Directing Tips/Resources

[Mark Collins]

Hey Guys!

So, I'm a really new director. I've really only directed one 2-minute short film before and that was more of a learning experience than anything else.

So, being a student still, in my final year which is coming up in September, our class has to do several 10-minute short films. I have one written and am looking to direct it.

However, my problem being a relatively new director is a lack of experience, so what I'm trying to do is call upon the experiences of others to help me out as a director. So, does anyone have any tips to share on directing, or know any resources (books, etc) that I can read/watch to help learn the ropes as it were.

I'm presently reading Shot by Shot by Stephen Katz, which is extremely helpful so far, despite being a bit dated. So, any other books that I should be reading? Movies that I should be watching?

Thanks guys!

 

[Zach Gray]

Practice. That means making both good and bad films, but you need to try your ideas out in the real world to see if they actually work. It's easy to get trapped inside your head where everything works -- try it with actors to make sure it works, shoot a short cinematic sequence to see if the shooting/editing device works. Learning means succeeding some, and failing some, but if learning is the goal, there is no failure. The important part is identify what works at all levels - statement of the film, audience engagement, eye candy, editing devices - and learn to pair approach with style and content.

Communication. As a director, all you do is talk. You don't actually *do* very much on set at all. Everyone else is there to help you actually accomplish things. That means you'd better be good at understanding your own goals, and articulating them in a clear and efficient manner, and being secure enough to incorporate the ideas of others.

Know your crafts. As a director, you need to bring all the elements of cinema together. You'll tend to hover and hide where you are most comfortable - probably camera - and ignore the actors. Try to crew in as many positions as you can - Act, Art, Produce, Shoot, Edit, Write. This will give you an idea how to get the best out of each department, have realistic expectations, and communicate clearly.

Prepare. When you direct, you think you know your movie. You get on set, and soon realize that you don't. That's where good prep comes in. It's harder and more time consuming than you think. The tough part *isn't* cool camera blocking, logistics, art dept, extras or whatever, it's figuring what the movie is actually about, and what it can be. It's very easy to skip this, and think you've got it, and when pressed on set by a cranky or out of control actor or dept head, realize you have no idea what movie you are actually making, or even worse, end up making an entirely different movie.

Study. A great exercise is to watch a scene from a great film repeatedly and break it up and catalog what went into it. How many cuts? How many setups? How long? How many action cuts? How many cinematic devices? Use of music? How did the music start? Was there a cue? What motivated performance? What was the subtext? How much was nonverbal MOS filmmaking? A film is a complete experience, and as such, is difficult to analyze as you are enveloped by it. It's much easier to understand the choices of the filmmakers as you study each element and identify why they made the choices they did. It's like painting after a master stroke by stroke instead of taking a snapshot of the painting. You'll obviously learn more by following in their footsteps.

Know your cinematic devices. Plenty of good reading on this. It's rhythm, tone, shot selection, editing rhythms to complement writing and performance.

Read. All these ideas are from great authors I've read. I've learned that each author has their own viewpoint on the same material, and each reveal a portion of the truth. If found it to be most useful to get into these authors concurrently, especially when you get into performance.

Here is my short list:

1. First Time Director, Gil Bettman (if just one book, this one)
2. Directing Feature Films, Mark Travis (full prep process)
3. Directing Actors, Judith Weston
4. Working Director
5. Directing, Michael Rabiger (scene study exercise)
6. The eye is quicker, Richard Pepperman (editing)
7. Books on writing.

Hope this helps!

 

[C. Jagan Mohan]

These are some of best books: the BOLD ones are the best:

Directing Film Techniques and Aesthetics.
Directing the Story
Film Structure and the Emotion System
The Art and Business of Directing Commercials
The Five C's of Cinematography - Motion Picture Filming Techniques
Theatrical Translation and Film Adaptation