Acting For Camera: What Every Actor Needs To Know

About this Workshop

Most actors are taught how to act. Far fewer are taught how to be filmed.

You can know how to listen, respond, pursue what you want and stay truthful in a scene, then step onto a set and suddenly be asked to hit a mark without looking at it, adjust for a close-up, cheat towards camera, match an action from three takes ago, change your eyeline or hold a reaction long enough for the editor to use it.

None of that makes you a better actor. But not knowing how to do it will get in the way of your acting.

This full-day workshop is about the practical craft of working on camera: what changes when the frame gets tighter, how much the camera can actually see, how your voice reads on mic, how continuity affects what you do, why reactions need space, and how to stay alive and responsive while still giving the production what it needs.

Simon’s approach draws on the work of veteran UK director Patrick Tucker, whose career spans more than 150 television dramas, over 200 stage productions and work with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Tucker's screen principles focus on the practical things actors are expected to understand on set but are rarely properly taught.

You will work on camera, watch the playback, make adjustments and try again.

You will also spend time behind the camera and on the boom microphone, because once you understand what the crew is dealing with, a lot of the notes you hear on set start to make sense.

The aim is not to make you “act smaller” because you're on camera.

It is to help you understand screen acting technique well enough that you stop thinking about the technique.

So when someone calls Action, you can actually act.
Who is the workshop for?

This workshop is for actors who want to understand what actually changes when acting moves from the rehearsal room or stage to the camera.

It is especially useful for:
* Actors new to screen work who want to walk onto set knowing what is expected of them
* Stage-trained actors who already know how to act but want to understand how to adapt that work for camera.
* Working screen actors who have picked things up on set but have never had the technical side properly explained.
* Actors who become self-conscious on camera because they are thinking about marks, eyelines, framing or whether they are doing “too much”.
* Presenters and other professionals who regularly work to camera and want to come across more naturally and confidently.

No previous screen experience is required. Minimum age for admission is 15 and above.

Workshop Fees:

$250.00

Date & Time:
15th Nov 2026
Sunday, 9.00am – 7.00pm

Venue:
Oxley Bizhub,
Block 71 Ubi Road 1,
#10-39
S(408732)

SYLLABUS

Stage Acting vs Screen Acting
What actually changes when you move in front of a camera, what stays the same, and why “just make it smaller” is not particularly useful advice.
Understanding the Shot
Shot sizes, framing, eyelines, cheating for camera and how what the camera sees should affect the choices you make.
Marks, Movement & Continuity
How to hit a mark without looking for it, repeat physical actions without becoming robotic, and give the editor material that can actually cut together.
Voice, Reactions & Timing
How vocal level changes for camera, why reactions need space, and how to remain alive and responsive when filming is technical, fragmented and out of sequence.
How a Set Actually Works
Camera, sound, boom, crew terminology and what the other departments need from you so that technical notes stop feeling like interruptions to your acting.

AREAS OF FOCUS

Truth without self-consciousness
Staying connected to the scene while dealing with all the technical demands around you.
Camera awareness without camera acting
Knowing where the camera is and what it needs without performing at it.
Precision without becoming mechanical
Marks, eyelines, continuity and repeatability while keeping each take alive.
Understanding what reads on screen
Discovering what the camera picks up, what disappears, and why something that feels enormous to the actor may barely register on screen or vice versa.
Becoming easier to work with on set
Understanding the practical needs of the director, camera, sound and editor so you can collaborate instead of fighting the process.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of the workshop, participants should be able to:

Understand what a director or crew member means when they give common technical notes about frame, marks, eyelines, continuity or shot size.
Adjust a performance for different shots without simply making the acting “bigger” or “smaller”.
Hit marks, cheat for camera and maintain continuity while still appearing natural and responsive.
Give the camera and editor usable reactions and behaviour without anticipating or manufacturing moments.
Walk onto a film or television set with greater technical confidence, allowing more attention to stay where it belongs: on the other actor and the scene.

20% for all workshops with HCAC Student Card (No Expiry) Apply here.

30% Bundle Discount

Add two or more participants to the cart for 30% off.

“Out of Stock” means the workshop is full. Email us at hello @hcac.sg with your Name, Email & Contact Number to request to be on the waiting list.

Is this only for beginners?
No. A beginner will leave with a much clearer idea of how screen work actually works.

An experienced actor may discover that things they have been doing instinctively on set suddenly make sense or that there are technical gaps they have simply never been taught.

Do I need to prepare anything?
Actors will be given material to work with. You are also welcome to prepare a short monologue, and participants who want to work on a two-person scene may bring a short scene with a partner.

Presenters or public speakers should prepare a short piece they would normally deliver to camera.

Will I actually be filmed?
Yes. A lot.
You will work on camera, watch the playback, make an adjustment and try again.
There is no point talking for an hour about what something looks like on screen when we can simply film it and show you.

Will I have to watch myself back?
Yes. And if that makes you uncomfortable, you are probably not alone.
Playback is one of the most useful parts of the workshop because what something feels like while you are doing it and what the camera actually sees are not always the same thing.

The aim is not to judge yourself. It is to learn to see what the camera sees.

Why will we be operating the camera and boom microphone?
Because actors spend most of their time standing on one side of the equipment. Seeing what happens on the other side changes things. Once you understand why a boom operator needs you not to move somewhere, why focus needs a mark, or why an editor needs your action to match, technical notes stop feeling arbitrary. You become a better collaborator.

Who is Patrick Tucker and why are his principles being used?
Patrick Tucker is a veteran UK director whose career spans more than 150 television dramas, over 200 stage productions and work with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

His value here is very specific. He focuses on the practical things actors are expected to understand once a camera is pointed at them: framing, eyelines, continuity, timing, reactions and how a performance eventually gets put together.

This workshop uses those principles as screen craft, not as a replacement for acting technique.

Is this about learning to “act smaller” for the camera?
No. That is one of the biggest misconceptions about acting for camera. A close-up does not automatically mean “do less”. It means the camera can see more.
The real question is not: “How big should I act?”
It is: “What is actually happening, and what can the camera see?”

Will this help with self-tapes?
Yes, although this is not specifically a self-tape workshop. Understanding framing, eyelines, vocal level, stillness, reactions and what reads through a lens will immediately affect how you work in a self-tape.

Will this make me more natural on camera?
It should make you less preoccupied with the camera. And that is usually the more useful goal. The more comfortable you become with the technical side, the less attention you have to spend thinking: Where do I look? Was that too much? Did I hit the mark? Can they hear me? That gives you more freedom to actually respond to what is happening in the scene.

Is it going to be technical all day?
It is technical because screen acting is technical. But nothing will stay theoretical for long. We will demonstrate it, film it, watch it and try it. You should be on your feet far more than you are sitting down.

About the Instructor

Simon Purse

Simon is an actor, film and theatre director, and teacher based in London.

He began his training at the University of Durham as an undergraduate Chemist but quickly realized that he and science were not going to be friends. He gained his first degree in Philosophy and Psychology, then won a scholarship and trained as an actor at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts.

He was a member of the Original Shakespeare Company (OSC) for seven years and was an OSC workshop leader and verse nurse and now trains actors in OSC cue-script techniques around the world, including Stanford University, Oxford University, LAMDA, NAFA, and Berridge Programs where he also teaches film-making. He teaches screen acting workshops based on the work of Patrick Tucker. He has written and directed four short films with Simon Jarvis and is working on a feature project.