Urban Movies Rise With Solid Direction
couple of stories might seem to go against what I said about not directing by committee, taking chances that don’t always work, and keeping control of your movie. I still feel that a movie can’t get done right when you have a weak director who listens to everyone on what their movie should end up looking like. I still feel you can’t be afraid to take chances on shots that don’t end up working. I still feel you have to keep control of your movie. It’s one thing to be overly paranoid about someone hijacking your movie, but it’s equally destructive to you as a director to cave in when someone is trying to tell you how to do your job as a director.
You also don’t want to become so completely narrow minded that you can’t brainstorm with your key production personal to problem solve, work creatively with your DP to see your vision materialize, allow your talent to spread their wings from time to time in a scene, or see when you need to be open minded enough to change the way you’re shooting a scene so that it can work. You surrounded yourself with a good team let them help you make your movie. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well it takes a production team to make a movie.
it will always be your overall vision behind the way a movie will turn out, but being open to collaboration with your cast and crew creates a more positive set. You don’t want mindless robots going through the motions. You want fired up people eager to lend you all their talents to make your movie rock. Don’t let your ego get in the way of you seeing the big picture.
Some myths I do not buy into about being a director.
You’re not a real director if you don’t shoot on film. Once you’ve completed a shoot on any format you’re a real director.
A director needs to know how to light scenes. The more you know about any aspect of film production the better, but if you don’t know about lighting a scene you can still direct. What I do is make notes on the look, feel, and mood I see in my head for each scene. I pass that along to the DP so we can discuss how to make it happen. I also like to suggest to the DP DVD’s to rent with scenes I feel lighting wise are close to what I’m going after. Your DP is the master of light. He’ll deliver the lighting set ups you need.
The director needs to know how to run the camera. Not true. It’s very possible you will never touch the camera once during a shoot. I myself for the most part watch through a monitor. I do look through the camera after the DP has set the frame for the shot, but I rarely run it.
It’s easier to direct a low budget indie movie than a mainstream Hollywood movie. Wrong. Directing a low budget indie or a Hollywood blockbuster both have their own challenges for a director to numerous to list. In the end you still have to be able to tell a good story using pictures. It’s never easy.
A director sits in video village all day while everyone else works. I wish that was true. A director has to be on top of everything going on during shooting. They deal with the actors, check with camera and sound to make sure there were no problems with the take, and put out a dozen other fires that pop up.
Some ideas I do buy into as a director.
Never let anyone give your actors direction or notes, unless they are coming directly from you. You’re the director It’s your role and your role alone to work with actors to get the performances you want. No one else should ever be allowed to work with the actors. One time I was on a roof looking at a scene. I didn’t like the way the blocking was playing out, so I walkied the 1st A.D. some directions to pass along to the actors. That’s as far as I felt comfortable having people work with talent.
It’s your set and you should be the only one to yell CUT! I had an actor once in the middle of the take turn to the camera and say cut because they flubbed a line. It wasn’t their call, it’s not anyones call but the director. They were warned and when it happened again they were released from the movie.
The director is the driving force behind a movie. Nobody is going to care as much about your movie as you do. You have to keep everyone pumped up and on track to finish a movie. You want your passion for what you’re shooting as a director to be contagious on the set.
A director needs to be able to be secure enough to listen and collaborate with cast and crew. This is not directing by committee but having the leadership ability to fully maximize everyone’s talents. Your movie can only turn out better because of it.
You have to be a cheerleader and a salesmen. When things are not going well on set you need to be able to keep morale up. After a rough day of shooting I let everyone know what a great job they were doing and how