February 12, 2012

Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker

by James Foley | Published February 3, 2007

Dustin Hoffman and Rachel Weisz in Confidence.

Have Principles

Never be afraid of being fired. Stick to your guns if you know something is right. You’ll usually be respected for it later.

The Vision Thing

The most important thing you have going for you as a director is your subjective world view. Don’t forget that and don’t let others water it down. Realize that everyone will come and try to tell you what their vision is and why it’s best. That’s just human nature.

On Speed and Schedule

The faster the better. There are never enough hours in a day—no matter what the budget is—to do as many set-ups as you’ll probably want to do. As the day progresses, start dropping things from your list and just get what you have to get.

On Point of View

I’m an advocate for maintaining a consistent point of view. Remember that the story doesn’t really exist until the protagonist comes “into the room.” You can’t show something that he doesn’t see, or else the whole consistency of the point of view gets wrecked.

The Value of a Fresh Eye

Don’t read a script too many times because the first time you read it as a director, that’s going to be what an audience is going to see—whatever you reacted to the first time.

Don’t Rip off Other Directors

Every decision you make will be influenced unconsciously by every movie you’ve ever seen… but it’s blasphemous to make references to other films when you’re talking about shots… When you shoot something make sure it’s primarily based on your visual history and the world around you.