Full Text Available

Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.

Using the magic if to circumvent the problems for the actor working with green screen technology

Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2013.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Other Authors: Munro, Marth
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2014
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1867613669873942528
access_status_str Open Access
author2 Munro, Marth
author_browse Munro, Marth
author_facet Munro, Marth
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2013 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2013.
format Thesis
id oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/33361
institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:39:49.883Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2014
publishDateRange 2014
publishDateSort 2014
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
record_format dspace
source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/33361 Using the magic if to circumvent the problems for the actor working with green screen technology Munro, Marth mr.ripper2002@yahoo.com Broodryk, Chris Willem Jacobs, Nicolaas Hendrik Green screen Acting Magic if Cognitive neuroscience Imagination Bodymind Stanislavsky Film acting Psychophysical Imagery Sense memory Communion Blue screen Actor Visual effects Matte processing UCTD Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. When portraying a character in a fictional world the actor is faced with many challenges. To circumvent these challenges, he must become congruent with the reality of the fictional world. In order to do so, the actor has to ‘believe’ in the circumstances of the unfolding scene and live ‘in the moment’. These external circumstances act as stimuli which the actor uses to create and consequently ‘believe’ in the environment that the character inhabits. However, the use of green screen technology in special effects limits or eliminates these stimuli and the external circumstances. Green screen is a technique used in film and television that allows the filmmaker to film an actor in combination with a green screen and then replace the ‘green’ with anything the filmmaker requires. This allows for compositing to occur and the filmed reality to be manipulated. However, this technology challenges the actor’s ‘belief’ and behaviour, thus affecting congruence with and the (photo)realism of the created fictional world. In a green screen environment the actor is challenged to imagine, experience and act in line with the circumstances of the fictional world that will replace the green screen, instead of the green environment in which he finds himself. One acting strategy that elicits imagination, action and feeling is Stanislavsky’s notion of the magic if. Accordingly, this dissertation proposes that this strategy can assist the actor in circumventing the challenges that arise when working with green screen technology. Stanislavsky developed his acting principles by observing human behaviour in an attempt to use the mind–body paradigm in circumnavigating the acting moment. The field of cognitive neuroscience has also investigated human behaviour and the mind–body paradigm and recent discoveries have increased understanding of the fields. These discoveries have validated the notion of the magic if and the components it incorporates. Yet, the discoveries surrounding the notion of the magic if and, subsequently, the increased understanding of the concept have not to date been applied to acting with green screen technology. It is therefore hypothesised that, by triangulating the challenges of ‘green screen acting’, the principles of the magic if and the knowledge gained from cognitive neuroscience, an acting strategy can be developed that will assist the actor in the green screen environment and thus create verisimilitude with the fictional world. This hypothesis has led to the theoretical development of explorations that will strengthen the skills the actor needs in order to apply the notion of the magic if; as well as an acting strategy to assist the actor when entering the green screen environment. gm2014 Drama Unrestricted 2014-02-11T05:13:37Z 2014-02-11T05:13:37Z 2013-09-05 2013 Dissertation Jacobs, NH 2013, Using the magic if to circumvent the problems for the actor working with green screen technology, MA dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/33361> E13/9/1063/gm http://hdl.handle.net/2263/33361 en © 2013 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle Green screen
Acting
Magic if
Cognitive neuroscience
Imagination
Bodymind
Stanislavsky
Film acting
Psychophysical
Imagery
Sense memory
Communion
Blue screen
Actor
Visual effects
Matte processing
UCTD
Using the magic if to circumvent the problems for the actor working with green screen technology
title Using the magic if to circumvent the problems for the actor working with green screen technology
title_full Using the magic if to circumvent the problems for the actor working with green screen technology
title_fullStr Using the magic if to circumvent the problems for the actor working with green screen technology
title_full_unstemmed Using the magic if to circumvent the problems for the actor working with green screen technology
title_short Using the magic if to circumvent the problems for the actor working with green screen technology
title_sort using the magic if to circumvent the problems for the actor working with green screen technology
topic Green screen
Acting
Magic if
Cognitive neuroscience
Imagination
Bodymind
Stanislavsky
Film acting
Psychophysical
Imagery
Sense memory
Communion
Blue screen
Actor
Visual effects
Matte processing
UCTD
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/33361