How to direct child actors

Tips for Working with Child Actors on a Film or Video Set

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Will you be working with child actors on your next film or video production? Read these tips before diving in.

Cover image via Shutterstock.

As a filmmaker, even working with professional actors sometimes can be tough. Working with kids and child actors, on the other hand, can be a downright challenge. They can be on top of the world one moment, then sobbing the next. Nonetheless, child actors bring a lot of opportunities to your set.

If you have the exciting task of working with kids on an upcoming film project, here are six pieces of advice to heed to keep your sanity.

1. Keep Them Engaged

Image from The Goonies via Warner Bros.

When your child actors arrive on set, it’s up to you to get them comfortable, set up, and energized. For some, it may be a traumatizing experience being on set and in front of a camera — with the entire crew staring at you. You need to be hyper-aware of their feelings and engaged enough to get them to trust what you need them to do.

2. Hide Your Frustrations

Image from Stranger Things via Wikipedia.

In some ways, kids are extremely emotionally intelligent. Maybe not with themselves, but they can pick up on frustration and annoyance very easily. And filmmaking is a very frustrating and (at times) annoying craft. It’s very important to make sure you or the person dealing with the kids can block or hide all frustrations and feed nothing but positive energy their way.

3. Be Aware of Their Needs

Image from Little Boy via Open Road Films.

Kids are like anyone else: they need all the basic amenities like food, water, and bathroom relief. With kids, the needs are simply more intense. Their blood sugar can spike or drop quickly, and a nagging thirst can be a huge distraction. Be overly prepared with your craft services department and other facilities.

4. Work in Short Spurts

Image from Where the Wild Things Are via Warner Bros.

Acting on camera can be mentally draining, especially for kids. It takes a huge amount of focus and energy for most people, so for kids it can be exhausting. Be prepared to work in short spurts and take lots of breaks. Filmmaking necessitates lots of resets for moving cameras and setting shots, so be prepared to maximize your child actors’ breathers.

5. Minimize Standing Around Time

Image via Oxigeno Film & TV.

That being said, giving them too much time to disconnect or get bored can be a bad thing. Long resets, which can sometimes last well over a few minutes to an hour, can be more than enough time for your child actors to lose interest. Give them a chance to relax, but keep someone nearby to keep them engaged and ready to jump into the next shot.

6. Try Mimicking Instead of Acting

Image from Little Miss Sunshine via Fox Searchlight.

Monkey see, monkey do is a good game here. You might be disappointed to learn that kids aren’t always great at reading scripts and making motivated performance decisions. It can be far easier, and more fun, to show them exactly what you want them to do and say, then have them try to repeat it back — especially if you can make a game of it.

Additionally, here are some more resources to consider before working with child actors on set.

4 Tips on Working with Kids and Animals on a Film Set
Advice on Directing Children
20 Things NOT To Do When Working with Children
The Legal Side of Working With Children in Films

Working With Child Actors — Zach Daulton

As a filmmaker I've frequently heard one thing after directing a shoot with a child actor, particularly if things did not go well that day.

"You know what they say, never work with kids or animals."

I think we have all probably heard this a couple times after a rough shoot. I can't speak much for animals, but I actually really like working with kids on set! They have such powerful imaginations and bring a new life...as long as things go well.

Last year I directed kid actors for brands like LEGO, Syfy, Green Giant, Little Remedies and have learned so much along the way about how to get the best performances out of children. Hopefully through my years of experience, my advice can prevent some future headaches and misery that come along with directing kids on set. (For this post, I will mostly be relating back to a music video I directed that can be seen below.)

FIND THE RIGHT KID

Seem obvious? Sure, but this obvious step never gets the attention it deserves. For some reason filmmakers tend to take child actors less seriously and apply that same attitude to the casting process. Usually we just grab the closest kid we know and hope for the best without giving it too much thought. Sometimes if you work with a talent agency you get a series of headshots and just pick the kid who has the right look. Although this seems normal enough, this is where the trouble begins. So how do you find the right kid?

Anytime I cast talent (child or adult) I always ask to see their reel and most recent work. If they don’t have something strong to show, I ask them to record a personality reel or audition for the project. This might seem like a lot of work for them, but it’s really telling of how they (and their parents) will be to deal with on set. Prompt parents who take this request seriously will most likely be the most pleasant to work with and more willing to help wrangle their child should they need to. If at all possible, hold auditions to see how they perform, comfort level, and how well they listen. Give more attention and scrutiny to casting children than you would a normal role.

