multiple roles in a movie

D

dvdguy

Hey everybody,

Since Im doing a no-budget short and since I wont be paying my actors, I noticed they're not giving their full potential which is understandably logical, however...

What if I decided to do all the roles? Dress up differently so they barely notice it's actually me in disguise and with a different voice depending on the role, althought that would probably take a lot of hard work, but atleast I'll be doing exactly what I have envisioned for my short movie. Isnt that what really matters?

I mean...take a look at "Norbit" for example..Eddie Murphy plays 3 roles if I remember correctly - Norbit, his wife and that old chinese dude. BUT... what really intrigues me is how did he manage to make them appear at the same time? .. did he use a double or something? A bit confusing. What do you think?

How can I pull it off?
 
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dvdguy said:
... so they barely notice it's actually me in disguise and with a different voice depending on the role, althought that would probably take a lot of hard work, but atleast I'll be doing exactly what I have envisioned for my short movie.
Click to expand...
Entirely depends upon A: the roles themselves, and B: how you shoot it.

Check out this post of a scene breakdown which suggests that all the characters may not have been on the set simultaneously.
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=188735#post188735
No actual two shots.
Just gotta utilize a cohort's shoulder (one of those sub-standard actors might manage this). :lol:

GL!


Ray
 
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rayw said:
Entirely depends upon A: the roles themselves, and B: how you shoot it.

Check out this post of a scene breakdown which suggests that all the characters may not have been on the set simultaneously.
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=188735#post188735
No actual two shots.
Just gotta utilize a cohort's shoulder (one of those sub-standard actors might manage this). :lol:

GL!


Ray
Click to expand...

Hey Ray,

Thanks for the reply, I already checked out the post but cant seem to help with my question. However, could you please explain more on A and B, especially B. I mean..
Do they shoot the scenes with the same actor at different times and then join the footage so it seems theyre actually talking to each other in the frame?

If there was only some video of an explanation or some tutorial, that would be great!
 
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I love the idea. I would love to see a movie like that. Of
course there are many challenges but if you are a good
enough actor and good enough at make up and costuming
to disguise yourself it could be an excellent movie.

dvdguy said:
Since Im doing a no-budget short and since I wont be paying my actors, I noticed they're not giving their full potential which is understandably logical,
Click to expand...
This isn't logical. What this means is you have used actors
who do not have a work ethic and do not care. Even when
you do not pay actors, good ones work to their full potential.
Only bad, lazy actors will not work ti their full potential if they
are not getting paid.

dvdguy said:
How can I pull it off?
Click to expand...
You set up your camera; getting a full shot of (for example) a
table with three chairs. You dress in costume One, sit in one
of the chairs and do all the dialogue. Then you dress in costume
Two, sit in one of the other chairs and do all the dialogue of that
character. Do it one more time.

Then in your editing program you layer them on top of each other
and mask out the parts you don't want until it looks like all three
characters are sitting at the table.
 
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Modern Day Myth Prod. LLC said:
Do you have a crew? Will you be a one man cast and crew? You're better off having someone shoot for you.
Click to expand...

I'm more of a one man cast and crew, since the people I wanted to act arent really portraying what I was hoping for, so I decided to do it myself so thats why Im asking. Regarding getting someone as a camera man, thats no problem. :)

I really wish someone could elaborate on the whole process of shooting like that.

@Directoric - I cannot thank you enough for the reply :) If something comes up, hope you dont mind answering more. Thanks!
 
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directorik said:
I love the idea. I would love to see a movie like that. Of
course there are many challenges but if you are a good
enough actor and good enough at make up and costuming
to disguise yourself it could be an excellent movie.


This isn't logical. What this means is you have used actors
who do not have a work ethic and do not care. Even when
you do not pay actors, good ones work to their full potential.
Only bad, lazy actors will not work ti their full potential if they
are not getting paid.


You set up your camera; getting a full shot of (for example) a
table with three chairs. You dress in costume One, sit in one
of the chairs and do all the dialogue. Then you dress in costume
Two, sit in one of the other chairs and do all the dialogue of that
character. Do it one more time.

Then in your editing program you layer them on top of each other
and mask out the parts you don't want until it looks like all three
characters are sitting at the table.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply Directoric!

First, when you said "Do it one more time" - did you mean repeat the scenes? Whats the repetition for? :)

And also..what did you mean by mask out parts I dont want? Dont seem to understand that quite :D

Thanks again!

EDIT: I forgot to mention one little problem I might run into later...
When shooting outside I wont have much control over lighting since the sun will be my key light :) That means the shadows are going to be moving. Wont that turn out weird (shadows in different places, multiple shadows etc, overlapping) in my short or is there a tweak to this? Is this an example where I can "mask out parts?" ..
 
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dvdguy said:
Thank you for the reply Directoric!

First, when you said "Do it one more time" - did you mean repeat the scenes? Whats the repetition for? :)
Click to expand...
In my example I mentioned three chairs at the table - one
for each actor. Rather than write out what you should do for
character Three I shortened it to "Do it one more time." Sorry
about that. What I meant was - Then you dress in costume
Three, sit in one of the other chairs and do all the dialogue of that
character. The reason for the repetition is you need to shoot all
three characters that will be in the final shot.

