They are all I can watch lately. Just finished watching Tony Kaye's "Lake Of Fire" and I feel like I've learned more about acting than watching Doubt in the theaters. To watch people model opposites, making discoveries, covering up their vulnerabilities with power, etc. in real time just seems like an incredible teaching for an actor. Of course I'm not implying I didn't learn a lot from watching Meryl's performance, but I feel like I'm getting something different and sort of raw from watching real people go through these huge emotional situations. Anybody else feel this way, or want to explain their experience with documentaries and what it brings to their process?

I've seen people allude to an old thread about watching doc's, I guess this will be the new one.

Also, I wasn't quite sure if this should live here or in The Working Actor or somewhere else - the subject matter definitely inspires me and I wanted to hear everyone's take - maybe it will evolve out of this sub-forum's topic

I love documentaries...and agree they can strengthen your acting world. Watching and observing real life is always a good trait...and documentaries do this!!

A fav of mine is "Hand on a Hardbody," about a contest to win a truck. This is a powerfull, hilarious and heartbreaking test of endurence that you get to be part of. A classic. Real eccentric characters and everyday folks...all after the same goal. A great mediation on 'Survival of the Fittest".

Another fantasic one, particularly for actors, is "Confessions of A Superhero." anyone in LA would automatically get a kick out of this. Its about those guys on Hollywood Blvd. who dress as characters for tips. It goes through their ups and downs, highs and lows of these fringe types fight just to survive. And most of them are wanna-be actors...and a couple get to be by the movies end.

n a similar note, 'A Fistfull of Quarters" might be my all time favorite. Its about a Donky Kong competition. hilarious, heartbreaking and filled with heroes, villians, betrayal and comedy. You will not believe this movie. You will cheer for the good guys and outright boo for the bad. An unbelievable film in every way.

How does consuming these movies affect my process? I honestly don't know. I don't know what affects my process and what doesn't. But I do try and watch a variety of differnt movies, as many as time allows useually. Documentaries, fictional films...good and bad...all help you reach your goal by at least letting you be aware of what's out there, but in the best cases seeing how others have managed to move your soul...and applying that to your work.

A friend of mine and I were in a piano bar, one we frequent just to sit and talk...and virtually ignore the piano bar thingie (and singers).

And over time, we saw that the same people would participate, month after month.

We could see they devoted huge amounts of resources to preparing (lyrics downloaded to Blackberries, etc.). We saw there is a huge culture built around the piano bar community -- where community people come to be stars singing famous songs around the piano. Such characters!

So he took off with the idea. He got money to make a documentary, and it's in the works. This friend of mine is rather very well known, so money drops from heaven whenever he has an idea.

It's fascinating. Great thread...

The more we know about humanity, the more expanded our library of "choices" is when we act -- mostly unconsciously.

Actors are probably 90% hacks, 10% inspired -- even the best. What I mean is, we steal gestures from anyone and everyone, from everywhere.

By gestures, I mean vocalizations, physicalizations, imaginations. I also mean fantasies, values, emotional make-ups, etc. All this falls under the umbrella of Archetypes.

Actors are Archetype Masters. Actors are professional tape recorders, when it comes to the world. We are always observing and recording. And we unconsciously, or consciously, call on this library of humanity whenever we act -- if we're doing it well.

- Jason

It really comes down to two things, I think:

- Watching people, any place, any way
- Story

The wonderful thing about some documentaries is how a story just emerges from found moments, and watching that reminds us that story isn't just a screenwriter's construction, the elements of character, conflict and revelation exist in real life as well (and I mean, unprompted real life, not the contrived "reality" of a reality show.)

They also give us the opportunity to watch people for a prolonged period in an up close way. Sometimes they're endearing, sometimes they're off-putting, but either way we get them in concentrated form.

Conveniently, there are so many documentaries on so many subjects these days, an actor doing research on a specific milieu can probably find source material on it in some documentary somewhere.

But really it's just a particular case of the general observation of people which is a fundamental part of an artist's life. As Henry James admonished young writers:

quote:

"Try to be one of the people on whom nothing is lost!"

The Art of Fiction

Lots of great responses, thanks. Harlemhippo I will check out your recommendations.

And I agree that watching documentaries really adds to your library of choices.

quote:

The wonderful thing about some documentaries is how a story just emerges from found moments, and watching that reminds us that story isn't just a screenwriter's construction, the elements of character, conflict and revelation exist in real life as well (and I mean, unprompted real life, not the contrived "reality" of a reality show.)

In some respect's I agree with you here Jim, but isn't the story that emerges in a documentary also a construction of the filmmaker? Of course in a documentary like "Lake Of Fire" there are threads of "stories" running throughout but its really Tony Kaye who shapes all of the "character, conflict and revelation" into a larger narrative.