This music video was a little different, we were able to skip the whole casting process and use a band member’s son. Did we have a back up incase things didn’t go as planned? Of course. Because his parents were invested in the outcome of the music video, they were able to work with him at home, help guide him on set, and had 6 years of being raised by genre and nostalgia fans making him the perfect fit for this project. Sometimes, although rare, the perfect kids falls in your lap.

MANAGE EXPECTATIONS

Although this can be applied to almost any situation, I believe this is the root cause to the “never work with kids or animals” saying. Kids do not think or act the same way as adults, so don’t expect them to on set. They take much longer to settle in and get comfortable to a new environment and around new people. Don’t rush them. Make sure you build in more time in the schedule than you think you’ll need when shooting with kids. They usually require a lot more direction and clarification on what to do and need frequent breaks. Don’t create the same schedule you would for adults. You’re setting yourself up for failure, stress on set, and risking upsetting your young talent.

Beyond logistic, you have to also know what kind of emotional range your talent has and never try to push them past that unless you want a phony performance. Once you identify your young actor’s strengths, play to those and adapt the script so it feels more natural for them. Constantly set them up for success and realize that with children you will never get the performance you have in your head, so be willing to adjust to their needs. Want them to cry and scream in a believable way? Probably not going to happen, so think of some other acceptable ways that scene could play out and have those ideas ready.

Plenty of setups got scrapped before shooting because it became clear that I was asking too much from our talent, but fortunately we were able to think of alternative and acceptable options for our scenes. I had planned a couple long takes that, without proper rehearsal time, and was unrealistic to expect from a child.

BUILD A RELATIONSHIP

Watch the behind the scenes of ET: The Extra Terrestrial (or any Spielberg movie) if you want to watch a master work. He is goofy, playful, and knows how to interact as a friend and never belittling to children. Completely inspired by Spielberg, I have discovered my own methodology for building a friendship with each young actor I work with.

When they arrive on set, I always drop everything I am doing to spend time with them, talk with them, try to make them laugh, and anything else I can do to let them know that I am a friend and will protect them through the production process. As soon as you can gain a young actor’s trust, they will be more likely to listen to you and less likely to get overwhelmed and upset on location. Kids can be very emotional in new and scary environments, let them know they have a friend and a team mate.

On the music video shoot I directed an amazing 6 year old kid in the lead role. People on set were understandably worried. “Hopefully this kid doesn’t lose steam halfway through the day and give up on us.” However, I had a lot of faith in him because I had time to develop a friendship with him. The day before the shoot I was able to meet him without a crew around in our location to go over every scene. This was invaluable to our shooting day. He came in comfortable, excited, and ready to go! Because we had a rehearsal the night before, he didn’t need as much time to warm up to me or this scary new environment. He and I worked as a team on each scene. He would give me his input and I let him try anything he wanted as long as I knew we got at least one take of what I wanted. I was someone he liked, trusted, and would listen to. (Watch the “making of” video below)

POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT

Like every shoot, you will want multiple takes of the same shot, rework scenes, and make technical errors causing you to do another take. Most children don’t realize that adults can make mistakes. So what happens when they have to do the same thing over and over again? They begin to start thinking “what did I do wrong?” and “I’m not doing this good enough.” It is extremely important that you explain the process before you shoot and always accept the blame for any mistake that happens so they don’t assign it to themselves.

After every take, tell them they did a great job before you give notes and then give notes in a way that doesn’t make them feel like they did something wrong. “That was great! Want to try one where you’re a little more scared?” Try to avoid any sort of negative framing of a sentence. “No, this time I need you act a little more scared.” This might seem like small details but it will go a long way in always making sure your talent is emotionally protected.

I always try to let them know what I am doing upfront so they don’t end up unintentionally assigning blame to themselves. “Hey, we’re going to do this scene probably 3 or 4 times and I’m going to have you do some different stuff because I don’t know what I want yet.” By doing that, you’re relieving the burden of performing perfectly from them and will reduce the stress caused by multiple takes.

