DIRECTION - DIRECTORS PERSPECTIVE

As I was absent on the day of the lesson, I got my research and notes from, MYUCA - Classmates - Sydney and Alix, the internet and from 2 books (getting started in short film making by Ted Jones and Chris Patmore - On film making by Alexander Mackendrick, edited by Paul Cesnin) and knowledge that i have gained from working with directors.


There are 2 kinds of directors, you can have the control freak.

These directors want the actors move and talk EXACTLY as they are told to do so.
Then there are the 'Go with flow Directors.

These directors let their actors improvise as much as they want to.

I need to be somewhere in between the two of these because as a director i need to make sure my characters understand there role as well as given them the freedom to explore their characters.


Directors roles and responsibilities on set

• Going through the script and planing out what you are visualising to do.
• Planing the edit.
• As a director you have to check the location and set look around and work out what you want to use and where you are planning to shoot, look for hazards and potential risks that may effect the shoot.
• Talk to the cast make sure they know what they are doing, that they have rehearsed there lines and they know the scene from heart.
• Liaise with the DP and the 1AD about the scene, make sure that the entire crew is happy and knows their role well.
• Block out the scenes with the actors and directors so everyone knows where they are going
• Picking between rehearse and shoot:you don't have to rehearse as you may only have one shot to shoot (if someone is doing a stunt)
• Making sure that you have enough coverage for that scene.

Coverage

To get the best out of a scene a master shot is usually recorded, this is done one a wide frame, wide enough to capture the action in full.
To show a film like this though would be boring be cause all the detail would be lost.
Shots should be filmed from different camera angles using different shot sizes to highlight the important elements of the film, example - if a gun is pointing at someone or a tear in someones eye.

I looked at examples online to show different angles and frame sizes, below are the still's taken from The Thomas crown Affair (1968). all the shots combined together make the scene interesting, it contains very elaborate compositions and focuses on facial expressions.

Among the shots we find in the examples above long shots, medium shots, close-ups, ECUs, high-angles, inserts and reaction. In the movie the scene is almost silent but the coverage is able to tell a story.

This is why it is so important for a director to create a shot list, the director should know exactly where the camera is going to be positioned, it is where he/she wants the audience to view the scene.

Some of these stills also show when the audience is inside or outside the action, when the audience is inside the action it creates a more intimate moment or tension within the characters, when outside the shot the audience are on lookers of the scene.

Blocking

Blocking is important for the actors rehearsal, the term comes from a practise of 19th century theatre director such as Sir W.S Gilbert who worked out the staging of the scenes on a miniature stage using blocks to represent his actor.

 Above is an item that I read about blocking from the internet.


Talking to the actors.
A director must now how to communicate with his/her actors, the best way to talk to an actor on set is to talk to them as their character or refer to them as their character. Ask them question like 'How would you feel if ...?' asking them questions in this way will help them to have more of an emotional connection to the role and can help them think more about the characters response to the question.
The other way to get an actor at their best is to say 'Thats great but could you try...?'
A director has to understand each actor and about interpersonal skills.

Respecting an actor is a major part of directing, if an actor walks off set, the production loses money and could jeopardise a directors future in his/her profession.