Solo performances with multiple characters

Cafe Society
1

There’s a genre on YouTube videos where one person performs all of the characters in a multi-character scene, generally with different outfits to distinguish the characters.

A couple of recent examples:
Julie Nolke
Anna Akana

Obviously the performers do this by filming the two or more different characters separately and then editing them together. But I’m wondering about the details.

Do the performers just read one character’s lines into the camera? Do they perform both sets of lines to get the timing right and then use the lines that match the outfit? Do they have a second person present who delivers the other character’s lines for the recording? I realize different performers may use different techniques but I’m just looking for a general sense on how this is done.

Does anybody know if there is any raw footage videos that have been posted showing these performances before the editing is done?

2

Not sure what you mean about another person reading lines. The single performer is alone on camera in every shot, and the timing is all in the edit.

To shoot this, the performer just dresses as character A, sets up the shot, and performs all those lines. Then the performer switches to the character B costume, sets up the next shot, and performs all those lines. And so on, a character at a time. Then you just cut all the lines together and adjust the comic timing in the edit.

3

I am not an actor. But my understanding is that when actors practice a script, they have another person read the other lines while they read their lines. If you just read your own lines in isolation, you don’t have anything to react to and it throws the delivery off. I would imagine the same is true in an actual performance.

4

The other person’s lines are edited out and replaced. That person is never on camera. This is done all the time in “pick up” shots in film and TV.

5

I am an actor. Degree and everything.

There are two ways to interpret “practice lines.” Generally, that means memorization. Some actors do that with another person, but many, probably most, do it alone. You’re not “acting” when you’re memorizing, because you want your delivery to be natural, based on what you’re getting from the other actor(s). However, if by practicing lines, you mean practice delivery, that happens in a rehearsal, with the other actor(s). You never really practice delivery ahead of time, because, again, you want your performance to reflect the give-and-take with the other actor(s).

This kind of video, however, reflects a kind of special case. There’s one performer, and the performer also wrote the scene and knows how the scene should “play.” There’s no need for another person, for any reason. It’s a static camera, so the one person can set the shot, start rolling, get in front of the camera, record everything, then get up and stop the camera, all completely solo.

If I were doing this, I’d record each line in three or four different readings, a few different versions, so I can look at them during editing and decide which ones I like and which ones play best against the different takes I recorded as the other characters. Editing is always a mix-and-match process.

So what the raw footage would look like, prior to editing, is a straight 20 minutes of character A delivering all their lines, with little pauses between, and possibly each line in a couple of different possible takes. Then there’s a separate 20 minute video of character B, and all their lines. And so on.

6

Yes. I’m an experienced actor. These kinds of videos are done a little differently, per above.

7

That’s not necessarily the case. In one of the examples I gave in the OP, Julie Nolke was the performer but Sam Larson wrote the script.

The credits also say that Larson was operating the camera and Nolke did the editing.

8

I’m confused by this. You say that in a regular performance you want your performance to reflect the give and take with the other actor.

So why would you not want that same give and take in a performance like this? Even if you were going to edit out the other actor’s performance, wouldn’t you want it to occur for the sake of your performance?

9

The other actor is not the other actor. You are the other actor. Which is why it would be smart to do multiple takes of each line, slightly different, so you can decide which ones match up against each other during the edit.