What makes a good director... this is where I start: The director is the Captain of the ship. They need a strong ability to visualize and a strong solid overall vision for a project, project management, personnel management, leadership, the ability to explain their vision properly to others, the ability to listen, a strong understanding of all the areas and disciplines required to bring their vision through to delivery, knowing that something can or can't be done within the time & finances allocated... A good director needs to be a good story teller. A good Director needs to know when an actor's performance has peaked and when to stop pushing, or when to step in and pull that last bit from the actor. A good Director has to know when to just sit back and let the actors run with it while knowing when to reign them in again. A good Director knows how to make an actor comfortable enough to step out of their comfort zone in order to get the best from them. Actors need to trust the director. If an actor cannot trust a director, they won't deliver a quality performance.. Directing is more than just calling action. Directing is a very difficult job. It starts the minute the project starts and ends after Delivery. A good director needs to be able to edit a script, understand music and its impact on a scene. know when to add the right sound effect to build an emotional moment. A good director needs to understand the emotion and technical impart of a given camera angle and movement. They need to understand editorial pacing and how it will impact and affect the story. A good Director cannot do everything... they need to know when to delegate to trusted crew and cast, to let the team have the space they need to create as well, while assuring it all fits into the final project.
Filmmaking / Directing : DIrecting ? What does it take to be a good director... by Georgia Hilton
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Very true. Thanks for the insight
Nice piece.
thanks
Yes. A good director has to know everyone's job, but not do everyone's job. It's a daunting list that pushes someone who wants to create something worthwhile to leave the box altogether and take the cast and crew with them.
Is it appropriate for a director to be good at all fields of arts?
Nice start Georgia but this is a very complex question – worthy of a four year degree. Technical classes are always a good start but working with people takes center stage in the long run and it’s that long running experience & dedication that moves a Director up the career slope – basically, I’m saying that it takes years.
you don't need a degree to be a director.... but you do need those 4 or more years of on-the-job training on set and in production and post... plus some...
Directors I have encountered in 30 years of production come from every possible combination of education and experience or lack thereof... and they fail or succeed in spite of any of those things.
I would say a vision for the film that they see in their head plus knowledge of every aspect of filmmaking including cinematography, screenwriting, acting, post-production and film history. also a fondness for baseball caps and a generally shit sense of style seems to help
Dave – I agree with most of what you’re saying to some degree or another- especially the hat. I can’t direct without my hat! The hat tradition goes back to days of long ago. In the days a Director arrived on a brilliantly lit set at 6:00am and left sometime after 6:00pm; many of the lights were carbon arc – very bright. The hat was worn in defense of going blind – now it’s just a traditional symbol.
interesting Doug I did not know that!