If you only have two characters in the shot you will only need to
shoot it twice. If you have four different characters you will need
to shoot all four.

dvdguy said:
And also..what did you mean by mask out parts I dont want? Dont seem to understand that quite :D
Click to expand...
When you layer the three characters in your editing software you will
see what I mean. The short version of a complicated process: Only the
top layer (the first one) will be visible and the next layers will not be seen.
So you will "mask" of the parts of the top layer to show the second layer
(and second character). You will do that with layer two to show the part
of layer three (and third character).

If you do not have editing software that allows layers then you cannot
do this. As far as I know, all the good ones allow this but I have limited
experience with most software.

Doing this will not be easy. But you know that. So you should give it a
try - just you, at a table saying the lines. No costumes, no make up. Put
the footage into your editing program and try it.

dvdguy said:
EDIT: I forgot to mention one little problem I might run into later...
When shooting outside I wont have much control over lighting since the sun will be my key light :) That means the shadows are going to be moving. Wont that turn out weird (shadows in different places, multiple shadows etc, overlapping) in my short or is there a tweak to this? Is this an example where I can "mask out parts?" ..
Click to expand...
Doing this outside without control of lighting create exactly the problem you
mention. You have a LOT of work cut out for you. I look forward to seeing
how you overcome these challenges!
 
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directorik said:
In my example I mentioned three chairs at the table - one
for each actor. Rather than write out what you should do for
character Three I shortened it to "Do it one more time." Sorry
about that. What I meant was - Then you dress in costume
Three, sit in one of the other chairs and do all the dialogue of that
character. The reason for the repetition is you need to shoot all
three characters that will be in the final shot.

If you only have two characters in the shot you will only need to
shoot it twice. If you have four different characters you will need
to shoot all four.


When you layer the three characters in your editing software you will
see what I mean. The short version of a complicated process: Only the
top layer (the first one) will be visible and the next layers will not be seen.
So you will "mask" of the parts of the top layer to show the second layer
(and second character). You will do that with layer two to show the part
of layer three (and third character).

If you do not have editing software that allows layers then you cannot
do this. As far as I know, all the good ones allow this but I have limited
experience with most software.

Doing this will not be easy. But you know that. So you should give it a
try - just you, at a table saying the lines. No costumes, no make up. Put
the footage into your editing program and try it.


Doing this outside without control of lighting create exactly the problem you
mention. You have a LOT of work cut out for you. I look forward to seeing
how you overcome these challenges!
Click to expand...

Regarding the software, I use Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects etc. I hope they will do.

Thanks Directoric!! :D I'll do my best. I love challenges.
 
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I remember the challenge of just doing two characters (one person playing them) sitting on a couch at the end of most recent short (which I am STILL awaiting the soundtrack ;) )-they were both disguised and masked. Doing more than that would be an interesting challenge!

I HAVE played around with doing 4 characters, all masked, played by one person-so I too look forward to what you discover if you chose this route (note-if anything like mine, a lot of garbage matte and you''' be using green screen, which I am attempting to figure out how to do properly)

I look forward to your endeavors!
 
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Even though I actually won best actor at a festival 2 weeks ago for my performance as the lead in my last film I'll never act in my own movie again. The directoral mistakes I made I can all trace back to having my attention divided between acting and directing.
 
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dvdguy said:
What if I decided to do all the roles? Dress up differently so they barely notice it's actually me in disguise and with a different voice depending on the role, althought that would probably take a lot of hard work, but atleast I'll be doing exactly what I have envisioned for my short movie. Isnt that what really matters?
Click to expand...

You should check out Ms. Divine & her no-budget show. It airs on cable access tv, and of course the YT:

http://www.youtube.com/msdivine

She is a one-woman sketch comedy show, performing all of the characters. Most episodes are typically one or two characters, but there are many where she does several characters. In one movie-length show (Bank Heist), she has all of her characters involved. Her musicals can be a bit painful; not a great singer.

Personally, I think she's brilliant... and possibly a bit nuts. :lol:
 
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Okay heres the update of my clip: View My Video

Sorry about the length, there were too many keyframes to be dealth with (the whole masking process) frame by frame etc. I'm thinking of using a greenscreen, should I overlap. Or maybe I'll just try to avoid too much overlapping cause without a greenscreen it can be quite painful in post. :)
 
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Looks good.

Is this something you can do for a 5 to 10 minute short film?
Do you still think this will be easier than finding two actors who
will work for free?
 
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directorik said:
Looks good.

Is this something you can do for a 5 to 10 minute short film?
Do you still think this will be easier than finding two actors who
will work for free?
Click to expand...

Yes I believe its possible if I follow a few guidelines like: - Dont make too many overlapping scenes (or get a green screen to avoid overlap or even simpler: keying out the color in post).

Theres only one troubling area im working on right now....Prosthetics. Im gathering all the stuff so I can create a mask. It might take a while, but Im confident in the final result :) .

It wont be easier, but in my opinion, it will be worth it :D ... I've actually planned it out and am thinking of pulling it off.
 
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