THE FILM DIRECTOR

Part I
A good director makes sure that all parts of a film are
creatively produced and brought together in a single
totality. A director interprets the script, coaches the
performers, works together with the montagist, etc.,
interrelating them all to create a work of art. According to
Film Scholar Eric Sherman, the director begins with a vague
idea of the entire film and uses this to help him determine
what is to be done. He gains most when others are given
their freedom to show what they know.

The position of the director in the traditional filmmaking

process varies greatly and is extremely complex. The film
director is seen as a leader of others, as providing a kind of
guiding force. According to this view, the final outcome is
more or less predetermined by requirements of the script,
camerawork, acting, and editing; the director providing
certain organizational context to the picture.

Judging from the comments of most professional directors,

there is very little agreement as to what exactly their
function is. There are some directors who say that they
must concentrate primarily on the structures of the script.
If their films are to be works of art, it will be because of the
inherent beauty in the narrative and dialogue patterns in
the script. Other directors are occupied primarily with the
performance of actors. To them, the beauty of the film will
be correlative with the quality of acting. These directors
attend not only to the performance as a whole, but to
endless minor nuances and gestures throughout.

Some directors attend primarily to the camerawork, their

chief concern being for a pictorial beauty and smoothness
of execution. There are still other directors who say that
the art of film resides in the editing process. For them, all
steps prior to editing yield crude material, which will be
finally shaped and lent an artistic worth through their
imaginative juxtaposition. The point is that there have
evolved nearly as many theories of film directing as there
are directors.

Only the director stands apart from any

one particular contributory element but
lends to all of them a sense of the
pictures entirety
We cannot, while watching a film for the first time, point
out particular shots or lines of dialogue and fully appreciate
their ultimate relationship to the entirety of the picture.
Similarly, the actor concentrating on every gesture, the
writer concerned with logical narrative and captivating
dialogue, the cameraman dealing with isolated images, and
the editor concerned with the rhythmic flow are not in the
position that the director is to grasp the film as a whole.

Only the director stands apart from any one particular

contributory element but lends to all of them a sense of the
pictures entirety. Many of the strongest directors have
refrained from virtually any function besides that of an
overseer of the film.

The director, whether he explicitly controls all the

subordinate work in a film or merely creates a certain
context through his very presence, is the only participant in
a film's creation whose moment of self-expression is wide
enough and, thus, whose artistic vision may come to
characterize the film as a whole. The director's very role in
the filmmaking process forces him to attend-explicitly or
implicitly-to the entire film.

The director approaches a film with more or less a well-

defined sense of its meaning. For him, this limits and
determines what the basic drive should be of all the other
contributing elements. As previously stated, the director's
concern is always conditioned by a sense of the whole. He
selects and guides all work and shapes it along the
necessary route to achieve (as close as possible) what he
has in mind.

When it is said that the director approaches a film with a

sense of the whole in mind, obviously it is not meant that
he has a complete knowledge of the finished product in all
its parts. In fact, a director learns, as the production of the
film progresses, exactly what it was that he had envisioned.
There is no "beautiful shot" or "great cut" that has not been
conditioned by the overriding vision of the whole that only
the director provides.

What and Who Is a Director?

By definition, the director creatively translates the written
word or script into specific sounds and images. He or she
visualizes the script by giving abstract concepts concrete
form. The director establishes a point of view on the action
that helps to determine the selection of shots, camera
placements and movements, and the staging of the action.
The director is responsible for the dramatic structure, pace,
and directional flow of the sounds and visual images. He or
she must maintain viewer interest. The director works with
the talent and crew, staging and plotting action, refining
the master shooting script, supervising setups and
rehearsals, as well as giving commands and suggestions
throughout the recording and editing.

Could a director be compared to an architect? A bricklayer

laying brick upon brick? A conductor of a great orchestra?
These descriptions fall short of the mark because what is
being build is more volatile than stable, more fluid than
secure. Director Roland Joffe (The Killing Fields) stated,
"being a director is like playing on a multilayered,
multidimensional chessboard, except that the chess pieces
decide to move themselves." Every director has his own
vision of what they feel directing entails.

Roman Polanski finds that "First of all, directing is an idea

that you have of a total flow of images that are going on,
which are incidentally actors, words, and objects in space.
It's an idea you have of yourself, like the idea you have of
your own personality, which finds its best representation in
the world in terms of specific flows of imaginary images.
That's what directing is."
Polansky, director of films such as Rosemary's Baby and
Chinatown, also stated that, "Directors are like generals,
political dictators, aggressive people. You don't have to be
aggressive in a malevolent way, in a hostile, disagreeable
way. Actually, you have to be the opposite way. You have to
be a real leader. That's to say that you have to let those
who are doing their work do their work. You are a guide,
and you're a 'tell-it-to,' and you're a prophet, and you're a
boss, and you're a slave, and, in the end, it's your fault.
And everyone in the film is always grateful if you tell them
what to do." Obviously, to be a director, you have to take
on several different roles depending on the particular
situation at hand.

