The before last teacher at Gobelins Summer School 2012 was
Alexandre Heboyan. He taught us most about the different kind of filmindustries (America vs. Europe), camera and acting and movement during lipsync / acting in different bodyparts.
Alexandre is working on a movie of his own. He's going to be de director of
Mune which is going to start production next year. He explained a little about Mune, told us the synopsis (it is totally awesome! About myths about the sun and the moon, you should really keep eye on this project) and showed some tests and concept art they had 'till now.
During his lessons he had some really cool interaction with everyone, played out some examples and told us about energy levels in the body. I read some more about it, but I still need to get into this part more.
The parts I found most interesting is when he told us about the importance in the movement when using lipsync. I was suprised to know that the lips aren't that much important at all. First the eyes (mask), silhouette, shoulders and neck (and maybe even hips before that if you see the hips) and then come the lips. And always to put the movement first; what I mean by this is that when you hear an "O", put the shape of the "O" two frames before you hear the sound. Only then it's right for the eye.
When you see a full body, hips are the most important. I was well aware of that. What I wasn't aware of was that he told us he read an article about some kind of test. In the test they only showed footage of the hips / hipmovement of certain people. The conclusion was that relatives and close friends can recognize people they know only from the movement of the hips. That's just amazing! So always work on the hips and try to give your character a great sense of weight.
Alexandre gave us an acting / lipsync assignment afterwards and helped us out in the workshops that followed. Learned a lot during that time.
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