How do I become a Director?
This is a question that has been the bane of many an aspiring filmmaker’s existence. I’ve got the passion… I’ve got the vision… I’ve got the determination to do whatever it takes… GREAT!
Congratulations on being one of a billion other people who want the same thing. Don’t believe me? Get a PA (Production Assistant) job on any movie set. Now grab your pen & paper so you can take a little survey. Walk up to every person on set and ask them what their main goal/dream is. I will venture to guess that at least 80% of those surveyed will answer “Director”. Yep… that’s right… the caterer has a script that he’s been DYING to direct.
Great, Jeff… I’m a face in the crowd… thanks for killing the dream!
Calm down. There’s still hope. You have to look at this from a different perspective. But you do have to start somewhere. So where’s that?
My favorite answer to this question was tendered by James Cameron (Director of: Titanic, Avatar, The Abyss, Aliens, Terminator, and many more). His response was simply “Be a director. Pick up a camera. Shoot something. No matter how small, no matter how cheesy, no matter whether your friends and your sister star in it. Put your name on it as director. Now you’re a director. Everything after that you’re just negotiating your budget and your fee. So it’s a state of mind is really the point, once you commit yourself to do it.”
That’s it? Grab my camera? Film my idiot friends & family trying to act and viola… I’m a DIRECTOR? Let me go get my business cards printed now! Wow!
Uhm… okay. I’ve just directed something that a monkey likes to throw at the zoo. Who’s gonna watch this? The answer… only those that truly love you. Ask your mom… maybe she’ll hang it on the fridge.
Gosh, Jeff… why so negative?
Please don’t misconstrue my jestful sarcasm as pessimistic bashing. I’m a firm believer in practicing your craft to make it better with each rendition. You have to start with something… and it will be horrible! Don’t expect it to be Oscar worthy right out of the gate. So yes… go get your first train-wreck of a film done and out of the way.
But then what? Do I keep making mind-numbingly awful films? I mean… my mom says she likes them. But I would like to stand out above those other billion Directors vying for an audience’s attention. So how do I do that?
In one word… PLAN!
Of course this simplifies a lot of specific filmmaking processes that are involved. But if you can plan out each step then you will be ahead of the game. Some things you won’t know to plan for until you’ve made some mistakes. But with enough research on others that have gone through it, you can minimize those.
Okay… awesome! So what things do I need to plan for? What are these steps you speak of?
Here’s a basic checklist:
- Have a GREAT story/script (you can’t afford mediocre… it HAS to be great)
- Pre-visualize your scenes and transitions (storyboards are great even if it’s a napkin sketch)
- Help your actors stop “acting” and start becoming the characters
- Light your sets with some feeling and mood
- Make sure your framing and composition are appealing
- Capture great audio (only ADR [Automated Dialog Replacement] if you must)
- Don’t kill your film with bad editing
- Master the footage with color correction and any effects that will enhance it
- Add audio effects and mood music where it makes sense to enhance the scenes
This is a quick list… but I will be getting into more detail with each of these as the blog goes on. Don’t get me wrong… I’m sure there’s an audience for two hours of watching your cat lick her paw… but can we please start making movies that people actually want to WATCH?