Entering the Business

Whether it is intentional or by accident, there is probably as
many ways to enter the business of filmmaking as there
are filmmakers. Some directors, such as Paul Mazursky
(Next Stop, Greenwich Village) and Woody Allen (Annie
Hall, Manhattan Murder Mystery) started out as comedians
and then actors. Eventually this led them both to
screenwriting and finally directing.
Allan Dwan (The Iron Mask, The Three Musketeers) planned
to be an electrical engineer. Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction)
worked in a video rental store. Louis Malle (French films,
India) and Irvin Kershner (The Hoodlum Priest, A Fine
Madness) began by making documentaries.
There are those however, that knew from the beginning
that directing was what they were going to do. Peter
Bogdanovich (The Last Picture Show, What's Up Doc?)
stated, "I always considered myself a director who was sort
of making a living writing about pictures, not the other way
around. In other words, I always wanted to direct films,
even when I didn't know it." Stephen Spielberg (E.T.,
Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List) grew up directing his
siblings in the family room of his house, then after sneaking
on to a lot at Universal Studios, he set up an office and
there began his professional career. Oliver Stone (Platoon,
Wall Street) and Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, Goodfellas)
both attended film school on their way down the director's
path.

The Script
The first basic element in creating a film is the script. The
script is basically the guideline. Even if it is very precise, it
is a guideline. Later, the period of the shooting will bring
you a lot of surprises. Then, the editing is a completely new
experience. Every picture starts out with an idea placed on
paper. These ideas come from a multitude of places,
including plays, poems, paintings, music, etc.
There are thousands of people currently writing scripts in
hopes that theirs might attract the attention of a producer,
studio or director. There are a lot of well-written scripts that
for one reason or another will never make it to the screen.
Martha Coolidge (Rambling Rose) has said "You're always
looking for a metaphor that is extremely visual and
dramatic so that it becomes a picture and not just words on
the page."

Besides the fact that the budget of a film is the underlying

determinant as to whether a picture is made or not, all
films begin with a visualized concept. This concept
represents an attitude towards characters, events,
environments and objects.
Michael Winner (Scorpio, Deathwish) has quoted "What
normally happens in this town (Hollywood) is that
somebody gets a script and says, 'Let's give it to somebody
else, which I really can't understand at all, and ten writers
later and six arbitration's later…. Sometimes very good
films are made that way. Some of the finest films ever have
been through many writers in the most extraordinary
manner." Case in point: One of the American Film Institutes
100 greatest movies of all time, MASH, was turned down by
12 different studios/directors before Robert Altman decided
to take a chance and make the picture.

"One sets out to make a film because one likes the subject
matter. I believe the script is never finished. I constantly
work on the script, either with the writer, or, if the writer is
not there, with another writer, or with the people that are
working with me. I think the script is the blueprint and then
it has to have a life of its own," John Schlesinger (The
Manhattan Cowboy, The Marathon Man). Still there are
other directors whom take a script word for word, action for
action, never changing a thing.

Steven Spielberg sent his actors through boot camp and

had them live in very primitive conditions before he began
the filming of Saving Private Ryan

For many directors, the creation of an unforgettable

character in a script is the key to winning them over. Many
directors begin by considering how the character's journey
through the story will ultimately affect the audience. For
Ron Howard (Backdraft, Apollo 13) this is the single most
important consideration. Directors like Howard tend to seek
out material that will confirm their own worldview. More
often than not this involves an attempt to carefully select
the kind of stories that will have a lasting and positive
impact on the audience.

Once a director has finally settled on a project, the next

step is to begin the development process. Normally
research is a big part of this process, considering many
scripts are based on other scripts, real-life events or
adaptations from other previously written materials (such
as books, plays, etc). Ron Howard spent many nights with
firefighters and at firehouses learning what he could about
their lifestyle before he began production of his film
Backdraft.

Roland Joffee traveled to Calcutta several times over a

period of 4 years to learn what he could from the culture
before filming City of Joy. Stephen Spielberg sent his actors
through boot camp and had them live in very primitive
conditions before he began the filming of Saving Private
Ryan. The best research is that which yields a true vision of
the arena in which the story takes place. Ideally this means
going beyond the cultural clichés to create a dynamic and
insightful script that will result in an honest movie.
As the process of researching material comes close to
completion, it may sometimes become apparent that parts
of a script need to be reworked before production can
begin. Reworking the script may consist of minor changes
such as different locations, seasons or character situations.
On the other hand, major changes may also be necessary,
such as changing the entire scope of a character. For
example, in the script for the movie Alien, the character
eventually played by Sigourney Weaver was initially a man.

