The Director’s EyeVI. The Director’s Eye

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exists and their entrances and one man in his time

plays many parts.” As You Like It, Act II, ii, 139.

The Director’s Eye

• I view each new witness who comes into court like a different scene in a play.

• Each scene has a specific purpose. In other words, there is a reason why the writer wrote it. In one short sentence, what does the writer want the audience to learn when the lights come up in the theater?

• Examples would be, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” or “Love conquers all.”

The Director’s Eye

• Here’s an example from the wizarding world of Harry Potter.

• There was a zoo in Surrey, where the Dursleys took their son, Dudley on his eleventh birthday and, against their will, Harry.

• While at the zoo, they bought ice cream, saw a gorilla, ate at the zoo restaurant, and visited the reptile house.

The Director’s Eye

• At first, Dudley found the place boring because none of the reptiles were moving around much. But when no one was watching, Harry discovered that he was able to speak to snakes when he realized a boa constrictor understood what he was saying.

The Director’s Eye

• Harry inadvertently caused the glass of the snake’s tank to vanish, enabling it to escape.

The Director’s Eye

• Objective: “Parseltongue” is the language of serpents and those who can converse with them. It is a very uncommon skill, and is typically hereditary. Harry was not consciously aware of his ability to speak Parseltongue until this trip to the zoo where he found himself communicating with a snake while in the reptile exhibit.

The Director’s Eye

• Finding the purpose of the scene is critical for actors because it’s their job to fulfill that purpose.

• An actor can get lost if all they do is look at the trees. They need to ask, “Where is the path?” The purpose of the scene becomes the path that leads the actor out of the forest.

The Director’s Eye

• By understanding why a particular witness has been called to testify, you can understand what piece of the story he is coming in to tell.

• A question that actors ask that we can ask ourselves when preparing to question a witness is, “What happened the moment before the scene (i.e., event) began?”

The Director’s Eye• By becoming laser-focused on your objective, you will

know what information you need from this witness and what type of questions will enable you to draw it out. You’ll come face to face with the cast of characters. Who are the heroes and who are the villains? Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys?

The Director’s Eye

• You need the jury to understand the problem from your client’s perspective – what other choice did he have than to defend himself? What does it feel like to be misidentified as a killer?

The Director’s Eye

• This will make it easier to identify what feelings you want the jury to be left with after hearing from each witness.

The Director’s Eye

• This is an antidote to falling into the trap of “asking the one question too many” or having the witness give damaging testimony “on your watch” while you look on helplessly. Because you’re the one asking the question, the jury will be left with the impression that you’re tacitly endorsing the answer. Your stock in the jury’s eyes will fall faster than the Dow Jones Industrial Average on news of a global economic slowdown.

Old Abe

• Slight digression to tell the story behind the phrase, “Do not ask the one question too many.”

• During his years as a trial lawyer, Abraham Lincoln took on his share of criminal defense cases.

Old Abe

• Once he was defending a man charged with assault and battery.

• During the cross-examination of the prosecutor’s star witness, he seemingly violated one of the Ten Commandments of Cross Examination: Do Not Ask The One Question Too Many.

Old Abe

• During the course of cross-examination, Lincoln got the witness to admit that he never actually saw the defendant bite off the nose of the victim.

• But he then asked the one question too many.

Old Abe

• Lincoln: You didn’t see my client bite off the victim’s nose.

• Witness: No, I didn’t.• Lincoln: Then how do you know he did it?• Witness: Because I saw him spit it out.

Ouch!

Soft Focus vs. Hard Focus

• These terms relate to lens flaws in photography.

• Directors use them in a slightly different context.

Soft Focus vs. Hard Focus

Hard Focus: Eyes Wide Open

Soft Focus: Constricted Pupils