MasterClass provides in-depth and engaging classes taught by experts in various fields. The classes are designed to bring your favorite experts to your home in an engaging online experience, which includes state of the art pre-recorded videos, workbooks, and stimulating assignments. Your yearly All-Access Pass gives you access to 80+ world-renowned instructors on Film and TV, Culinary Arts, Design, Photography, Fashion, Sports, Science and Technology and so much more. Instructors include world-famous chef Gordon Ramsay, bestselling author Margaret Atwood and many more. The classes have about 20 lectures, each about 10 minutes so you can watch and re-watch at anytime. Video lessons can easily be watched on the MasterClass mobile app, on your desktop, Google Chromecast, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, and Roku devices.
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This is a review of the Natalie Portman Teaches Acting class from MasterClass!
The MasterClass Instructor – Natalie Portman
This class opens with a look at some of the roles Natalie Portman has played and how Natalie has been successful in her acting career. Since she was very young when she started acting, the development of her technique came from experience and other great actors. She has created a set of tools and influences for herself that allow her to do her job. She is constantly learning and adapting her toolbox and in this class wants to share that set of tools. But she also wants to help others create their own set of tools and influences that will allow viewers to develop their own unique process that works for them.
Natalie Portman is an Oscar-winning, self-taught actor, who is known for her character development and outstanding performances. She has starred in over 40 films and has also succeeded in roles behind the lens as a director, writer, producer, and activist.
Natalie Portman is an acclaimed actor, director, writer, producer, and activist. She received an Academy Award in the Best Actress category for her performance in Darren Aronofsky’s film Black Swan, and nominations for her performances in Mike Nichols’s film Closer and Pablo Larraín’s Jackie. She has also been honored with Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, Critics Choice Awards, and a BAFTA Award.
Natalie Portman has created a class that focuses on character development, along with other aspects of acting including how to act on set and how to work with different directors. The character development portion of the class all occurs before you as an actor ever makes it in front of a camera. Viewers are instructed on how to prepare for their character, map out their character’s journey, determine how a character relates with other roles, and how to physically effect a character. Once all of the character development is complete, Natalie talks about how to use this development and research to succeed on set.
Acting – Who is it for?
This class is for anyone interested in building their own toolbox for their acting process. No matter how much experience you have, this class is really applicable to anyone who wants to succeed in an acting career. If you are interested in improving your character development, this class provides numerous lessons that focus on specific aspects of a character that you can then use to develop your own character.
MasterClass Natalie Portman – Main Themes
- Collaboration
- Research
- Vulnerability
- Active empathy
- Have fun
MasterClass Workbook – Natalie Portman
Paint from life. You don’t want to be doing a version of a character you saw in a movie… You’re not making a movie influenced by other movies. You’re making a movie influenced by life.
The workbook is a great tool to use to develop your own character! Each lesson has a review, an assignment, and a learn more section so as you watch each lesson you can apply what you have learned. One of the first lessons in the workbook also includes a variety of great graphics that you can print out and write on to help you with character mapping. It includes graphics for a character timeline, psychological analysis, and character relationships.
MasterClass Acting Key Takeaways
Natalie Portman has created a fantastic class that really dives into character development and how to use real life experiences to influence a character. She takes viewers on a very detailed instruction of all of the tools and thought processes she uses to develop her own characters. This includes researching your character, laying out your character’s journey, understanding how your character thinks other characters view them, and even explore your character’s physical gestures.
Your role as actor is to try and understand your character and what your character goes through and what your character is within the film as a whole. Try to understand from the director what the tone is, what the style is as best as possible so that you can provide them with raw material that they can use when they’re cooking the movie.
After the character development, Natalie takes viewers through how to implement all of this development into your performance. She talks about how to emotionally connect with collaborators, handle vulnerability, and how to open up and relax. What I found really interesting about some of her advice was the value she placed on improvisation. She talks about how often times when things happen in a scene that are not planned, if you can adapt and keep going it often brings something magical and more real to your character.
Final Thoughts on Natalie Portman’s MasterClass
I loved this class from the very beginning! Natalie Portman’s process is so detailed and allows her to fully become her character and create amazing films. If you are looking for a class that provides you with the insights to develop your own toolbox for developing and performing as a character, this is the class for you!
What do you think of this MasterClass?
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