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.
Your first day on set as a director will undoubtedly be memorable.
Every day of film production requires you to have a plan. The question is: can the scheduled work be completed in the allotted time?
Whatever happens, you’ll walk away knowing a lot more about your actors, yourself, and the challenges of directing.
Read MoreThe tech survey is where the rubber hits the road for the directing team: laying out the production plans, the schedule, the start and stop times — basically, everything that’s going to happen for each day of shooting at each set.
The more details and precision, the better. Thoroughness and clarity are key.
Make the most of your tech survey. It sets the tone for your shoot.
Read MoreShow and Tell meetings bring together the various elements of the images you plan to create. They also help you avoid unwanted surprises during principle photography.
Everyone on the filmmaking team wants to deliver their best work. Clear, concise communication and decisive leadership from the director is a must. Effective show and tell meetings begin with the director. Vagueness and uncertainty are not helpful and will likely lead to delays and disappointments on set.
Get all your ducks (and seahorses) in a row!
Read MoreThe first assistant director and their team is the engine that keeps your production running. Treat them like gold. They are worth it!
Your best chance at getting good performances from your actors and having an organized shoot that runs smoothy – on time and on budget – is to have an informed assistant director. Planning and managing all the moving parts of a film production and having everything in the right place at the right time is like a paramilitary operation.
Your show will only be as good as the teamwork and communication between you and your first assistant director. They are your most precious partner – because they make your creative plans come to life.
Read MoreAn 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.'
Read More“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.
Read MoreAs a director you receive a script written in a screenplay format. This is the whole story with all of the scenes and characters. Your job is to turn that into a film.
In order to have a powerful and unique visual interpretation of the screenplay you need to know the story inside out; the characters, the dialogue, the subtext, the conflict, the story arc, the genre — and a thousand more details.
It can be exhausting. That’s why they’re gonna pay you the big bucks!
Read MoreMost film production students are interested in directing, yet there are popular misconceptions about the role of the director.
It appears to many that directors are at the top of the pyramid in the filmmaking process, however, directors are actually employees of the producer. There are professional guidelines and contractual expectations for the job.
The director needs to have a solid understanding of the entire filmmaking process. Are you ready for the challenge?
Read MoreLike any profession, there are specific words, terms, and references that you need to know in order to effectively communicate in the day-to-day activities of a working film director.
This is an expansive area and your knowledge will grow and evolve as you read screenplays, study films, and make films. Like learning any new language, becoming fluent takes time.
Read MoreWithout 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 the director’s prep, pre-production, and 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.
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