Ask Judith: Submission #23

Submission Number: 23
Submission ID: 107
Submission UUID: 8d7c6127-342c-4eb4-9117-6715f3422043
Submission URI: /web/ask-judith

Created: Mon, 04/10/2023 - 07:40 AM
Completed: Mon, 04/10/2023 - 07:40 AM
Changed: Tue, 12/26/2023 - 12:58 PM

Remote IP address: 75.164.30.27
Submitted by: Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No
Webform: Ask Judith
Submitted to: Ask Judith
Name Sasha
Email (optional) flickermaker@gmail.com
Question Hi Judith, I read your book 20 years ago and I know your teachings are in subconscious. It served me well in my guerrilla filmmaking. Thinking of starting an acting workshop for beginners/amateurs looking to get their actor's demo reels put together. It's an approach where I work with actors on material and also shoot/cut clips for their reels. One direction I drew from you in assembling this workshop concept was: if your demo reel doesn’t have an emotional event, it’ll stop the viewer from watching and that's it, you're passed over. I'm wondering if you agree or disagree with this and/or if you have any other tips on what makes for a remarkable demo reel? Directing Actors (in a demo reel). Thanks!
Reply
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  • “I am eternally grateful for your help.”

    TAIKA WAITITI, writer-director, JOJO RABBIT, THOR RAGNAROK, HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE, WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, BOY, EAGLE VS SHARK, FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS

  • “I took a seminar with an acting teacher named Judith Weston. I learned a key insight to character. She believed that all well-drawn characters have a spine, and the idea is that the character has an inner motor, a dominant, unconscious goal that they’re striving for, an itch that they can’t scratch. I took to this like a duck to water.”

    ANDREW STANTON [from his Feb 2012 TED Talk] writer-director, FINDING DORY, WALL-E, FINDING NEMO, A BUG’S LIFE; director, BETTER CALL SAUL, STRANGER THINGS; writer, TOY STORY, TOY STORY 2, TOY STORY 3

  • "Judith's method is wonderful because it is practical. She has given me numerous tools to solve problems on the set and to earn the trust of actors. Her classes and her book are invaluable resources to any director."

    LAWRENCE TRILLING, director, GOLIATH, RECTIFY, PARENTHOOD, MASTERS OF SEX, PUSHING DAISIES, DAMAGES, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, NIP/TUCK, MONK, SCRUBS, INVASION, ALIAS, FELICITY

  • "Thank you for teaching me how to direct actors. Taking your classes made me believe I could direct. Taking your classes gave me a base, a foundation, a framework to find my own style. To step out on faith. I'm forever grateful. Love and respect to you, magnificent Judith Weston." 

    AVA DuVERNAY, director, WHEN THEY SEE US, QUEEN SUGAR, A WRINKLE IN TIME, SELMA, SCANDAL, MIDDLE OF NOWHERE

  • "Everything you taught me was more than useful. I am deeply grateful."

    ALEJANDRO GONZÁLEZ IÑÁRRITU, director, THE REVENANT, BIRDMAN, BIUTIFUL, BABEL, 21 GRAMS, AMORES PERROS