Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Part I
A good director makes sure that all parts of a film are
creatively produced and brought together in a single
totality. A director interprets the script, coaches the
performers, works together with the montagist, etc.,
interrelating them all to create a work of art. According to
Film Scholar Eric Sherman, the director begins with a vague
idea of the entire film and uses this to help him determine
what is to be done. He gains most when others are given
their freedom to show what they know.
The Script
The first basic element in creating a film is the script. The
script is basically the guideline. Even if it is very precise, it
is a guideline. Later, the period of the shooting will bring
you a lot of surprises. Then, the editing is a completely new
experience. Every picture starts out with an idea placed on
paper. These ideas come from a multitude of places,
including plays, poems, paintings, music, etc.
There are thousands of people currently writing scripts in
hopes that theirs might attract the attention of a producer,
studio or director. There are a lot of well-written scripts that
for one reason or another will never make it to the screen.
Martha Coolidge (Rambling Rose) has said "You're always
looking for a metaphor that is extremely visual and
dramatic so that it becomes a picture and not just words on
the page."
"One sets out to make a film because one likes the subject
matter. I believe the script is never finished. I constantly
work on the script, either with the writer, or, if the writer is
not there, with another writer, or with the people that are
working with me. I think the script is the blueprint and then
it has to have a life of its own," John Schlesinger (The
Manhattan Cowboy, The Marathon Man). Still there are
other directors whom take a script word for word, action for
action, never changing a thing.
For the film Duel, director Stephen Spielberg had the entire
picture planned out on IBM cards. The cards were mounted
on a bulletin board in his hotel room, and rather than
bringing along a script, each day he would choose a
number of cards. On each card was the "gist" of the scene,
how the scene was to be shot, and the setups for each
sequence. Once the cards were gone, shooting for that day
was complete.
Casting
While working on the storyboard and other preproduction
processes, the producer will be able to determine when
each actor will be working during the course of the filming.
Because there is such a wide range of prices asked for by
different actors in today's film industry, the casting of the
film is a great factor in determining a films budget and visa
versa. In an ideal situation, a producer and director will
pick the best actor for the part. Betty Davis once told Ron
Howard "95 percent of directing is the script and the
casting. Once you've done that, the rest is knowing how to
stay the hell out of the way and still get the movie shot."
Rehearsal
Once the major roles for the film have been cast, a director
can begin preliminary run-throughs (rehearsals) to help the
actors develop their specific characters. The amount of
rehearsal time afforded depends greatly on what the
director requests, the availability of the actor, and the
overall time constraints on the film. Generally rehearsals
last 2-3 weeks before the actual shooting process begins.
Rehearsals can be very helpful in establishing relationships
with the actors, along with determining if a specific scene
plays out as believable or not. It is a time when the actors
can give input, ask questions and collaborate with the
director on whether a scene will relay well to the audience.
If not, this is the time to make changes.
Film Editing
Like director-cameraman or director-actor relationships, the
director-editor relationship is of great importance. Once a
good relationship is established between and editor and
director, they tend to work together on numerous projects.
Each will know what to expect from one another and will in
turn create respectable work for one another. An editor is
looking for flexibility; enough material to work with to
create the best overall production possible. When there is
plenty of coverage of scenes, it gives the editor much more
to work with in order to accomplish this task.
Previews
Once a film is complete, the time for an audience to view
the picture begins. Studios will typically have a sneak
preview for a film, in which they can gauge audience
reception to the picture. Unfortunately, there have been
instances where a studio has hindered a great picture
because they felt the audience reaction was not what was
to be expected. They then go back and interject
unnecessary sex or action scenes to try and compensate,
essentially butchering the film.
The director cannot allow one bad remark about their film
to alter their thoughts and beliefs about that film. If a
director truly believes in the quality of their work than
reviews should account very little to them. As Paul
Mazursky once stated, "I don't take most of the critics
seriously. I don't see how you can see ten pictures a week
and do a legitimate job day to day." Robert Altman has
mentioned that the only thing that he has really learned
from critics is that there are people that look at film from a
different point of view then his own.
An example of how reviews do not necessarily reflect the
impact a movie may have is seen in a 1980 review in
Variety magazine of the film Raging Bull. Directed by Martin
Scorsese, Raging bull was given mixed reviews for both its
so-called "lack of quieter, introspective moments" along
with "audience alienation." Scorsese was also criticized for
DeNiro's character being a "turn-off" in that same article.
Despite these criticisms, Raging Bull went on to be
nominated for several Academy awards including those for
best actor and Best Director, and is today considered on the
of the American Film Institutes 100 best films of all time.
FilmMakers recommendations
ACTION CUT - This is the most unique series of learning
tools in the film industry that provides an in-depth look
inside the directing craft on a step-by-step, shot-by-shot
professional level of production from the written page
through the moviemaking process to the final film.
The Director's Journey : The Creative Collaboration
Between Directors, Writers and Actors by Mark W. Travis
Directing Actors : Creating Memorable Performances for
Film and Television by Judith Weston
Directing 101 by Ernest Pintoff
On Directing Film by David Mamet
The Directors--Take One : In Their Own Words by Robert J.
Emery, Leonard Maltin
Directing Your Directing Career, Support Book & Agent
Guide for Directors: 2nd Edition by K. Callan
From Script to Screen : The Collaborative Art of Filmmaking
by Linda Seger, Edward Jay Whetmore
Interpreting the Moving Image (Cambridge Studies in Film)
by Noel Carroll
The Cinema of Oliver Stone by Norman Kagan
Breaking into Film : Making Your Career Search a
Blockbuster by Kenna McHugh
Scorsese on Scorsese by David Thompson, Ian Christie,
Michael Powell
The Film Producer : A Handbook for Producing by Paul N.
Lazarus
Martin Scorsese by Andy Dougan