Filmmaking / Directing : Should Directors Micromanage DPs? by James Woodland

Helpful info, James Woodland! Thanks. Should the director have a backup plan going into the shoot?

James Woodland I actually completely agree with you on the importance of pre-production and planning shots. But just recently on my first feature I learned that things never go the way you planned. Thankfully my DP and gaffer are great problem solvers and together we were able to find a solution to every problem we had. Most of the time the shot list was what we worked with, but one production day we had to throw everything out of the window and figure out a complete new shotlist and plan for most of that day on the fly. I think that's why it's also important to work with capable people with whom you get along with.

James Woodland Well yes, and I try to hire DPs whose vision I trust so that the relationship can be collaborative and they can express their vision as well, specifically so that I don't have to micro-manage them. On the other hand, when something is not done right by the DP or camera, the one to get the blame will be the director because that person is responsible to make sure it is done right. So you must watch or you are not doing your job. Then there's the situation which arises A LOT on sets where the DP/Op is not doing what you directed them to do, sometimes because they don't understand, sometimes because they want to do it their way, and sometimes because they are not as qualified as you would hope. In none of those cases can you let it go. You have little time to deal with those moments. I have had to physically move the DP from one spot to another to get the shot - which we only had a minute left to do - because they were having some kind of blindness. I have had to tell them what lens to use to get the shot I want, when they should have told me. At times I have had to require them to bring their kit nearer to the set so that we don't need to wait 5-10 minutes while there is a battery swap or lens change (who would think they don't know that?). I have set up a shot, gone for 3 minute call, come back and seen the DP had changed the scene and blocking entirely without the director knowing - because they liked the shot and didn't care or were not thinking of crossing the line or the director's vision. I worked on Ali (in camera dept no less) when Michael Mann literally grabbed the camera away from the DP and did the shot himself because the guy just couldn't seem to get the right angle on an action shot- while Will Smith and other talent stood there under 180,000 watts of light - and all shots had been directed long in advance with photo references. So... I wish I didn't have to micro-manage as a director or as a producer... but sometimes not doing it is going to be costly.

One should always go into production knowing what you want and getting it, at the very least. There should also be room to explore and play. You want the absolute best from everyone at every moment and sometimes what you wanted originally isn't working on the day and needs reworking. That, for me, is the most fun: to find the best of a scene, a shot, a take organically with everyone involved in getting the best possible take out of it. I find that most times, those days are the best and you get the best thing you couldn't have possibly imagined prior.

You make such an important distinction between film and television, James Woodland. On features, pre-production is everything, and the more time a director and DP spend aligning their vision beforehand, the smoother things go on set. Micromanaging in the moment usually signals that prep wasn’t thorough enough, and like you said, that costs time and money.

Television, though, often operates under such tight schedules and existing visual styles that directors may have less room to dictate and more need to adapt. In that context, the DP (and even the producing team) can carry a lot of the visual continuity, while the director focuses on performance and pacing.