Anytime you have to shoot another take because of a technical error, make sure you let them know! If not, they will continue to think they are doing something wrong. I will also frequently blame myself or crew member for “messing up” if I want another take from a child and try to sneak in a note before we start again. As much as I love the crew I work with, I am willing to throw them under the bus to a child so our day can run smoothly. Sorry, guys.

Ultimately remember that as a director, you set the tone on set. If you want to work with kids or have kids in your scene, remember to keep things light and fun. Kids are like sponges and will soak up whatever vibe they can sense in the air. Be their friend, set them up for success, and have fun being on set!

If you have a project that involves child actors and need a director, please feel free to reach out! I work with production companies, agencies, businesses, and non-profits to help them get the results they want through powerful storytelling.

Zach DaultonMarch 18, 2019commercial, filmmaking, kids, directing, directing child actors2 Comments

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Do not lie on the edge: how children are filmed and how ethical it is

The Dow project is bulldozing through the post-Soviet space, opening up its unhealed wounds, becoming the reason for criminal lawsuits and fierce duels of film critics. Children from Ukrainian orphanages aged from three months to six months starred in "Dau", and violence could be used against them.

Actually, around this debate flares up: what is considered violence? After all, the criteria for adult actors are not applicable to children, especially younger ones. What is the established practice of shooting babies in world cinema?

From the hospital to the set

Predictably, the most developed body of legislation governing the rights of actors is in the United States, the country where children's films began to develop earlier and most dynamically. The rules vary from state to state, but the most effective system tends to be in California (the first law regulating the labor of child actors was passed there in 1929). To get into the frame, the child must be at least 15 days old (in Britain, for example, there is no such restriction, even immediately from the hospital to the set).

How do they get there? After all, you need to be a very obsessive parent in order to start making a star out of a child from the very first hours of his life. This is done by hunters from special agencies for finding young talents, such as Jam2000. The most desirable clients for them are twins (and triplets): firstly, they can replace each other (children can be on set for no more than five hours a day and work for half an hour with breaks). Secondly, they tend to be more slender than normal children (without siblings). Why is it good? Yes, because the camera does not spare anyone and throws weight even on babies. In the frame, they look 1.5–2 kg heavier than they really are. So, twins can replace each other, but sometimes the opposite happens - one child plays two at once, like, for example, Aidan Barton, who in Star Wars. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith "played both Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia.

If a child is involved in the filming process, then the shooting day is built around him: line producers try to avoid even the slightest delay (minutes count), the child arrives on the set in a car paid for by the film company along with his parents. Throughout the filming, a mentor (chaperone) was assigned to him.

But perhaps the most key person on set at this point is "baby wrangler". This is a medium between a director who wants to shoot the perfect scene and an unaware child . The main question that the viewer asks when he sees a crying child in the frame: how to make a child cry? Is a good shot worth a child's tear ?

No. The tears of one child are not enough. Baby wrangler stands behind the camera and cries himself to set off a chain reaction in him. By the way, this is another proof that people are programmed to show empathy. Of all the ways to make a child cry, this one is the most humane: earlier, for example, for this they made some kind of loud unpleasant sound or directed a spotlight at the baby. Times are changing, and thank God.

Due to the high cost and complexity of filming children, props often resort to using jelly baby — mechanical baby mannequins. At first, these were quite primitive dolls - remember, for example, how unconvincing the child in "American Sniper" looks - but over time they became more realistic: they weigh like real children, the texture resembles the delicate skin of a child, they can move their arms, legs, even blink. Robot kids cost a few hundred dollars a week, though still cheaper than child actors.

Naturally, young children should not be involved in filming at dangerous sites, such as construction sites. In the well-known American B-movie titled Baby Walking, baby Adam Robert Wharton and Jacob Joseph Wharton (starring) were replaced by midget actor Verne Troyer (who, by the way, was not listed in the credits).

Psychology of the little actor

In addition to safety and comfort, the following question arises: how to work with a child actor? How not to damage his psyche? Interesting that one of the first to ask this question was the Russian director and screenwriter Margarita Barskaya , who made an unconditional masterpiece of children's cinema (or "children's films", as they used to say then) - "Ragged Shoes" 1933. Barskaya left many notes and analytical reports in which she discussed how best to work with children. The main thing, she believed, was to turn interaction with the child into an exciting game for him. Build personal contact: “In my room, everything can be touched, everything can be rearranged, everything can be turned over. Children came, brought others with them, played for hours in my room. Here I made the first recordings of observations of a child in a completely natural environment for him, when he acts at ease, performs actions of his own free will.

