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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
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| 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.
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It’s Official—Pre-production Begins
“I never ask people for permission to make a film. Instead, I present them with the fact that I’m making a film. If they’re wise, they’ll get in on it early.”
—Francis Ford Coppola
Last week our unit production manager for Rufus Rex officially started work and I paid UPS an astounding amount of money to deliver a letter to the Republic of Georgia officially inviting our lead actress to the United States. We’re also officially in pre-production on the grassroots (my preferred term, since I dislike “microbudget”—no art should be defined by its budget) movie Rufus Rex, which my 15-year-old son, Nick, and I wrote together last winter.
Posted 07.8.08 | Grassroots Moviemaker | No comments yet...
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