Acting Face to Face: The Actor's Guide to Understanding how Your Face Communicates Emotion for TV and Film (Language of the Face)

Harnessing the range and power of the face is a challenging task for the actor. John Sudol's book "Acting: Face to Face" is the ultimate reference on the subject and provides a pragmatic approach to this quest. For the actor, especially in film and television, the face is the focal point around which most dramatic scenes evolve.The main revelation I came away with was that our facial expressions do not always articulate our thoughts and feelings clearly. For the actor, an exploration into this area is vital to becoming a consummate actor. For through an awareness of the possibilities, the actor can make strong choices, and create visual characters that have depth, purpose and credibility. It becomes a matter of bringing our facial expression into alignment with our internal emotional state. This can be done through awareness, corrective measures by a trainer and/or video recordings.The book uses numerous photos to illustrate the range of facial emotions and the subtle changes that differentiate them from one another. I was amazed how one facial marker, such as the curl of the lips, can lead into another emotion. John Sudol also sights the research by Psychologist Paul Ekman's in analyzing the communicating powers of the face. I highly recommend this book for those wanting to articulate their facial expressions.

I purchased and downloaded this book to my Kindle the very first night it was available. Waited a long time to have it because I have not been able to study with John and take his courses (scheduling, finances, etc). I read 40% of the book in the first couple of hours that I had it! Couldn't stop. The information was enlightening and helped me to see what my face communicates to others on and off camera. I feel empowered by the information in this book because it really hones in on my facial language- where I am on point and where I am not in my work as an actor. Awesome new tools ! I love this! I've grown already just reading this book. I'm going to share it with my husband who is an actor of 30+ years. I know that I will read this book over and over again. It it unique and refreshing...a standout among all the other mind-body connection acting books out there. Congratulations John! Hope to see you in class one day soon:-)

This book goes beyond what you've probably heard time and again from the most respected, established instructors from the past and present: "If you're truly feeling it on the inside, the camera will pick it up." John's training and this book take formal acting technique a step further with explaining the "Language of the Face," a guide to understanding what you may be missing in communicating expression and emotion through our ultimate goal as actors to affect the audience. Understanding who we are, how we react and how our past, psychology and physical make-up plays an integral part in how we're coming across to others will be a game-changer for our craft and auditions...and needles to say, understanding the language of the face is relevant to our lives far beyond acting. Get to know what the top 5% working actors apply fluently to their work and learn the Language of the Face!

This book is like a chunk of gold ore, there's some useful stuff in a big hunk of debris. The book is often self referential and redundant. Each chapter got me more excited to get to the last few chapters and learn this process... The book had other plans. The entire book (which could be a pamphlet if all of the redundancy and fluff was removed) is really just a long advertising pitch for his yet-unreleased book that is said to contain the real information i bought THIS book for. I give it 2 stars instead of 1 because it taught me a few things and got me looking at my physicality in a new light, but it really isn't a helpful book overall, there's no deep dive, no exercises, etc. It's a big redundant tease... Makes me want his next book, but also makes me wary of this author and thus less likely to buy it.

This book offers a great explanation of how you might not be communicating with your audience. It also explains why it may be happening: cultural and family upbringing, habitual use of certain facial expressions and corresponding muscles, personality and natural style of expressiveness, etc. The photos and muscle diagrams accompanying the explanations were very interesting.The current Amazon book description says it includes exercises, however. Not so much. I was looking forward to those in particular, but at the end of the book, it simply explains what exercises will be covered in the NEXT book, which isn't out yet. And then the book ends. Those promised exercises were why I was so interested in the book!I'm still giving it 4 stars, however, because for the very low price currently available, the information is worthwhile. The author clearly knows his subject extremely well. I look forward to that next book. I hope it is released soon.

As an actor, you learn so many techniques (or perhaps no technique at all ... which is sometimes an actual technique ... but I digress), but we often forget about believability through human nature. An audience not only reads your body language and how you say words, but when it comes to being on-camera, it's all about reading your face. John has done the research and the proof is in the students who have booked work because of using and being aware of what they are communicating to casting directors, producers, directors, and ultimately the audience. It should be a part of every actor's arsenal in this business we call show.