For many years, I directed short films with my brothers, schoolmates, then I switched to working with other filmmakers.  We would make movies, being silly and doing the best we could in a role, but in a way, we never took it seriously and dedicated our life to it.  

That’s what actors do.  They dedicate their life to being able to reach emotions and express themselves as a living canvas.  They are the art that we watch in plays and movies.

People love stories, and we have an innate drive to learn as human beings with the brain wiring that we have.  One of the fastest ways we can learn is through stories.  Stories give us not only information, if provided, but we can hear about feelings and with actors, we can see what someone is feeling and in turn internalize that with our own empathy.  In this way we’re not only learning through words & thoughts, but also with emotions.  It’s the reason I love movies.  It’s why I crave to watch more.  It’s to learn more about humanity’s experience.  It’s why I love documentaries, but also narrative movies.

Narrative, or fiction movies, allow us to explore ideas with emotions, or recreate past truths with emotion.  We ask actors to embody certain ideas or certain people in sometimes unthinkable situations that none of us would choose to experience otherwise.  It’s a safe way to learn empathy, and connect our consciousness through others.

I know actors spend years putting themselves and practicing different emotions and learning to embody someone else.  I know a lot about technical aspects in film and I wouldn’t ask someone I don’t know who knows how to operate a camera, or animate, or other special skills to just work for free.  So I wanted to make sure I had money to at least compensate the actors for their expertise, in order to make my film better.  As the people who can earn money to act, likely are much better and have honed their craft for much longer.

But then, as a director, our job is to shape so many of these technical skilled collaborators into a story or idea we have in our head.  To translate and organize, to gather the team to rally around an idea.

I’ve listened to actors talk all the time.  They’re fun to listen to.  The best are famous, adored, talked about by friends who don’t even work in the field.  There are shows, like Inside the Actor’s Studio, dedicated to learning from the best.  I’ve tried acting here and there under other directors to understand the craft a bit more.

However, I knew directing, my least amount of experience was directing actors who were professionals.  I’ve been around other people doing it.  I studied, read books, but as we all know we at least feel like we learn most from doing as your weaknesses confront you in real time.  So what did I learn from directing my first short with professional actors?

The first thing is, despite famous acting techniques, like method acting, or improvisational comedy being famous.  In all genres, every actor has their own way of preparing for a role.  This may seem obvious, but you have to discover the actor’s method that they use and work with them.  You're molding them into something you and the actor want in the role.  Something you as the director feel comfortable with but also something the actor is comfortable with and will feel proud of when their performance is immortalized on screen.

This discovery begins in the casting process.  As many do, I had tapes sent in, and I filtered out people from their audition and choice on the part I was casting.  But from there I had so many amazing applicants left.  So I started to talk to them.  Interviewed them all over coffee or a call for an hour then had them perform again.  I had my writer and collaborator help me decide who was right for the lead.

From there we asked the lead actress to help us in some of the casting decisions as well, because the lead actress would be working the most with the other actors.  We wanted the people we chose to be compatible with her as well.

From there, we had our cast, a small five person cast for a short movie.  Next read Part 2 regarding rehearsal.

Writer’s biography

As a Director, Justin Joseph Hall evokes emotions and spurs new thoughts through fiction and non-fiction works.  Artist & the City (2021), his docu-series on creative careers, won 6 awards including the Audience Award for Best Series at YoFiFest.  Prologue (2020) is a surreal exploration of relationships and miscommunication winning Best of Awards at Manhattan Film Festival and Worldfest Houston International Film Festival.  He’s currently editing his first feature Frames of Reference, an education adventure encountering an addict teacher, a cowgirl, outlaws, transgender studies, & kids with guns.