10 Thoughts on Directing Movies

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1. Be the first to say it is "just a movie" or "First World Problems" to get that nonsense out of the way. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ http://s.hswstatic.com/gif/movie-director-6.jpg _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. With money tight, is it worth paying hundreds of dollars for a directing workshop without exploring the information and tutorials available for free on-line and on DVDs ? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.instagram.com/lilyinapad/?hl=en _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Is it true that "Once the script is right and the casting appropriate, ninety percent of the director's job is done" is has the job just begun? Some films and many TV shows use directors only as guests and already have the script in place and the cast already attached or established. The director may have to initial each page of a script to ensure it is all shot. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ http://67.media.tumblr.com/b78ca5314f53b8754bff183a55a92311/tumblr_mh95s3iewL1rovfcgo1_1280.jpg _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Is Wernor Herzog right in saying that "storyboards are for cowards" or is Roger Corman right that especially directors starting out with respect for everyone's time should prepare storyboards and/or pre-vis? Does it matter that a storyboard "implies a cut" or is it up to the director to decide the psychological use of the frame, a move, and the displacement impact of an edit? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ http://www.tribute.ca/images/videos/ruba-nadda-inescapable-6016-300x226.jpg 5. Do you aspire to the Auteur Theory or is Peter Farrelly right that, "If you come off like you think you are Stanley Kubrick, the crew will make your life hell" so it is better to tell them to save you and you know nothing? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/film-director-quentin-tarantino-is-photographed-for-shortlist-on-7-picture-id173215132 6. What part of a director's duties could be delegated before the directing credit feels fraudulent? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Martin_Scorsese_by_David_Shankbone.jpg _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7. How do you honestly develop a reputation for a style or even competence without establishing a vision in advance? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ http://static1.purepeople.com/articles/3/13/44/43/@/1348944-la-realisatrice-jane-campion-62eme-950x0-2.jpg _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Is important to have a social issue as your masthead or is the language of directing itself enough to draw fans? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ http://www.trbimg.com/img-56567b8c/turbine/la-ca-mn-conversation-spike-lee-chi-raq-interview-20151129 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9. Is it better to work independently or join a union, paying for workshops between clocking set hours as PA/AD, third AD, second AD, and First AD, giving yourself years to climb a theoretical ladder to Director? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Sofia-sofia-coppola-562139_395_480.jpg _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Will you have time to schmoose and drink with the right person to get a job, or will you be focused on developing your craft? And must you be a musician or actor or stand-up comic as a prerequisite for directing or is that the advice you will get from a director who is a musician, actor or stand-up and wants to psyche you out? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Francis-Ford-Coppola.jpg