Urban Movies Rise With Solid Direction
together because I knew how they worked and how to bring them together to keep the production moving.
You should learn basic camera shots, angles, and moves. Know what a medium shot is. Know what a reverse-angle shot is. Know what a dolly shot is. Know what a two and three shot are. Pick up ‘Film directing Shot By Shot’ by Steven D. Katz’. It can provide the technical foundation you will need as a director to help your creative vision come to life. Keep in mind their is only so much you can learn from books. When you get on set you’ll hear terms for shots, like ‘cowboy guns’ and ‘cowboy no guns’ not covered in a book. It’s a medium shot from the waist up no guns to thigh up guns. People will yell ‘Wolf!’ which means stop. “Flying in (insert film gear here) means bringing in. No shame in asking what a term means when you do not know. Ignorance is not bliss on a urban film set.
I was a grunt production assistant (PA) acting as a human stop signing controlling traffic with another PA. I got called on the walkie we were rolling and to not let any cars through. I gave the hand signal to the other PA, production had limited walkies, that we were rolling. He nodded knowingly for two takes. During the middle of the third take he let a motorcycle roar through killing the take and getting us both chewed out. I later asked if he missed the signal, he told me he had no idea that signal meant rolling. He never worked on a film before. Asking what the signal meant would have saved us being chewed out.
That story ties into how crucial communication is when your making an urban action movie. You have to be clear to with everyone involved in your film about what you’re going to do, what you need, and what you’re looking for them to do. People look for this, they expect this from a director. Don’t leave cast and crew guessing about what you want. There’s never enough time or money to play that game during production. Communication runs two ways. Make sure people can ask you questions if they’re not clear on something you said. What might make total sense to you can be lost in the translation as it goes out to the troops.
Accept you’re not always going to make the right call on every shot. You’re never going to be totally happy with the way some scenes turned out. You’ll always want to go back and re-shoot certain scenes again. Fight through it. It might not seem like it during crazy times of filming, but if you have paid attention to the details you will have shot yourself a movie at the end of production. Trust your instincts. I was a nervous wreck after CONSIGNMENT was in the can. I could barely sit down with the editor Tim Beachum to watch the raw footage because my neck and back were seized up with stress.
Sure enough a couple of the camera moves I chose for a few scenes did not turn out like I had envisioned. A few of the calls I made as a director just didn’t work. I was a mess, editor Tim Beachum was surprisingly relaxed about it all and talked me down from the proverbial ledge. I was positive the urban movie Consignment was doomed. What saved the day?
A tip I got from an old school Director of Photography (DP) I listened to before shooting. No matter what kind of amazing camera move you want to experiment with to shoot a scene grab at least one take of a master or a standard three shot for coverage in case your wonder shot goes to hell. Turns out the coverage I thought was never going to use because surely my awesome camera moves would work. Some didn’t. The extra coverage I grabbed did end up covering my ass in post.
The editor had enough coverage from those few takes to cut the film together without losing continuity. I had spent three or four takes on what I thought were the coolest shots only to end up using the basic takes that worked. The other side of the coin of that is some of the shots I had taken chances on worked beautifully. Nothing like hearing an editor say, ‘that was a real pretty shot’ or ‘loved the way you shot that scene’. So if it all goes to hell with your experimental shots have at least a little standard coverage to get you through. If it comes down to time. Plan ahead to give yourself a take or two with the shot you really want and a take going by the book for coverage
Having a solid sense of how to tell stories using moving pictures and thinking about how a scene will cut together before you yell ‘Action!’ is a smart. It gives you much more flexibility as a director to be creative, take chances, and experiment with a scene. Knowing the basics how to cover a scene allows you to bend the rules.
Avoid being a paranoid and insecure director. Yes, you have to keep firm control of the shoot because a film directed by committee doesn’t work, but there is a fine line between control and paranoia fueled by insecurity. It can quickly