What is 'Screen Presence' Anyway?

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not.here

@not.here

Inactive

Posted: 9 years ago

#21

Good question! It was something I wanted to know as well. Not sure if I totally understand it after reading a few of the informative posts but I learnt more than I knew at the beginning.

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Dhara

@kritz.anYa.vivu

Navigator

Posted: 9 years ago

#22

It is the combination of an actor and a star. An actor is good when he delivers a good performance , a star is made when he acts good, has a great capability t make audience look at him and his character despite the flaws or silliness of the script or even the lacking he ha sin his appearance.

For example from Tom Cruise to Salman Khan and even Aamir Khan, these people are considered short but their screen presence caters to every age group and they churn out the best box office numbers for their respective fields.

Take Ranbir kapoor and Aditya Roy kapoor in YJHD, i felt even though ARK had a short role, he had an endearing screen presence, i waited to watch his character's dynamics onscreen.

Screen presence is sometimes mistaken as good looks, and its not always only about looks, for example there are numerous south indian actors who are considered "ugly" but there screen presence is so endearing that they are loved for their performances.

Overall screen presence is the ability of an actor to not shy away from his weakness, instead polish his strength and make this as the root of his performance.

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807116

Hibernated

Posted: 9 years ago

#23

Watch this Adnan Sami video. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IU2ttJ73h2Y .

Last few seconds a man appears along with Adnan Sami and does same steps along with him. I am not his fan, don't like his movies. But I can't deny, how is able to grab the attention from Adnan in few seconds. That is screen presence. Screen presence is not about the personality features (tallness etc). This fellow has overshadowed Amitabh many times, having no height or his baritone voice.

Screen presence is not connected with acting either. There are actors with or without screen presence.

I consider Vidya Balan and Amir don't have enormous screen presence. They can easily get overshadowed by others, if they are shown amongst the crowd.

Sanjay Dutt appeared for few minutes in PK. But when he was present, he stole the show from Amir. Vidya Balan was not as imposing as Rani in Jessica.

But both Amir and Vidya, use this feature to their advantage and usually choose the roles of underdogs. (Not exactly typical roles in mainstream Bollywood). When they do extraordinary characters, the revelation takes us by surprise. (Revelation of Rathod in Sarfarosh or Vidya in Kahani). We don't expect them to be one. Amir and Vidya are just chameleons.

Some people have great screen presence. But they work hard on their characters, so that their performances are spoken. Examples, Amitabh, Sridevi, SRK.

Some people have extreme screen presence, have casual attitude towards acting. They are just being themselves in every movie. But audience love them for that. Examples, Salman, Kajol, Kareena.

Edited by flipfl0p - 9 years ago

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QueenBolly

@QueenBolly

Voyager

+ 3

Posted: 9 years ago

#24

It means that when the actor/actress steps on screen, it's not like he's easily forgettable. He takes each character and makes it something memorable. No matter how big or small the role, they are usually the people you remember. It comes with both talent and acting classes. No matter if the actor is glamorous or attractive in the traditional sense.Take it from this article which explains screen presence a little bit in depth.

So now, you ask, isn't THIS a quality one must be born with, this unique type of presence?

Yes, it is.

And everyone IS born with it.

Everyone has a degree of presence. If you exist, you impact a space when you enter it, and something vital exits the space when you leave. You have presence, and the quality of it can be consciously developed, to some extent.

Some of this quality is a result of confidence, a real awareness that a person can do with extreme professionalism what he's there to do. There are plumbers who step into your house, and you know you're in trouble because they're going to break something. Another plumber walks in and you immediately sigh with relief. He KNOWS. And he knows he knows. He's not worried, so neither are you. This sort of confidence results in presence, a sense that one is in powerful and benevolent hands.

An actor with presence radiates confidence, regardless of the role. He or she KNOWS. They know they're good, and that you're in for a treat, and so you are. You sit back and wait, knowing something good is going to happen, and glad you're there to be a part of it. I believe that one of the most important elements of presence is confidence. You will develop confidence as you succeed as an actor. Another aspect of presence is a powerful sense of being exactly where you are, and knowing that you are. You can help yourself with this by simply and truly looking about each space you enter, and truly locating yourself in that space. Know that you're there. Know that you're YOU. Know that you know what you're doing.

TAKEN FROM: http://tipsforactors.blogspot.com/2010/07/presence-in-acting.html

Edited by QueenBolly - 9 years ago

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Justmoi

@Justmoi

Rocker

Posted: 9 years ago

#25

More examples of how important screen presence is to have a career let alone a long one.

Ajay Devgan- Not very good looking, talented but there are many talented people who sank without a trace. But he has a 20 plus year career as a hero. Would not have happened without tremendous screen presence.

And if you want an example of how important screen presence is over looks, acting ability even dancing which is needed in BW look no further than Rajnikant. He looks completely unremarkable offscreen and even his most ardent fans will not argue much about his acting abilities, but put him on screen and watch him make other people props or scenery in the screen. Your eyes only go straight to him. He more than most personifies screen presence for me and the necessity of one.

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Mrs. Gossip Monger

@Surreal_Dreams

Dazzler

+ 2

Posted: 9 years ago

#26

Examples of people not having screen presence would be Shraddha Kapoor, Siddharth Malhotra. They might be extremely attractive to look at but lack that presence on screen and appear bland..

Larger than life screen presence SRK, Big B, Madhuri, Kajol, Aishwarya, Deepika. From the mentioned names, Kajol might be a mediocre looker but when she's onscreen she has that ability to overshadow others.

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Dhara

@kritz.anYa.vivu

Navigator

Posted: 9 years ago

#27

Originally posted by: CocoChanel
Examples of people not having screen presence would be Shraddha Kapoor, Siddharth Malhotra. They might be extremely attractive to look at but lack that presence on screen and appear bland..
Larger than life screen presence SRK, Big B, Madhuri, Kajol, Aishwarya, Deepika. From the mentioned names, Kajol might be a mediocre looker but when she's onscreen she has that ability to overshadow others.

I agree with you here. Have always found Shraddha very bland onscreen, has a pretty face but comes off as utter boring and OTT. Sid even though has charm, has terrible body language and flat expressions.

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