brenna McDonough, Author Of “You Can Work With The Camera”
Q: What type and how much camera work is available in the Washington, DC, Richmond, Baltimore, Philadelphia market?
A: There is a tremendous amount of work in this region on business and industrial training films. We have Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, and Richmond, all within a three hour drive. We don’t shoot as many commercials here as before, but that could change at any time. Many TV shows film their B-roles here, that is, the exterior shots of the Nation’s Capitol. Washington is a government city so they are not looking for glare and daze, they are looking for real people who can credibly communicate a message. The big stars don’t necessarily come out of this area, but there is a constant flow of work if one pursues it. You can work as an extra here and you can work as a director and nobody thinks about that. It is not a step down. I’ve never seen that in any other market.
Q: How do you get the camera to work?
A: Hit the market – get a good education, a good headshot, prepare your resume, and submit it. They will hire you to do little things first because people will test your skill. Good jobs will increase with your confidence level. The little things you do will turn into bigger things.
Q: Is there a difference between the skills needed for theater and those needed for camera work?
A: The skills are similar, all good performance requires honesty. It’s about internalizing the character and the conflict and creating an emotional life. Create in your head the environment of what you are about to do in your audition or for your role. It is not physical, it is 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 you see first. Some days you may not feel safe. This is an opportunity to remember something about yourself that makes you feel safe. Finish a marathon, be a great cook; It doesn’t have to be show business related, but it reminds you of a hit and that translates. Remember that the camera sees thoughts. Think of the good guys!
Q: How do you approach camera copying?
A: Just like you do with the theater. Who am I talking to? Where I am? Am I doing an activity? Am I delivering directly to the camera? What am I selling? What excites me? You will get in the habit of asking yourself those questions quickly.
Q: How much control do actors have over their careers?
A: Actors have great control over their careers. It is not on the whim of who you are calling. It’s going out and knowing what you want. Hope you do well in this industry, but don’t expect anyone to tell you. You will have to work hard and you will not achieve everything you do. But that can’t put you off. People can work in this industry full or part time and be successful at any age.
If after a year you do not get any work other than the free ones that you have invented, you need an objective evaluation. Get a mentor, someone in the business that you know and like, and who knows and likes you, and have an honest talk about what’s not working. Is it your head shot? Attitude? Haircut? Training? That ten or fifteen pounds? If your day job gets in the way of your dream, would you consider it tempting?
Q: How do you make an objective evaluation of yourself?
A: I don’t think people have a clear idea of what they really look like and I think that’s why people are so shocked when they see themselves on camera. In my classes, I emphasize the relationship with the camera, not how one looks on the camera. The relationship you have with the camera determines that they hire you. It sounds very cliché, but it is true, you have to imagine yourself talking to someone, you have to imagine that the camera is the face of a friend or relative. Once you’re hired to do a job, you’ll be groomed and looking great, but that’s not related 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 a few words at a time, look away, and go back to where you left off. It is not about blocking the TelePrompTer and looking at every 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 include 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 include Ear-Prompter on your resume, you are expected to have your own team and be excellent. I tell students who take my Ear-Prompter class not to put this on their resume until they have practiced four hours on their own with their own equipment.
Q: What do you think of the children in the business?
A: The kids in the business need training too, but they are hired to be kids so they don’t need a lot of polishing. I tell parents who enroll a child in my class that the children should enjoy the process. If a child does not feel like going to an audition that day, even though the parent said yes, we will be there, do not force your child to do so. Don’t let your dreams be your dreams. There’s no point dragging a screaming six-year-old to an audition. If you don’t want to be there, you will make everyone miserable and it will not go well for you. Kids do well when it’s their idea. They don’t do well when it’s just the parents’ idea. On the other hand, children reach an age where if they have committed to going to an audition that day, they have to show up. If teens say they want to do this and earn some money and you, as a parent, feel they have the discipline to keep going, be supportive. Kids in the business can do it well, but it’s a lot of work and they should know it.
Q: What do you think about taking jobs for experience?
A: Never work for nothing. That is bad policy. Actors are often poorly paid because that is what they accept. Non-union actors must establish their own payment plan. At first, you can do a few things for free, but you need to know when you graduated from that category. When that person calls again, even if you have worked for them in the past for a DVD copy, you must charge them. They can say no, but they can say yes. You have to be willing to bite the bullet and maybe not get that job, but you can graduate into another category as well.
ABOUT BRENNA MCDONOUGH
Brenna McDonough has worked on commercials and corporate videos in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles for more than 25 years. She grew up in a theatrical family with nine brothers and sisters, is married to actor John Leslie Wolfe and they have two children: Kate and Aidan.
Brenna McDonough and John Leslie Wolfe offer camera training and classes in Ear-Prompter, TelePrompTer, and Storytelling. They also offer one-on-one coaching for actors and models, and other professionals whose jobs require them to appear on camera. Brenna and John’s “You Can Work On Camera: Acting in Commercials and Corporate Films” (Heinemann) and John’s new book, “Great Sex Notes” (Source Books) are available at local bookstores.
http://www.oncameratraining.com
