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This is similar to what we discussed in Chapter 10, “Beats, Tactics, and Actions,” with one major difference. In that chapter we were talking about discovering the beats in a scene and choosing the different tactics and actions to fulfill the beats. In commercials there is only one beat, one overall sentiment to express—to pass on information that will solve the other person’s problem in the most pleasant manner possible. That’s it.
Because of that the actions required to fulfill that beat in a commercial become much more about word play rather than deeds, physical activity. That doesn’t mean you’ll be frozen in place, never moving but with commercials it is more about finding the sub-text, the objective, of the words you have to deliver.
As actors, we don’t have a lot of choice as to what words our characters will say. However, we have a tremendous amount of choice as to what the sub-text of those words will mean. You can say, “I adore everything you do,” and if you say it with great affection it comes across as a loving compliment, the sub-text, the objective, being to flatter the other person, to make him/her feel loved, appreciated. Or you can say those same words with biting sarcasm and it comes across as disapproval, with the sub-text/objective being to hurt, to damage the other person.
Instead of using the term “action,” which has a broader context that could include physical activity, we are going to refer to this step as “line-to-line objectives.”
Line-to-line objectives (L2LOs) can help you translate an obtuse line of commercialspeak into a clear, precise message.
Films, as a rule, have less dialogue than plays. The director of a film uses images and pictures to support the dialogue of the story. A commercial director does the same thing, but a commercial director may have as little as fifteen seconds to deliver his/her message. This is why each line, even partial lines, whether it’s a voice-over or actual spoken dialogue, needs to have its own objective. The sub-text of the line has to be crystal clear. The audience doesn’t have the luxury of figuring out what a line meant two or three minutes after it’s delivered, it has to be clear immediately.
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The disadvantage of acting in a commercial is that you’re trying to swim with one hand tied behind your back. Not only are you limited, for the most part, to a single emotion—joy—but you’re also hampered by awkward, coded language.
Check out how using L2LOs helps break down a piece of copy.
Dental Floss
(Talent holds up a piece of dental floss.)
TALENT: THIS CAN SAVE YOU THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ON YOUR DENTAL BILL.
REALLY . . . THOUSANDS.
DENTAL FLOSS. WHO SAYS YOU DON’T HAVE THE WORLD ON A STRING.
The problem is the expense caused by poor dental hygiene. The solution is dental floss. The dental floss is The Hero. Pick a friend who is (or was) facing huge dental bills because of poor dental hygiene and put him in the camera. He’s come to you because he knows you had a similar problem in the past and you fixed it (maybe not you personally but your character).
You have four lines to solve your friend’s dilemma. Yes, four. The actor’s third speech is really two different lines. In commercials, please pay close attention to the punctuation. The writer knows he won’t be around for the audition (or the shoot) so his punctuation is his way of telling you, “This is how I hear it.”
A period at the end of a line means pause, new thought (on the next line). A comma means pause, new or continued thought. An ellipsis (three dots) means pause, new or continued thought. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule but the examples stated above apply 95 percent of the time. Learning how to play the punctuation is immensely helpful.
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The language in the Dental Floss spot, while not as stilted as in some commercials, is still commercialspeak. Have you ever had a conversation like this with anyone? Unless you’re a dental hygienist, probably not.
What you need to do now is create an objective for each line; figure out what you want each line to mean and then come up with a L2LO to help you make each one of those points, the result of which will help solve your friend’s problem.
Here’s what the copy looks like after doing the L2LO work.
Dental Floss
(Talent holds up a piece of dental floss.)
TALENT: (L2LO—to enlighten) SEE THIS. THIS CAN SAVE YOU THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ON YOUR DENTAL BILL.
(L2LO—to reiterate) REALLY . . . THOUSANDS.
(L2LO—to announce warmly [The Hero]) DENTAL FLOSS.
(L2LO—to joke) WHO SAYS YOU DON’T HAVE THE WORLD ON A STRING.
It doesn’t matter how “unnatural” the copy sounds or how strange the phrasing may be, the words—whatever they are, in whatever order they’re written—need to roll off your tongue with ease. You can’t stumble over the language and expect to get hired.
We don’t use commercialspeak in our everyday lives but a big part of your job as a commercial actor is to make the stilted language of commercials sound real.
For your L2LO choices you want to use action verbs that are simple to understand and easy to play. Here’s a short list to get you started. There are many, many more.
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Some of these objectives have what could be considered negative connotations. We use these objectives because they best describe the point we’re trying to make. If the L2LO you pick appears to have a negative undertone, you need to give it a positive spin. For example, “to warn” becomes “to warn lovingly,” or “to challenge” becomes “to challenge affectionately.” This expands, rather than restricts, your vocabulary as you search for the exact right L2LO.
Some actors find this process difficult. They say, “I can’t do two things at the same time. I can’t be thinking one thing while I’m saying something else.” And I say, “Are you kidding?” We do this all the time. How often have you manipulated the meaning behind your words in order to get what you wanted? This is no different. It’s just that now you have to manipulate someone else’s words in order to win the job.
EXERCISE
Using a piece of copy, go through the steps one at a time—figure out what the problem is, whom from your real life you’re talking to, identify the various relationships—and then assign each line a L2LO. Don’t forget, partial lines need to have their own separate objectives.
When you’ve finished, rehearse the copy, keeping in mind the sub-text for each of the scripted lines. That’s what L2LOs provide: the subtext for each line. And SLOW DOWN so you can layer in that subtext.