Acting tips: MUST READ

For those of you who are yet to audition...

I am looking for some very specific facial expressions. And though it is a 30 second ad, there is an emotional arc. Since there is no dialogue, your facial expressions, body language and gesticulations will do all the acting.

Here we go:

The ad starts off in her bedroom. She is looking for Lola, and she can't find it. She gingerly goes through her clothes, getting impatient with every look, a little frustrated. And her face shows it. Her body shows it less, but her hands are working overtime. Three different speeds on the same person. Her body is bent over the bed delicately. Not obscenely as if she's resting her weight on the bed, and her butt is sticking out only a little to accommodate her posture. CHARACTER NOTE: In her mid-twenties, her brief maturing and independence has brought about a sense of reserve, calm and gentility which most women in her class would experience years later.

She looks up and stares blankly at the wall in front of her, wondering where her bottle went ("Hmm... Where did that bottle go?"). A tap on the window breaks her trance-like concentration and she gently cocks her head and turns her eyes towards the direction of the sound, very subtly. The camera zooms in on the bottle of Lola outside the window. She turns around and is pleasantly surprised ("What are you doing there? How did you get outside?")

She rushes out to find and confront her bottle. She opens the door, looks left and right quickly, runs/sprints for about 10 feet before she stops short and looks around, wondering where that bottle went and whether it's playing a trick on her. SIMILAR to someone who is holed up in a wooden cabin in the snow hearing a sound at the front door, and thinking it is their partner out there rushes out to greet them, only to find nothing, and bears a face of instant confusion.

She hears a sound at the door behind her, and turns to see - Lola! At the doorway, it has been discovered by her mistress! At this point the dynamic is set: Lola is the small pet, the favored accessory, the teacup puppy that runs around and has to be caught. Our actress is its mistress.

Her body and face turn around. Her body does a 135-degree turn, so that she is standing diagonal to the door. This is so that we can shoot her shoulder falling on her hair. Her head turns a full 180-degree, facing the door flatly at no angle. She then makes a face that is a mix of condescending scorn ("You troublemaker... Making me worry") and playful approval ("Now I found you! You mischief-maker..."). Her head rocks a alittle back during the second part of this action.

Cut to Lola scooting back into the house.

Cut to actress: She lunges at the bottle, past the camera, and is now on her hands and knees. She goes through the doorway. In the cut after, she is seen on her hands and knees, looking around ("Where did you go? I JUST saw you? You couldn't be far... Where did you go???") When she hears the pitter-patter of tiny movement across to her left. She can't see the bottle but she can hear its confirming presence. She glances up and fixes her stare at the source of the sound. A small snicker of a smile forms in place of the hectic searching ("Now I've found you...muahaha").

scene: She is going through a bookshelf, trying to find Lola, which she's sure is hiding behind the books. She thinks she just saw it's shadow, but when she removes the books and looks back there she sees nothing. She is confused. Is she chasing a ghost? This can't be that hard...

The order in the storyboard I emailed is d,c,b. Have a look.

Come prepared!

Best,
Vineet