Shooting Commercials Or Other Types of Marketing Related Video Content With Foreign Actors
By Massimo Martinotti
Many commercials don't have any dialogue: therefore actors don't have necessarily to be fluent in English. A few countries around the World have an incredible pool of talented actors and actresses that can very well be used for American spots. Think for instance of Italy, France, Argentina, Mexico, The Czech Republic, Hungry: often movies from those countries win prestigious awards at the most prestigious Film Festivals like Cannes, Berlin, San Sebastian, and so forth. Has somebody any doubt about the quality of the acting in "Cinema Paradiso", "Amelie" or "Amores Perros"?
Foreign actors and the language barrier
I produced and directed commercials with actors of over 10 nationalities and I never found that the language barrier was a relevant factor. Most of the actors I worked with spoke with some degree of fluency one of the languages I can understand and speak but even when that was not the case, I could easily communicate with them through the local first AD. I have no doubt that, when the production takes place in a foreign country, a bilingual and local first assistant director better serves the director. Some American directors want to fly around the globe with their AD. I always found that practice completely absurd.
Before the shoot, I always have long conversations with the local AD, I explain to him or her with precision what I wanted to achieve, and I make clear my objectives and my directing strategy in relation to the acting. Following these basic rules of communication I always created a perfect professional relationship with AD's of every nationality. In every occasion they have been able to help me in the task of establishing the connection with the actors and communicating with them without usurping my role. Actors still felt that I was the director and reacted properly
The body Language
The body language varies greatly from one country to another. Italian or French, for instance, have very distinctive body languages: you can detect a national of those two countries by only watching how they express themselves and observing the gestures of their hands (in the case of the Italians) or their mouths (for the French). Using a performer from Rome to create a typical Italian character is obviously an easy task, but in most of the cases you can also make an Italian actor to look American: you just have to control and suppress certain gestures that belong exclusively to the Italian culture. I successfully worked with Argentine or Brazilian actors for commercials to be aired in the US, British, New Zealander, Australian and South African actors for commercials for Italy, Spain and Mexico, Spanish talent for spots to be broadcasted in the UK or France and so forth. The nature of the project will tell if the goal is achievable or not.
Actors and common references
The common references are the ones that people share and that make easy to communicate using analogies. When you mention to an American actor some characters of the movie "Office Space", he understands perfectly well what you are talking about. When you are directing a Danish or a Costa Rican actor perhaps this reference is not understood. It is important for the director who is shooting abroad to do his homework keeping into account the cultural differences that he could face. Directors with an international approach, comfortable working anywhere in the World, versed in several cultures and possibly multilingual, will have no problem to find common ground with foreign professional actors. They will actually enjoy enormously the experience.
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