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Directing Tips
What it really means to be a director
Many of us have made films (short films, long films) and we take great pride in saying, “I made that.” But did we really? We say we’re “directors.” We say we “make films.” We may even call ourselves “moviemakers.” But what do we really do?
Think about it: You had a script, maybe you wrote it, and you decided to turn it into a film. You found some money and then you began the process. You worked with the writer, found yourself a producer, hired or begged for the services of a cinematographer, production designer, casting director and a crew. You cast some actors and found an editor. Then you went into rehearsal and production. You shot for as many days as you could and then there was post-produc-tion. By the end, you had worked with many people: Writer, producer, cinematographer, actors, sound mixer, production designer, wardrobe, hair, make-up, special effects, editor, composer, mixer, etc. When it was all done and up on the screen you pointed at it and said, ‘I did that.’ But what did you actually do?
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Chances are you did not operate the camera, play all the parts, build or dress all the sets, find all the locations, do all the lighting, mix all the sound, do all the editing, composing, mixing and color correcting. In fact, there’s a good chance you did none of these things, yet you get to say ‘I made that film.’
The real challenge of being a director is that you have to do so much—yet you get to do so little. It is your vision that is shaping the movie. It is your passion that is guiding and inspiring all of the other artists. You are a storyteller and you have elected to tell this story through the medium of film, which means you must collaborate. You must rely on the skills and artistry of others in order to achieve your goal.
So the question is: What do you do? Well, mostly you talk. That’s it. A voice is the director’s main and most powerful tool. You talk to actors, writers, producers, designers, cinematographers, editors and composers. You can literally “talk” a film into existence. Your job is to inspire each artist to do his or her best work on your film, with your vision as the guide. But in order to do that, you have to understand these artists’ language.
How do you talk to a writer? A producer? A designer? An editor? An actor? It’s a virtual tower of Babel. This is the challenge that you face every time you make a movie, whether it’s your first, fifth or fifteenth effort. How do you articulate to all of these talented artists what it is you see and hear in your head and feel in your heart?
I make films in order to make an emotional connection with my audience through a story. I know that in the moviemaking process it is my sensibility, my emotional connection to the characters and the story, that is the guide for every choice made.
Rather than tell my DP that I need a low angle, 50mm shot framing the house on the right and the lamppost on the left, with the moon cutting through the trees… I tell him ‘I need this shot to scare me. I want to feel that I am not safe, that no one in that house is safe.’ I know the audience doesn’t care about the camera angle, lens size, framing or depth of field. They care about the emotional ride. The audience is an open vessel, ready to respond. And they will respond to every-thing I put up there on that screen. My job is to stimulate that response as best as I can, using myself as the surrogate audience during the process of making the film.
You must communicate the result you want to your creative team. Let the costume designer know how a particular dress should affect the audience’s perception of a character. Let the production designer know how the audience should feel when they are first inside the boss’ office. Let the editor know how you want the audience to react when he cuts to the lead actor’s reaction to some devastating news. Let the composer know how you want the audience to respond to the music in connection with the events of the scene.
“What do you want?” is the most difficult question to answer—ever. Do you really know what you want? Not the shot, the angle, the performance, the texture or color. But do you know what you want to happen in the hearts and minds of the audience at this particular moment? This is what directing is really all about. As directors we are storytellers, and as storytellers we are constantly manipulating the audience. The audience expects it and we had better deliver. If you know what you want, if you know the results you want, you will be fine, as long as you can articulate your desires to the individual artists.
This is “result directing” and this approach will work well for almost everyone. Tell the cinematographer how you want a shot to impact the audience and he will be able to deliver. Tell a production designer how the set needs to affect the scene, the characters and the audience and she can deliver. (The same holds true for editors, composers, sound mixers, etc.)
But there is one area of cinematic storytelling where result directing will not work. In fact, it will be totally counter-productive—perhaps even disastrous. That is with the actors. Working with actors is arguably the single most important aspect of directing.
At the core of every film is a story and it is the characters in the story that captivate us, hold us and take us on a journey. This fact makes the actors the most important element in your film. All directors know this to be true and many directors struggle with the complex challenge of working with actors.
Here are some realities of working with actors that cannot be ignored:
1. Actors have the most difficult and the most dangerous job on the set.
2. Actors, in order to do their best work, must be working in a safe environment.
3. “Safe” means that only one person will be talking to an actor regarding his or her work—and that is you, the director. All actors will look to you for direction, guidance and inspiration and will expect you to protect them from the comments, criticism or suggestions of everyone else.
