FILM EDUCATION

Directing Fundamentals. Without a strong vision behind a story, a film will lose its focus. A film director needs to have an understanding of how each department contributes to the making of a film and how to best utilize the talents of all team members. The following 100 LEVEL blogs cover the role and responsibilities of a director in script development, pre-production, production, and post production. Read along to learn how to tell a story cinematically, use the camera as a tool, prepare a script analysis and engage in the casting and rehearsal process with actors.

April 15, 2024

Film Directing 112: The Director's Frame

April 15, 2024/ john pozer

Good films need intentional frames

An engaged audience reacts to the director’s choices in every frame. Focus, light, movement, composition, and shot content are factors for every director to consider when constructing a frame.

Ideas for frames grow and multiply through your director’s prep. The writer, John Steinbeck, said it best — 'Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.'

April 12, 2024

Film Directing 111: The Director's Camera Angle

April 12, 2024/ john pozer

Angles tell the story

Camera angles have conventions and implicit meanings that have been understood by viewers from the early days of moving pictures.

Directors need to know the impact of their decisions when they set up a shot. And they need to understand what their audience will understand from their camera angle choice.

April 12, 2024

Film Directing 110: The Director's Camera

April 12, 2024/ john pozer

The most powerful storytelling tool is the camera

Creating strong images that are carefully designed with intentional storytelling details is the director’s job. The power and effectiveness of the storytelling lies in the director’s camera choices.

The beginning director must have an understanding of how camera placement and movement can convey the narrative purpose of a shot or a scene.

April 08, 2024

Film Directing 109: The Director's Eye

April 08, 2024/ john pozer

Develop an eye for visual possibilities

We know that filmmaking is a collaborative art and that the cast and crew work together to support the best possible storytelling. However, the director is ultimately responsible for building a strong, cinematic story.

Developing your eye as a film director is an ongoing process of understanding, observation, and patience. Every day and every film is full of opportunities to learn.

April 04, 2024

Film Directing 107: Introduction to Shotlists

April 04, 2024/ john pozer

Shotlists help you plan your film

As the production moves from pre-production into principle photography, the shotlist is tremendously helpful. It shapes the schedule, clarifies the equipment that is needed, and many other important details that contribute to managing a smooth-running show.

Every director has their own process for pre-visualizing their story, but creating a written plan helps build confidence in the decision-making that happens on set.

April 03, 2024

Film Directing 106: Introduction to Schematics

April 03, 2024/ john pozer

Blocking strategies and schematics for the beginning director

Creating blocking strategies and drawing up schematics are critical skills for the beginning director to develop.

Every director goes through their own process for planning the visual story that they want to tell – before they arrive on set to shoot it. The director’s pre-production work informs the schedule for shooting the film. The schedule is bound by the budget. Ultimately, the amount of money and time available for you to shoot a scene will dictate the limitations you need to work within.

April 02, 2024

Film Directing 105: Blocking the Scene

April 02, 2024/ john pozer

Blocking fundamentals for the beginning director

“Blocking’s up!” is the announcement you hear on set when the director, director of photography, and actors gather to walk through the dynamics of a scene and how it’s going to be shot. Blocking is essentially the choreography between the actor(s) and the camera.

There can be many moving parts to the blocking puzzle. Everyone who contributes to the shot needs to know what’s in the frame, what’s happening – and when it’s happening.