Moving on to Directing...
What does a Director do?
One of the first things that a director does is comes up with his/her VISION.
This is one of the key skills that a director has.
Remember a director’s look book? that is part of how a director shows his/her vision
That vision is about seeing the movie BEFORE there is a movie.
Seeing shots when reading the script. Storyboards will eventually be part of that...
This vision is about making decisions and communicating them to people who can help.
It’s about knowing the answer to every question that comes up in trying to make the movie.
It’s about explaining PERFECTLY those answers.
It is brutally hard to explain everything all the time about the movie in your head.
A good director has to trust the skills of the people around him/her. Especially non-technical directors.
Technical directors know the tech of shooting - cameras, lights, etc and sometimes operate their own
Non-technical directors rely on DPs, and crew
Another thing directors have to focus on is ACTORS - this is a HUGE part of being a good director - some say it’s the most important thing
“Coaxing a performance” “letting the actors do their thing” are two extremes of this.
Some of the best are: Martin Scorsese - let’s actors riff and try stuff
Judd Apatow - encourages actors improv work for comedy
James Cameron is a tyrant and controlling and a maniac and impossibly demanding
Michael Bay is also a tyrant and very tech-focused
The key here is CONFIDENCE - the actor is like an animal, and the director is like an animal trainer - if the animal senses fear and weakness, the animal will behave inappropriately - if the animal senses strength and certainty, then the animal will behave
The director must be able to get what he/she wants in any way possible. It is a crazy, strange, very powerful job that is a lot about psychology and manipulation.
It is not a coincidence that actresses date directors. It is a classic.
When you’re watching a movie, you need to think about the person standing beside the camera, or off to one side watching a monitor, and controlling the whole thing like a puppet master - you need to think about what he/she is doing.
That is one way to review or analyse a film.
Generally - lighting, camera, acting, mise-en-scene (things arranged within the frame), pace of the story, decisions, decisions, decisions - you’re looking for examples of good ones.
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