4. Result directing does not work with actors.
The reason that result directing does not work with actors is clear: We do not go through life trying to create emotions and responses. We go through life trying to achieve our personal objectives, to avoid as many conflicts and obstacles as possible and to remain in areas of comfort. To ask an actor to simply express the result of a frustrated or foiled attempt to fulfill an objective is to ask him or her to focus only on the result of the action, not on the action itself.
The solution to this challenge is difficult to achieve yet always delivers the most powerful performances imaginable. Stop directing the actors and learn how to direct the characters. Only then have you earned the right to call yourself a “moviemaker.” MM
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COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
- Comment by Destiny on 11/04/07 at 5:45 pm
Hi I am Destiny, a thirteen year old girl. I find myself very very interested in directing and film writing. I have written a novel and I need all the help I can get with learning about this career. Thank you, this writing really helped me.
- Comment by Destiny on 11/04/07 at 5:47 pm
Does anyone have any tips about getting started in the movie buisness?
- Comment by Metin Özçakır on 4/11/08 at 6:05 pm
hi everyone,
i’ve been in the industry for 6 years now. mostly commercials and documentaries in Istanbul and Europe.
i’m highly motivated to write and shoot my own script.
iet’s see what’ll happen…- Comment by jahsana on 5/14/08 at 8:38 pm
hi my name is jahsana and im turning 14 in several months. i have always been interested in the movie business and recently i’ve been working on a screenplay and im about halfway done, i need to learn as much as i can about this business and the a career in directing/screenwriting/scriptwriting thanks =D
- Comment by hannah on 5/18/08 at 5:50 pm
I’m 12 and Ive been dreaming of directing a long time. I have done practically everything i need to do, but now that im done, what do i do?
- Comment by jilliann on 7/26/08 at 1:42 pm
I’m 13 and lately, i’ve been inspired to be a director. I’ve been looking into Video Camera’s and Directing all day. I’ve been learning A LOT! It’s really fun!
- Comment by Pascal Amanfo on 8/22/08 at 8:57 pm
Hi i am Pascal, a nigerian filmaker intrested in increasing my knowledge base on the core art of filmaking! what do i do?
- Comment by Leslie on 1/13/09 at 8:50 am
Hi, my name is leslie, i’m 12 yrs old, my dream is to be an independant director. People say i have “potential” and i have visualised my first future movie in my head named “Murder”. But lately i’ve been wondering, how do i get started in the movie buisness?
- Comment by Pascal Amanfo on 1/15/09 at 2:03 pm
Leslie, ur dreams are not track… but at 12 all you need to do is keep ur dreams alive while you get a funfamental education. Being a movie director is not just all about conceptualizing...it is also intellectually drilling and you need to be prepared for the challenges. Soon you’ll be old enough to get into a film school and you can take it up from there.
- Comment by Phillip Gibb on 2/06/09 at 1:00 pm
Great article, think I will have to give another read.
That word you use; Safe and it’s definition, has probably been the hardest for me to achieve - and that in a completely independent and limited role as a director. Everyone seems to want to have their thoughts brought to bear on the actor and making him/her the target of their idea of getting to that result.
hmmmPhill
- Comment by Emilio Sebastiao on 2/06/09 at 3:16 pm
I was wondering also how to get started in the movie industry and get conections and keep them.?
- Comment by stormko on 2/07/09 at 3:04 am
Wow, what’s up with all the kids posting comments? That’s great.
- Comment by Aalok Ghimire on 5/01/09 at 8:03 pm
The tips were really good but they were short/ i ask for little bit longer tips .
- Comment by hannah on 5/02/09 at 10:08 pm
What is the best film collage in America?
- Comment by Aalok Ghimire on 5/03/09 at 6:43 am
Hannah! New York Film School would be the best to study film. Many filmmakers sons and daughters study there. for example; steven spielbergs son!
- Comment by hannah on 5/03/09 at 7:04 pm
thank you so much! I had a really hard time choosing between that and University of Texas
- Comment by Kemi on 7/16/09 at 10:42 am
Loved it! Learnt so much in the space of 5 mins. Absolultely beneficiary for an aspiring actor/writer/director like me! (oh and it so true about the objective thing- its when acting is most natural: you know what want, so you go get, doing all you have to do to get it- but is all about the journey. Its the human experience.)
- Comment by Callum on 8/13/09 at 4:29 pm
Hey im a 14yr old kid from Ireland...and im so interested in the art that is film-making. Directors who i admire include Stanley Kubrick, Bob Fosse, Rob Marshall, Tim Burton and Ridley Scott.
