8 “Obvious” Things a Director Should Know
Image by Mondi
So sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees as a director. Your focused on a million different things that you start to forget the simple basic things… or at least I do. Here’s a list of the 8 “obvious” things I think a director should know:
- It’s the actor’s job to act. Probably the most obvious on the list, but I keep catching myself telling the actor what to feel or how to say lines. The actor was cast to fill that specific role and they know how the character should feel or how they should say it. Your job is to make sure it works in context with the rest of the film
- You’re the least useful person on set. This is a joke I usually tell people. As a director, I want to understand every part of production and surround myself who know way more about it than I. I want to talk to the DoP about lenses and know what I’m talking about but they should know more about it than I. The director literally talks a film into creation, he doesn’t “do” any of the actual work. Trust your crew, they’re smarter than you in their various fields.
- Your director’s vision should be blurry. You’ve heard of the director’s vision for a movie. The reality is that you never ever get what you originally pictured and oftentimes that’s awesome! Sometimes your DoP has a great lighting or camera angle you didn’t think of, sometimes an actor will ad lib a line and it just works. Don’t be a slave to your vision, allow room to explore and change. More importantly, allow room for your cast and crew to explore!
- You will make mistakes, cover your ass. Roger Corman has a great strategy called a master and two pops. Basically he tries to get a master shot and two close ups for every scene. While this works it can end up being boring but the premise is absolutely sound. Shoot a master, then shoot a couple of cutaways which could be artwork on the wall, a cat at a window and some reaction shots.
- Work on automatic. I work fast on set because I don’t have to think. I plan everything in pre-production, review what I’m doing that day in the morning and then turn my brain off and follow my notes without too much thought about where I am in the story. This frees me up to change stuff on the fly and be more flexible. The director’s binder I mentioned in this post is absolutely necessary to this step!
- Capture emotion, not images. This is one of those traps I get into all the time! I’m always looking out for the most interesting shot, but sometimes that’s the wrong shot emotionally. Always remember that the blocking and framing need to tell the emotion of the story, the kewl shots are secondary.
- Set the tone on set. You’re the captain of this ship and if you’re in a bad mood, the set is in a bad mood. It doesn’t matter how bad the shoot may be going, everyone looks up to you for guidance. If you march forward like you relish this challenge, chances are everyone will follow and try to make this the best damn film possible!
- What the story is isn’t as important as how you tell it. The story may be something you think is important to tell but you can’t just blurt it out. How a film tells the story is the number one thing a director must look at from which all other decisions are made, even more so then what the story is about.
What do you think are some other “obvious” things a director should know?
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