directing children

LastSunsetFilms

LastSunsetFilms

I have to cast a young girl for my next short, age 6-11 probably. There will be a scene where she is kidnapped although I can work the scene so it's just showing her reaction as her kidnapper approaches.

Any advice for working with kids?


Do I get both the parent and kid to sign the actor release form? and does anyone have a simple release form i can use?


Here was the outcome.

http://youtu.be/nrcHsWbohx4?hd=1
 
Last edited:
Sort by date Sort by votes
If it's gonna be a long shoot, I recommend casting twins. Otherwise be sure to cluster all of the setups with the girl together, regardless of if it screws you a little later.

Having actual child actors makes a huge difference and you will thank yourself later. Those kids are like tiny adults, only more mature (the ones without crazy egos that is :P).

Have a parent there at all times to help with wardrobe and making sure the child is there when you need her.

Most importantly, treat her/them like adults. Don't talk down, kids are smarter than you'd think. Just be patient and kind like you would do with any other actors.

-My two cents :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Be affirming. Even on a bad take, say "That was great! This time let's try..."

Actually, that's good advice for most immature older actors as well haha. Can be intimidating with all the people on set and what not, no need to wreck self confidence with a bad remark. That will only mess up a future take.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I would really read up on this. Established directors use various techniques to get results. For instance, instead of asking them to appear concerned ask the child to do thier times table in thier head during the scene. For close-ups the results can be startling. I would also recommend that you introduce the child to some of the crew before the shoot in a relaxed and fun environment. That way, the child is not suddenly confronted with a lot of strangers. Furthermore, have plenty for the child to do between changing lighting set-ups etc. They get bored very easily.
Best of luck...!!!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I thought the best way would be to do all the kids scenes first even though it means a double trek round the forest. I'm pretty good with kids anyways, it's more the parents I'm worried about really. I got 10 applications this morning already, compared to the 14 all week for the other 4 grown up parts, I thought it would be harder to find a kid.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Waving a gun around helps.

I've actually never worked with children in films, but my experiences with working with children in a stage production of "To Kill a Mockingbird" were pretty interesting. The fourteen-year-old girl who played Scout was great to work with. The fourteen-year-old boy who played Jem, and the six-year-old boy who played Dill were nightmarish. They continuously brought rehearsals to a crawl (especially the six-year-old).

When the show opened they were fine, but there were some pretty weary moments during the six-weeks of rehearsals.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Well I cast a 7yr old, she has done some shorts before so I think it will be fine. I ended up with twice as many applicants for the one kids role than the four adult roles. This will be my biggest short to date, most cast, dialogue, hopefully I can pull it together :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Upvote 0 Downvote
Since I don't know what level of indie film you are, (meaning no budget and unknown volunteer actors or with budget and SAG actors) I can tell you what I did last year on my no-budget, volunteer extra production.

LastSunsetFilms said:
I thought the best way would be to do all the kids scenes first even though it means a double trek round the forest.
Click to expand...

Yes, get the kids out of the way first, especially if they haven't done this before. You will have to take more time with them and you can let your adult actors take more time going over lines and in costuming, etc.

If the kids are little, you said possibly a six year old, try to make it fun for them. If its a kidnapping, I'm assuming it will be a high drama scene, make it fun and okay to scream and kick or whatever you have them do. On my project, my kid actors were not actors, so I had to keep their interest and try to make it fun. I needed them to clap and sway back and forth. One kid got it, the other didn't. Try to keep up the energy and don't make too much of a deal if they get something wrong. Just ask them to do it over.

If the kid is older, you said eleven, they will probably understand what you want quicker and may give you good shots right off the bat.

Be clear on what you want, kids can lose interest quickly. Expect them to be kids and try not to get frustrated if they get it wrong. If you make it fun, they will probably have fun too.

On my project, we started out with 3 kids. One who was about four years old couldn't do what was necessary and his dad, the musician I was doing this for, took him out of the production. I didn't want to have any kids in the project, but he was paying for it so the kids stay in the production... with the exception of the four year old. But even when it wasn't working, I stayed "happy" and fun for the kids because if you don't, there's nothing to make them want to do it. (the other two were aged 6 and 8, also the musicians kids). Once it was over, everybody gave them a round of applause and I thanked them for their help and sent them on their way. No way they were going to stay there for the 12 hours it took us to shoot.

In the end, I was happy, they were happy, the musician was happy and the production was a success.

-- spinner :cool:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Don't do it, that's my advice. I, like everyone else, laughed at the Fields quote "Never work with children or animals", until I did both.

If you have to do a "teen" something, cast the youngest looking 18 year olds you can.


I shot a pilot with around 20 kids (all of them 11-17). It was a nightmare. The 11-13 year olds were best behaved (most nervous too, I'm sure). The 14-17 year olds were the pains in the ass, all they wanted to do was talk to each other. And I saw over 100 kids, the only ones that were decent were the loudmouths. But keep in mind the loudmouths are manageable, as long as you can keep giving them something to do.

It's really all about directing with kids, and not letting up. A kid is in one shot, but not the next? Ask them to assisst the boom operator, hold chords, something, so that kid doesn't take off when you're going to need them in 30 seconds for another shot.


Good child actors are really hard to find, but they're out there. I worked with a little girl, 9 years old, and I swear she was more focused, professional, and serious than any 21 year old actor I've ever worked with. Everyone on set was stunned at how good she was, and I'm sure she's doing bigger, better things now.

Just pay attention in casting. It might be worth it to take a kid that's not as good an actor, if they can take direction. A kid that can act well is useless if all they want to do is hang at the snack table and try to talk to all the girls on set.

So a careful casting eye, consistent direction, and a well organized set would be my 3 key recommendations for working with anyone under 18.

Working with 18-22, that's a whole other, bigger problem I've found. And people wonder why studios always just cast every role 30 and over.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Pretty interesting. Kudos, most Scottish films I watch I can't understand them at all. Irish and Scottish films are the hardest for Americans to understand, but I've gotta say you have that licked.

Well shot, interesting story. My main criticism would be you were far too relaxed with the pace. From 1:40-2:40 it's the same static shot. What they're saying is interesting, and the short as a whole is entertaining, you just have to be careful. Even if you would've covered the two of them talking, it would have sped up the pace a bit.

But I'm sure that wasn't a visual choice, it was probably practical, as moving the camera constantly is quite time consuming. If that's my biggest complaint though, I'd say you've done very well.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Infested Films said:
Pretty interesting. Kudos, most Scottish films I watch I can't understand them at all. Irish and Scottish films are the hardest for Americans to understand, but I've gotta say you have that licked.

Well shot, interesting story. My main criticism would be you were far too relaxed with the pace. From 1:40-2:40 it's the same static shot. What they're saying is interesting, and the short as a whole is entertaining, you just have to be careful. Even if you would've covered the two of them talking, it would have sped up the pace a bit.

But I'm sure that wasn't a visual choice, it was probably practical, as moving the camera constantly is quite time consuming. If that's my biggest complaint though, I'd say you've done very well.
Click to expand...

thank, i'm glad we have learned to speak english well enough for americans to understand :D

originally i planned to show the scene as she was telling the story but it didnt work out.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top