I have a great, original idea for a film and cant wait to start putting it to paper.- Comment by tristan on 12/21/09 at 8:50 pm
i’m 12 turning 13 next month and i’m from canada. i have been intereested in movies and movie making for the last year or 2, i am trying to make short movies that have a meaning, i’m into directors like Stanley Kubrick, Steven Speilberg, James Cameron, and Tim Burton
- Comment by Nicholas Spratt on 2/06/10 at 6:05 pm
Hi, I’m nicholas, and my dream is to become a director. I am a person who wants a lot of credit. But i dont want to much credit that any average person can do easily. so just being a guide isnt enough. so always remember, How do YOU want to be remebered?
- Comment by Glenn FOnderson on 2/07/10 at 10:28 am
Hi people am Glenn and amd 22 i find myself very very interested in directing and film writing, i will be very very happy if i can be encourage by you guys cos i like enjoy a good well directed movie like that of James Cameron
- Comment by Jordan on 2/07/10 at 11:47 pm
I am a homeschooled girl who just turned 17! I’ve been dreaming about directing and generally just working in this field for years. I have always been creative. It started with writing stories… and now here I am. I live in northern California, which is a fabulous state to get started in.... The only problem is that I live in a VERY “out-there” type of place; it is really tough for me to get to a place where I can begin building my experiences. (Plus I don’t drive myself). There are not many people around here and all I have is a Canon digital camera that can take videos - if anyone has any ideas or advice about my situation I would LOVE it!!!
- Comment by sakib on 2/18/10 at 1:36 pm
MM please elaborate on, ` Stop directing the actors and learn how to direct the characters.
- Comment by samuel-k on 4/02/10 at 9:55 pm
am into directing first hand
- Comment by erik steinberger on 6/09/10 at 11:24 pm
i am 15 and have almost completed the rough draft of my first screenplay. can anyone tell me where to get a decent camera
- Comment by vernon barnett on 6/10/10 at 12:59 pm
everyone has a great idea that they think will go onto screen. almost anyone nowadays can get a camera. the best thing for young filmmakers is to be honest with yourself and your abilities. dont be in a rush. always get information. i go on my ipad and get podcast interviews with screenwriters, directors, producers. any infromation i can get. the thing is to be informed. because without information you will definitely romanticize with the idea rather than be real with yourself and the very limited possibilites of becoming a working director in hollywood. everyone and their little brother, sister, uncle, cousin is trying to be a director. just something to think about.
- Comment by Brett Gerry on 6/16/10 at 4:27 am
This is possibly the worst article I’ve ever read on what it means to be a film director. It perpetuates the idiotic concept of ‘storytelling’ and the over-importance of actors, and even suggests that directors should have no technical input or knowledge into the film-making process, despite that being integral to the emotional connection the writer demands.
What’s even worse, there seems to be a large number of younger wannabe filmmakers and directors reading this; the next generation have the possibility to explore and develop alternative processes without being indoctrinated by those detrimental techniques modern media professionals swear by.
Thinking like this inhibits that development.
- Comment by Mary Ann on 7/07/10 at 3:12 am
Hi! I’m Mary, like most of you I’m also very very very interested in directing films, I think it would be so funny and awesome to work on a movie..... this article is great , it helped me a lot to understand what it takes to be a director and what they have to do when filming...... I´m young like most of you and I hope that all of us who want to be directors can become one :D I guess that all of the people that has become a director must be enjoying their jobs a lot....
Its funny to think about it..... I often imagine myself at my own apartment, waking up early in the morning to get to the stage on time to start another day of filming, arranging stuff while having a hot coffee and talking to the actors......... ohhhh it sounds so great...... well lucky you who have had the opportunity to become directors n_n I´ll do my best to become one too ,haha great article!!- Comment by H on 7/15/10 at 3:34 pm
to all asking what to do: DO IT
directors direct. do whatever you can at your level, learn and grow. but always - DO DO DO. no excuses, get it done
- Comment by Cody on 7/17/10 at 2:11 pm
I’m going to have to agree with H. There’s nothing to it, but to do it. For all of the kids out there though, you do need a good education behind you. I highly recommend going to college, but at your age you just need to keep your dream alive until you get to where you can actually Do something. Also, here’s another good website worth looking at: http://www.ehow.com/how_138361_become-movie-director.html It’s not as easy as the website says, but that’s a rough outline of what you have to go through to get your foot in the door. If anyone has any questions or needs any help, just ask.
