One of the ideas central to
Maneuver Warfare is the OODA Loop. OODA stands for Observe, Orient,
Decide, and Act. It is a loop because once one has completed the series (taken an action), one takes the results of that action, adds that information into the process, and begins again. The OODA Loop grew out of Col. Boyd''s experience dogfighting. Boyd flew about 20 combat missions in F-86s at the tail end of the Korean War and the OODA loop was a way to quantify and examine the instantaneous mental process he used to win his dogfights. When one thinks about close air combat the OODA loop seems obvious. The pilot must Observe the number and position of opponents, the type of aircraft they are flying, what maneuvers the aircraft is capable of performing, and a host of other information from how skillful the pilots are to whether they seem to favor one type of
maneuver or another. One then has to take that information and integrate it with one’s own skills, equipment, position, etc.; thus, Orienting oneself. A
Decision must then be made on what to do and that decision put into immediate Action. In close air combat that process must then be repeated as quickly as possible. The same OODA Loop process is an effective technique for the actor. The OODA Loop is most useful during the actual performance and is an excellent tool for improvisation. The first observation segment in the loop is, in reality, the process where one integrates all types of information into the decision/action process. This information includes what one knows about the author''s intent for the play and the scene, the biography and personal attributes of the character one is playing, what one knows about other characters in the scene, the history or science underlying the story, and so forth. The orientation phase has to have one''s actions and reactions integrated with the Commander''s Intent, the actions of the other characters, and one''s place in the scene and on the set. The information about one''s character and actions such as mooding may prove useless if one does not know where one is physically and where one is going. The performance will also ring false if one does not understand and play off of the other characters or the situation. Acting is reacting and the orientation phase of the loop is one of the major elements one is reacting to. In the air, in the heat of battle, knowing where one is in relation to the opposition force is probably the primary key to decision making. On the movie set or stage, I would argue that at most times, a similar understanding of one''s position emotionally and physically to the script and other actors is one of the primary basis'' for making decisions and taking actions to achieve the goals of both the scene and the overall production. Once the observation phase is completed and one''s orientation is understood, one can make reasonable decisions about how to achieve the desired goal whether it is to take a particular hill or kiss the hand of the leading lady. The decisions one makes in acting should be virtually unconscious; or at least invisible. The actions one takes are the results of those decisions and should grow naturally out of the character and as a result of the OODA Loop. Of course, in acting as in war, sometimes the decision is actually to do nothing for awhile, but lack of action should be a choice, not a result of not knowing what to do. That reintegration process is "loop" element and is the very heart of good acting because the actor takes their actions, the actions and reactions of the other characters, and their change of place and uses that as the beginning of a new decision/action cycle. Using the OODA Loop keeps the actor connected to what is actually happening at all time