Reel

"I find it easier to cry, but to laugh realistically, when they say laugh on cue, it's really hard not to make it sound kind of fake."

Yes, that quote I found by Emma Watson, is exactly my problem.
I find it a lot easier to cry in front of camera, and make it seem real, than to laugh and make it seem authentic.

I know this, I can probably answer myself.
But, I just want to see everyone's input on this subject.


Sorry if this is a superfluous topic, or if anybody thinks this topic is stupid.

Thranduil

What if you have to play a Scene that may look like this:

Role1: (Tells a Joke)
Role2: (Starts to laugh like blazes, until teares come up out of her/his eyes) That was really funny, i cant controly myself anymore.

cenobitehell

just try to think of something silly

Reel

Yes, I thought of incorporating crying into it, so it seems that im laughing.

And all of your inputs I thought of as well.

Thanks.

Reel

Excuse me, but does anybody else have this same problem, or quite the opposite?

Thranduil

I don't understand why you see that as Problem. Just work on it - there must be something very funny that happened in your past .. maybe it was, like cenobit mentioned, something very silly .. something that made you laugh.

For example, years ago i was with friends at a chinese restaurant. While waiting for our Food, we made some silly jokes .. because waiting was very boring. And we began joking about Chinese Sticks .. and i told one of my Friends, that i think People in China do everything with those Sticks .. even hunting Lions and such Animals. And a Friend of mine laughed, took his sticks and made a Hand movement, as if he would break a lions neck with them. That looked so funny, altough it was very silly - i mean who hunts Lions with Chinese Sticks? .. but i laughed tears. And every time i Visualize and Concentrate on this Moment - i have to laugh. Thats .. of course a Sample out of my own past, but everyone had funny or silly Moments back in his/her past .. and visualizing them helps.

Reel

Yeah I thought about doing that. I also thought about somethings that happened in previous days.

Reel

I can cry on command, it is very easy. Someone could just say cry, and I'd simply burst out into tears and make it seem so real... But I don't know why when I am asked to laugh on command it just seems so unrealistic. I can most certainly laugh and make it seem real with an acting buddy, during a little skit, but I just can't do it alone. Oh I laugh all the time when I screw my lines up, but that is different.

Thranduil

By the way .. such extreme and common emotions as .. Crying or Laughing .. are very easy things to do .. or to learn how to make em come up.

There are a lot of things which are way harder to master .. for example .. if you are rehaersing .. and your director or your teacher stops you .. and says: "That was fine .. but could you add more sarcasm in this or that specific line" .. because he wants the subtext of a line being like that ..

See .. such things are much harder to create or to master .. than just laughing or crying .. we experience those radical emotions way more often .. than other things ... thats why they are easy ...

Imagine someone girl/boy says to you in a very thruthful manner:

"Do you really love me"?

And you try to answer in a "Zynical" or "Sarcastical" but of course natural way:

"Baby, you know i love you! - I don't know what i would do, if you weren't by my side any more".

Youll see its much harder .. to act this natural und truthful .. than just to laugh or to cry ..

Thranduil

I just wanted to add:

I know .. a lot of people try to kinda measure their Talent by finding out if they are able to cry out of nothing .. but thats naive and nonproductive - stay away from such Considerations .. because if it were that easy .. acting as a whole would be easy .. and Acting as a Whole is everything else than Easy - just like the Human Character and Behaviour .. its Multifarious and Complex .. and so is talent.