The importance of a green screen acting course within the South African film acting curriculum

• Published in: South African theatre journal Vol. 30; no. 1-3; pp. 1 - 14
• Main Authors: Jacobs, Nicolaas H., Munro, Marth, Broodryk, Chris
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 02-09-2017; Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Acting; Actors; Blue screen; Cognitive neuroscience; Curricula; Film acting; Green screen; Imagination; Legacy systems; Magic if; Motion picture industry; Motion pictures; Neurosciences; Servers; Skill development; Special effects; Visual effects
• ISSN: 1013-7548; 2163-7660
• DOI: 10.1080/10137548.2017.1304238

South Africa's film and television industry is an important economic institution and it is crucial to invest in the skill development of the individuals involved in the industry. This investment includes the skills of the South African film actor who, due to the advent of digital visual effects, has to deal with a green screen environment in order to successfully portray a character in the diegetic reality of a film. The green screen limits the actor's stimuli, impedes his belief in the diegetic circumstances, and requires the actor to imagine and be congruent to elements not present while filming. This article offers possible approaches to a green screen acting strategy which should be incorporated in existing film acting courses. Based on existing acting strategies and cognitive neuroscience principles, we hypothesize that acting explorations can be developed into a green screen acting method. This will assist the South African actor in successfully traversing the green screen environment, and lead to an integrated cinematic experience.