One should not put pressure on a child and forget that he is a child: “In no case is it wrong and one should not rely on the professionalization of a child in cinema. Back in 1928-1929, when I took up this issue closely, we knew that in America, having discovered some child prodigy, film merchants mold as many tapes as possible in order to have time to get as much profit as possible until the child grows up . In American and Western industry, this situation has been preserved to this day.

Barskaya was absolutely right about the United States: the fundamental document protecting the rights of child actors, the Coogan Act, is named after the actor Jackie Coogan (Baby, Oliver Twist, Daddy), whose parents squandered all their earnings them money. After Coogan's lawsuit with his own mother, in 1939 a law was passed according to which the parents of "star" children had to transfer 15% of their income to a special account, access to which would be received only by the children themselves and only after they reached 18 years of age.

Another icon of the 1930s who became a household name is the actress Shirley Temple. The cheerful, curly-haired baby, writes John Casson, author of The Little Girl Who Helped Overcome the Great Depression, had enormous trust capital and was rather brazenly used by politicians (in particular, Franklin Roosevelt) for their own purposes. And not only politicians: she actually saved 20th Century Fox from bankruptcy and advertised a dozen more brands - from dolls to cookies. Is it ethical to use children in political and marketing campaigns, because they do not understand and cannot fully understand their meanings? Is it enough to simply ensure their safety on the site and keep their fees?

For a long time, the opportunity to become a child actor was seen as a privilege all over the world. “Child actors are much more connected with their emotions than ordinary children,” a Los Angeles-based New York Times child psychologist quotes in a 1984 article. At the same time, the responsibility for his emotional (and physical) health rested entirely with the parent. Child actors were compared to Olympic athletes, whose success also largely depends on the efforts of their parents.

Some became addicted to this job (and no wonder, because that's all they knew from childhood). For example, Mickey Rooney, who is all 19The 30s played resourceful tomboys, and upon returning from the front of the Second World War, he could not regain his former success (although he continued to play for another half a century), he said: “If I had not played from an early age, I don’t know what I would did. Unless you pray every day. I couldn't live without it."

Andrea Darvey, author of Pretty Kids: An Inside Look at the World of Hollywood Little Stars, compares the system in place in Hollywood by the 1970s to an assembly line in a Detroit car factory. “A year in California alone, hundreds, thousands of licenses are issued to child actors. How many of them become stars? she reasonably asks.

Child actor forever

In 2020, Renée Zellweger won the Academy Award for Best Actress in her biopic Judy, which, as you might guess, tells about Judy Garland, an example of a child actor with a broken fate. It is interesting that the English term child actor is used not only in relation to child actors, but also to adults who once were them: such is the semantic hint that this is a good way to reshape the psyche once and for all. Judy Garland, the American cutie star of The Wizard of Oz, was the victim of directorial abuse, and the trauma (as amply shown in Judy) stayed with her for life.

Linda Blair, who starred in The Exorcist at age 12, said that after filming she "was never the same again." In the famous scene in the bedroom, where she spent the entire shift in one nightgown, the temperature was artificially lowered to zero degrees (so that steam would come out of her mouth), and to depict convulsions, the actress was tied to the bed with belts that painfully beat on her back. This is how often the experience of young actors results in the fact that they then have to "exorcise the devil" all their lives.

In books for future producers, they like to joke: "Avoid children in the frame more than anything else. " It's easier to blow up half a city than to shoot a short scene with a baby. For many directors, this is also a personal emotional threshold - treating young children as paid employees, a function, seems difficult for them. Such is the endless dialogue (or dispute) between ethics and art.

We at ADME found out how child actors and their stage parents live, and what this lifestyle can lead to.

What a stage mom is willing to sacrifice to get her child to achieve the desired results

© AP / East News, © AP / East News stay at home and read a book. The roles that the girl received were the cause of her discord with her peers, who were desperately jealous of her and therefore hated her. “Everything revolved around my mom. She really wanted me to successfully pass the auditions. When I failed them, I felt unworthy.”