CF
- Comment by madhu reddy on 7/18/10 at 6:05 am
its very nicely written i want everybody to understand what u r saying which will help them a lot
- Comment by Yehia Nasr on 8/09/10 at 4:07 pm
Hi, I’m 15 and just recently got involved in filmaking, i’ve made a few home movies but i am about to start my first low-budget movie, the only problem i keep facing is acting, i dont enjooy acting and find it hard to direct and film while acting, as i do everything on my own. i would appreciate it if anyone can recomend budget programs for editing and sund/visual effects, also a composing program for music and any equipment such as microphones, thnx
- Comment by Jamal Kamal Warner Jr. on 8/12/10 at 1:28 pm
Hi, my name is Jamal Kamal Warner Jr and I’m 6. I do all my editing with Final Cut Pro, I shoot my films myself with my T2i and a AT microphone. I write my own scripts, I act alone in all of my films, so am I still not a director?
- Comment by Ishan T. Kute on 10/05/10 at 10:33 am
i have a dream to become a director.
I am 18 years old.
and i think i have understood theory behind it.
but i want to do some practicals on it .
so what should i do .- Comment by abel on 10/07/10 at 7:13 am
Hi all,
hopes you have something to tell out there to your actors and actresses.
I have really gotten to enjoy all that I have read. Please post more of the same.Much love to you all.- Comment by porno on 12/22/10 at 8:14 am
MM please elaborate on, ` Stop directing the actors and learn how to direct the characters.
- Comment by Doll Face T.H on 1/29/11 at 4:47 am
This was great~!
Seariously, thank you. thank you. thank you.
I loved all your tips, like how you should look at everything from an audience’s point of view. Also how an actor should have an one ‘objective’ for each scene. I don’t know, but i guess i’ve never really thought about those things. I know a directors job will be more headaches,stress,and make a person seariously paranoid then some other jobs. But i’m a great talker, great listener, awsome visiualizer, and I’m really confident. After reading this article, i believe more then ever that i can achieve this dream! :D
-Thank you again for writting this!
WISH ME LUCK.
DollFace T.H
13,MD- Comment by B.RAMKUMAR on 5/06/11 at 1:02 am
i want to became a best director in tamil film industry....how did i yearn this oppertunities?
- Comment by Elias on 5/12/11 at 1:14 am
I am truly inspired by your words here. I have made around 6 short films. Obviously just for fun. But I am currently writing a movie which I hope will actually get my name out there. I have a dream of acting and directing. I edit all my videos using either Sony Vegas or Final Cut Pro and I am taking a televideo class in my school. All that I’ve learned has taught me how to become a better filmmaker. I was just looking for directing tips when I stumbled onto this website, and these words here inspire me to do what I am going to create with my film.
- Comment by Amedzro Pascal on 5/24/11 at 2:59 pm
hi am pascal a student of Ghallywood Film Academy,Ghana.I have the dream of being a better director.now that i’ve read this,i think i need a good coach like Pascal Amanfo because he is my mentor.Pascal,please help me out.
- Comment by Sarah on 6/29/11 at 4:03 pm
Hi. My name is Sarah, I am a 13 year old, and I’ve always imagined myself being a director. At first I thought it was stupid and lame since I am still a 13 year old, but eventually I realized I had the potential to direct my own mini play. Your words have really inspired me, hopping someday I would become a movie maker.:)
- Comment by ANAND CHAVAN on 8/21/11 at 4:17 am
Hi i am anand and working as director in india.I really impressed what u have shared the knowledge.
- Comment by tetteh solomon on 10/13/11 at 10:11 am
wow am really impressed by ur teachings nd i have taken a lot from it nd i believe its going to help not only me but anybody who wishes to become a good director
- Comment by tataw machurien oben on 10/14/11 at 9:27 am
i am a filmmaker(director) in Cameroon. i am beautifully impressed with your directing tips. it has greatly helped me i must say . i will be deeply and affectionately pleased if you out there in the western world could really come to our aid and booster our film-making skills,for we have good stories (scripts)but bad skills. so any help from you out there will be a blessing to Africa as a whole and Cameroon in specific
- Comment by Ciaran Dickinson on 10/21/11 at 2:26 pm
I’m 13 and really really want to be a successful director. I have already made a few films with my friends and hope that somebody will phone me to make a film one day. My favourite directors are Gore Verbinski and David Yates.
- Comment by mykayla steele on 12/01/11 at 1:51 pm
if u had the idea… and revealed it… you made it come alive… therefore, it was the director,you, that has the right to say “I made that!”
- Comment by mykayla steele on 12/01/11 at 1:53 pm
without you the idea would not have yet exhisted.
This story was published in the Guide to Making Movies 2007 MovieMaker Magazine. The headline was:
Tales from the Director's Chair / What it really means to be a director
Order this issue | Subscribe to MM
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