The Director/Producer relationship

The relationship between the producer and the director is
an extremely important one in the making of successful
picture. Ideally, the producer is the first person on the
project. He/She is the one whom finds what they feel is a
bankable idea or script and presents it to the studio or
director. Although the producer appears to be a crucial role
in getting a picture made, the studio does not necessarily
believe so. As a matter of fact, the producer is paid far less
than the director of the film, and is not a big consideration
when deciding whether a film receives the "green light"
(the go-ahead for a film to be made) or not. Due to this,
one of the greatest tasks of the producer is to find a
director that is affordable and acceptable to the studio.

There are a handful of directors that are considered

"bankable," meaning that many studios are more than
happy to have them on a project because of the almost
guaranteed success the film will have with their name
attached. Among these are such names as Steven
Spielberg, George Lucas, Oliver Stone, and James
Cameron. However, not every director can direct every type
of film, no matter how talented or accredited they are. The
producer must take into high consideration how the director
relates to the particular project in mind. A great deal of
persistence and enthusiasm in the project are once again
key roles the producer must play in trying to bring a
director to the project.

As the preproduction process begins, the director and the

producer should work closely together and collaborate
about how the production process and the entire scope of
the film should take place. From the start, the director and
the producer should have a shared vision of the picture. If
the director goes into the project with the agenda of
making a film that will promote or benefit his status then
the film is bound for disaster.
The producer and the director must share a common goal;
to make a picture that they both believe in. It is inevitable
that there will be an overlap of interests and responsibilities
between both players, and they should discuss these areas
and try to figure out the most effective way to deal with
them. The producer and director should work closely
together while deciding the cast and crew, as well as
location scouting and a lot of groundwork in preproduction.

It should be considered helpful to the director for the

producer to look at the dailies and be objective as to what
they see

During the production process, the producer is very helpful

because they can be present in areas that the director is
not. While the director is busy with their specific duties
such as filming, the producer can be dealing with the
studio, supervising crewmembers and their work, handling
the press, etc. The producer is also extremely helpful to the
director in providing an objective point of view on the film
as the process moves along.

It should be considered helpful to the director for the

producer to look at the dailies and be objective as to what
they see. As the picture begins to take shape, the
producer's objective point of view will help to siphon out
minor discrepancies that may plague the film in the future
if not corrected. Often the discrepancies are missed by the
director and others, who spend countless hours daily with
eyes glued to the camera lens. The point of view of the
producer may pertain to both the performance and the
technical aspects of the film.

Budget and Studio Involvement

Packaging means the combining of two or more elements,
such as a writer, actor, or director into a single project,
which is then presented to prospective financiers. When a
package is brought in front of a prospective financier, it has
a better chance of approval. This is because when a buyer
is offered a script along with an actor and a director they
can more easily make an intelligent decision on the creative
and financial aspects of the film. A package deal can relieve
some of the stress that stems from unknown aspects of the
project.

One of the many obstacles a director has to overcome if he

is bringing a script to a producer or studio is convincing
others that he can make a profitable picture. Sometimes
the script may be very good, although studios will still have
questions before giving their ok on a project. A perfect
example of this is given in Martin Scorsese's book Scorsese
on Scorsese. Michael Powell (of Michael Powell Productions)
wrote to Scorsese, "Dear Marty, RE: the script of Wise Guys
(working title of Goodfellas). It is one of the best-
constructed scripts that I have ever read. At the same time
it is not academic, it is not a script just on paper. It is very
much alive. The first question I would ask you, is what is
the tone of the director? It is a take-it-or-leave-it tone? It is
a dispassionate tone? ….." These, amongst other questions,
are necessary elements that a director must deal with on
day-to-day bases to survive in the industry.

It is important for the producer to keep the studio informed

of the progress of the film, and to keep them off the
directors' back

Motion picture studios are the principal source today for

obtaining the funds needed by a producer to produce and
distribute their films. Some of the major studios today are
Dreamworks, Warner Brothers, Fox, MGM and Paramount.
Once the studio has settled on a project, the production
process can begin.

Paul Mazursky has found that "Once the director gets to

work on the picture, he is always aware of the budget
somewhere in his head. But once you start the actual work,
I don't think you begin the morning by saying 'I'm making
an eleven million dollar picture. What am I going to do?'
You say 'what am I going to do about this scene between
this guy and that guy?' and 'How am I going to photograph
it?'
Throughout production the producer will be in constant
contact with the studio. It is important for the producer to
keep the studio informed of the progress of the film, and to
keep them off the directors' back. It is much easier for the
director to do their job when they do not have to deal with
the constant pressures of the studio. In this respect, if the
producer can assure the studio that all is going as planned
and within budget, the director will be able to keep their
concentration on the film itself

Bringing a Script to Life

There are several techniques a director may utilize in order
to obtain a visualization of a script. One of the most
common of these techniques is through the use of
storyboards. These storyboards are hand drawn frames
establishing exactly what it is that the camera will be
shooting. The storyboard tells the story or the message in
still pictures. Narration or dialogue, camera movements,
sound effects and music are usually specified under or next
to each frame.