The head of a child talent agency describes these mothers like this: “Imagine a bossy woman who teaches directors to lead, solicits various benefits for herself, and makes a child play even if he doesn’t want to. ”

For children to succeed and master acting, their parents are ready to go to great lengths. One mother skipped her grandmother's funeral without hesitation for the audition, and another brought her 3-year-old daughter to the audition. She was shy and did not pass the casting. The organizer asked them to return in six months. When the mother and the girl left, he saw through the window how the woman said menacingly to the baby: “If you don’t go back there now and win, the clowns will come for you!” The child burst into tears, but returned and trembled at the audition like an aspen leaf.

There are also reverse situations. If a child falls into a stupor or is confused, some mothers, without thinking twice, run to help him. An American woman did this when her daughter suddenly forgot the words to a song at a school talent contest. The scene was captured on video, which instantly went viral.

Women are driven to this by their own unfulfilled dreams

The stage mother manages both the professional and personal life of the child. It is believed that the main reason for such total control is one's own unfulfilled desires. For example, the mother of the above-mentioned Masha Godkin herself wanted to be an actress, but it did not work out. For some reason, the woman decided that her daughter also wanted to learn acting.

Psychologists don't see anything wrong with children acting in films or commercials, but they warn that the desire to do this should come from the child. Otherwise, he only fulfills the parental will. Here lies a psychological trap: the success of a child inspires his parents to such an extent that they begin to invest in his life in a way that they never invested in their own.

In Holland, psychologists conducted a small experiment in which 43 parents (mostly women) of about 40 years of age took part. Each of them had a child between the ages of 8 and 15. Parents took a psychological test that determined whether they perceive their children as separate individuals. It turned out that those adults who had unfulfilled dreams are more likely to treat children as part of themselves.

In other words, these parents live with their children and enjoy their victories as if they were their own.

What is happening with these children and how they feel

The world of cinema, despite the fascinating picture, usually brings children only stress: high competition, lack of permanent employment, frequent refusals. Add to this parental reproaches for unjustified expectations. It is not uncommon for a stage mother, having received a lucrative offer, to take off and move to another city with her child.

“I was 13 when my mom's friend asked me to model. She was puzzled, but agreed. In the office, 2 graceful women treated me like a cow in the market. They asked questions, but did not listen to what I was answering - they looked at what my mouth, my lips looked like. © Cusi Cram / scarymommy

Besides, it's one thing to be a child actor and quite another to be a teenage actor. When a young talent grows up, interest in him usually weakens. Therefore, many parents in every conceivable and unthinkable way try to interfere with the physical and emotional maturation of the child.

Self-esteem in such children is usually very fragile. They only feel good when they can please their parents. Any failure can plunge them into depression. Growing up, children continue to live according to the same model: they are looking for those who will praise and guide them, and are completely dependent on these people.

Another fly in the ointment is money. Despite the fact that the funds of child actors are protected by law in most countries, sometimes unpleasant incidents occur. For example, Gary Coleman sued his parents and personal manager, accusing them of embezzling the money he earned. Some funds he managed to sue.

The public should not be discounted either. When 12-year-old Brooke Shields appeared in the film Pretty Baby in the form above, the media vehemently criticized the mother of the actress. And she took and sent her daughter to several other similar projects. Of course, for the psyche of a teenager it was too much.

Some world stars had such parents

Many parents of star children are also their official managers. Work relationships are mixed with personal ones, which sometimes leads to unpleasant results.

Two of the saddest examples are Lindsay Lohan and Macaulay Culkin. It was very difficult for both actors to adapt to adult life. Including because of the unacceptable behavior of their parents.

However, there are also positive examples. Jodie Foster has been acting in films since she was 3 years old, she became famous at the age of 14 after her role in the film Taxi Driver, and her career did not end there.

Pictured above is Melissa Francis. In the 70s and 80s, her face did not leave the TV screens. The girl did not achieve this on her own - in many ways, such fame was the merit of her mother. Melissa remarks: “I have great memories of my mother, but there are others, they are very difficult. When I was a child, I didn’t even understand if I was being praised or insulted.” Unfortunately, the mother of the young actress was too tough and their relationship went wrong (they did not communicate for several years).

Of course, not every stage mom is a monster by definition

This is a psychologist, former model and ballerina Vivian Diller. When her young son was offered the role, the woman refused because it required a move, and she did not want to destroy the family.

Child talent agency executives advise stage moms and dads to follow simple rules: