DIRECTING A FILM. Tips to Film Directing from some top Movie Directors.
Ideas to be a great Film Director!
Directing a film is the most intensely solitary and intensely collaborative experience you may ever have. On a psychological level, it's about keeping your ego in perfect balance with your need for input, and your vision moving forward with your changing circumstances.
Whether you're running your first independent-film casting call or into your millionth day of shooting, you may find some useful ideas here.
A great movie is about catching the audience on every level.
All the great film directors always say: Direct the stories that you know right now. Express yourself in the films. Put your personal vision in the films.
The main questions a Film Director must answer are: 1. Where do I put the camera? 2. What do I tell the actors? 3. What is the scene about?
David Mamet says that directing a film is about shooting a variety of unaffected shots and then cutting them together to effect a mood and feel.
“True creativity is allowing your unconscious to be free.”
The audience gets the idea - a house looks like a house.
KISS – Keep it simple, stupid
People look at the most overriding thing in the frame. Human perception goes to the most important thing.
“Just be honest in making a movie. Then you’ll find that it’s fighting back against you and telling you how to write and shoot it.”
IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT, HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOU’RE DONE?
“Directing a film is like climbing a mountain. It’s frightening sometimes and it's usually lonely but you don’t have to climb the whole mountain all at once.”
Pick up people along the way who will be a part of your creative team, and you will be a part of theirs as well. That is 50% of Directing a Film
“There are no minor decisions in movie making.”
Always prepare the groundwork. See that it allows for the lucky accidents to happen. That’s what makes a first-rate movie.
”The director is in charge of keeping the wheels turning. Handling the moods and egos, the politics and personalities, the insecurities of everyone on set.”
It's VALUABLE to have people who challenge you - search for the TRUTH
“Tension never helps anything.”
ASK YOURSELF: Does the scene contribute to the overall theme? Does it contribute to the storyline? Is the storyline moving in an ever-increasing arc of tension and drama?
As as Director, it’s important to understand each and every line that’s in the script.
Good style is UNSEEN style. It is style that is FELT.
"I know the first film I ever saw — it must have been some time in 1924, when I was six or so... was Black Beauty. About a stallion. I still recall a sequence with fire. It was burning, I remember that vividly. And I remember too how it excited me, and how afterwards we bought the book of Black Beauty and how I learned the chapter on the fire by heart — at that time I still hadn't learned to read." Ingmar Bergman
What you do with the camera: -Can make up for a deficient performance -Can make a good performance better -Can create mood -Can create ugliness -Can create beauty -Can provide excitement -Can capture the essence of the moment -Can stop time -Can define character -Can provide exposition -Can make a joke -Can make a miracle -Can tell a story
-Be prepared, organized and disciplined. Get body in mental shape. -Relax in the morning. Do something different to get mind moving.
If your concentration breaks, you know something has gone wrong. Do another take.
A good day is a day the actors don’t get bored.
REVIEW THE DAY MENTALLY: -Did you get what you wanted? -Do you need additional coverage? -Is there anything you want to reshoot?
“All good work is self-revelation.”
Making a movie is going through a series of battles. If you think you’ve won, you will only have to fight them over again.
"Cinema is a matter of what's in the frame and what's out." Martin Scorsese
THE DIRECTOR’S JOB FOR DIRECTING A FILM
To care about and be responsible for every frame of every movie you make. To make the best possible movie you can make.
There’s a sensual satisfaction in working in close unions with strong, independent and creative people: actors, assistants, electrics, production staff, props, make-up, costume designers - all those personalities who populate the day and make it possible to get through.
You gradually build up the psychological situation piece by piece, using the camera to emphasize first one detail, then another. The point is to draw the audience right inside the situation, instead of leaving them to watch it from outside. And you can do this only by breaking the action up into details and cutting from one to the other, so that each detail is forced, in turn, on the attention of the audience, and reveals its psychological meaning.
If the camera is always in one position and you don’t cut, you will lose your power over the audience. They will watch the scene without really being involved in it. They won’t understand what the characters are feeling.
If the take is good, move on. Try to improve on something later, not something that doesn’t need it, or isn’t going to be any better.
Look for something that has style and visual energy.
Given time and freedom, the actors will fall naturally into their places, discovering when and where to move, and you will have your shot.
THE ESSENTIAL PRINCIPALS OF CINEMA HAVE TO DO WITH THE HUMAN NEED TO MASTER AND KNOW THE WORLD.
Think about the music and sound effects the moment you begin directing a film.
Directing a Film is not only creatively handling actors and interpreting the screenplay. It also includes the ability to complete a day's work on time and on schedule. A director who is properly prepared allows for creativity, while planning for the inevitable problems.
A director who is able to think creatively while making instantaneous decisions based upon the pressures of production is a successful director.
"A movie is never finished, only abandoned." George Lucas
WORKING WITH YOUR CREW WHEN DIRECTING A FILM
-If you want professional reliability from your crew, you must first be a model of professionalism yourself. -Trust your crew reasonably and they will rise to crisis selflessly -Have meals and coffee breaks built predictably into the schedule -Always maintain communication -Keep abreast of developments -During breaks, encourage discussion of the production -Above all, encourage involvement -Shooting should take place in as calm an atmosphere as possible -A calm, respectful atmosphere is a necessity -Choose colleagues carefully -If you are sympathetic towards the crew's problems, they will be generous when you want their help solving one of yours
DIRECTING THE CREW WHEN DIRECTING A FILM -Scheduling and communication is a necessity before the shoot -Make sure everyone knows and keeps to their area of responsibility -Encourage moment-to-moment communication during the shoot -Encourage the crew to act supportively towards the TALENT -Encourage solidarity and maintain professionalism when there are internal disagreements
SCRIPTWRITING -Dissect the script and come up with gameplan -Write down ideas for images for each scene -Look for connections to your own past experiences
PRODUCTION DESIGN -Scriptwriting answers the WHAT questions of the story; Production Design answers the WHERE AND HOW -The Director begins the prep process by having conferences with his or her Production Designer, explaining each scene of the script as he or she sees it -Break down the script, answering: How long will it take, and how much will it cost? -TWO TYPES OF VISUAL DESIGNS – PICTORIAL AND SEQUENTIAL ----PICTORIAL: Set design, costumes, props, make-up, and any elements that are layered on top of a location and must by built, manufactured or otherwise obtained ----SEQUENTIAL: Skills of the writer, Production Designer, Director, DOP and Editor -Once locations are secured, the Director develops an overview of the film
SCRIPT ANALYSIS -After the Director is totally prepared , and the script is in great shape and the locations are locked – NOW it’s time to work out the shot-by-shot plan for each scene and really prepare to start Directing a Film. -SHOT PLAN – Size of the action, size of the shot, choice of lens and camera angle: HOW DO THEY ALL DETERMINE THE NARRATIVE QUALITY OF THE SCENE? -What is the Director trying to express?
CINEMATOGRAPHY -DOP’s major responsibilities are lighting, exposing the film, and executing the framing and camera movement determined by the Production Designer, Director and DOP -It's a good idea to show the DOP a visual source, illustrating what they’re after stylistically
REHEARSAL TIME -It is the Director’s job to create an environment in which the actors can connect with their impulses and find the unexpected and unpredictable in their work together -Even in rehearsals, place the frame around the actor - because it always changes the way a scene plays
For the Director, art of learning the craft is having a good sense of what will work before the camera rolls.
DIRECTOR’S JOB – To evaluate what portion of the event you want to feature, and from which vantage point.
Some wisdom from people who do it for a living is scattered throughout the article. We've lost most of the attributions, so if you can help us out, CONTACT US using either the link at the bottom of the page or on the navibar!
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