This is not taught in film school: Tom Cruise explained the secret of great actors
Kyiv • UNN
Actor Tom Cruise emphasized the importance of actors understanding lighting, technology and other aspects of filmmaking. He created a 6-hour video for film school.
American actor Tom Cruise, receiving a fellowship from the British Film Institute (via the Times of London), called on young actors to study the craft of filmmaking. The A-list actor lamented film schools for not teaching aspiring actors the tools of production and filmmaking technology, as it is important for all actors to know about lighting, camera blocking, etc., UNN writes, citing Variety.
Details
For Cruise, being a good film actor goes beyond just acting.
It's important to understand the tools around you. There are technologies. It's like understanding a scene as an actor, but many artists are not taught this in film school: how to understand the lens and what it can do, why eye movement happens and recognize its effect
He stressed that for effective filming, actors must understand how lighting is done. Cruise recalled that the famous Marlon Brando was always attentive to the play of light.
I always tell actors: spend time in the editing room, shoot a film, study old films, recognize what the composition gives you, know what lenses are, understand lighting and how to use it to your advantage. Understand the art form to that extent. Brando absolutely understood lighting; all the great actors understood
He is so adamant about actors learning the filmmaking craft that he created his own six-hour video for film school to showcase prospective actors. Cruise's "Top Gun: Maverick" co-star Glen Powell told GQ UK last year that he had the opportunity to watch all six hours of the video alone in a movie theater.
He said: "It's only for my friends. In the video, Cruise says something like: "Do we all agree that this is what a camera is? Here's the difference between a film camera and a digital camera..." The funniest thing is the flights. He kind of put together a whole flight school. So he was literally saying, "Okay, this is what an airplane is. That's how everything flies. That's how air pressure works."
He added that Cruise also told him that in order for a film to become a global hit, it must "telegraph universal emotions" and "touch on anxieties that everyone can relate to."
Cruise's next studio hit will be his latest film in the "Mission: Impossible" series: Dead Reckoning", which will be released in US cinemas on May 23.
Addition
Tom Cruise spent over $11,000 to fly his girlfriend Ana de Armas to London's Heathrow Airport by private helicopter. The actor wanted to show Anya how well he can treat her.