The storyboard suggests how images and sounds will be

ordered, the placement of the camera and the design of the
set. Some directors may choose to drawn their own
storyboards, that is if they have any sort of artistic ability.
Directors may also choose to work closely with an artist
whom will draw up the storyboards for them. Storyboards
may consist of anything from stick figures to fully rendered
drawings. Some directors such as Ridley Scott (Alien)
always use storyboards as a means of relaying their
thoughts. Others, such as David Zucker (Naked Gun) rarely
use storyboards, while still others feel that the use of
storyboarding actually inhibits their creativity (ex. Ron
Shelton, Bull Durham).

Other techniques directors may utilize are diagrams,

sketches, mimeographs and/or cards. Similar to
storyboards, these techniques are all ways a director can
visualize the scenes before beginning the shoot. For
instance, William Friedman will make sketches first, then
from these sketches he will write out long hand a complete
verbal description of the entire shot sequence. These are
then mimeographed and duplicated for the entire cast and
crew working on that particular part of the film. Although
this process may seem very time-consuming and a bit
tedious, it is a way for Friedman to get his exact thought
across to everyone concerned.
"I see an entire picture in my head before I do it," States
Friedman, "and then, like a novelist I set out and write a
visualization, instead of prose-narration and dialogue. I
write out a visual novel of the movie. Directors may also
use such instruments as viewfinders or director finders to
plot out their script. These pieces of equipment are helpful
in that the director can look through it and visualize what
the shot will pick up when filming. They can imagine a
clearer picture of what the shot will look like at specific
angles, in different lighting, etc.

For the film Duel, director Stephen Spielberg had the entire
picture planned out on IBM cards. The cards were mounted
on a bulletin board in his hotel room, and rather than
bringing along a script, each day he would choose a
number of cards. On each card was the "gist" of the scene,
how the scene was to be shot, and the setups for each
sequence. Once the cards were gone, shooting for that day
was complete.

Casting
While working on the storyboard and other preproduction
processes, the producer will be able to determine when
each actor will be working during the course of the filming.
Because there is such a wide range of prices asked for by
different actors in today's film industry, the casting of the
film is a great factor in determining a films budget and visa
versa. In an ideal situation, a producer and director will
pick the best actor for the part. Betty Davis once told Ron
Howard "95 percent of directing is the script and the
casting. Once you've done that, the rest is knowing how to
stay the hell out of the way and still get the movie shot."

There is perhaps nowhere in which directors differ more

than in the way they interact with actors. This begins from
the very moment a part for a picture is cast. "One of the
blessings is to cast well, to cast carefully. I have a terrific
associate in this. We tend to cast for good actors. People
who have emotional availability, who have technique and
skills. I'm under the assumption that once we cast the
person, they are that character. After all, a character on a
page is really only a dozen lines of dialogue. Once you
assign those to a whole person, he or she becomes that
person," quoted Arthur Penn, director of such films as
Bonnie and Clyde and Night Moves.

To cast a specific role effectively, the director must of

course have a firm idea of the character. Each role, no
matter how big or small, is extremely important to the final
outcome of the picture. It has been reiterated numerous
times that a film is only as good as its worst performer.
Likewise, it is often said that almost any director can evoke
an excellent performance from an experienced, talented
actor but that good direction is most evident in the quality
of the smaller roles.
There are at least three major factors that should be taken
under consideration when a director is casting a role
(budget aside). These factors are the audience, the
character or role and the physical appearance of the actor.
It is crucial to take audience expectations into consideration
when casting a role. Because audiences tend to type-cast
certain actors in certain types of roles, placing an actor
known for big muscle action films (a perfect example being
Arnold Schwarzenegger) in a role such as Dustin Hoffman
played in Tootsie would no doubt deter audiences. The
personality projected by the actor must match audience
expectations for the role.

Rehearsal
Once the major roles for the film have been cast, a director
can begin preliminary run-throughs (rehearsals) to help the
actors develop their specific characters. The amount of
rehearsal time afforded depends greatly on what the
director requests, the availability of the actor, and the
overall time constraints on the film. Generally rehearsals
last 2-3 weeks before the actual shooting process begins.
Rehearsals can be very helpful in establishing relationships
with the actors, along with determining if a specific scene
plays out as believable or not. It is a time when the actors
can give input, ask questions and collaborate with the
director on whether a scene will relay well to the audience.
If not, this is the time to make changes.

Different directors have differing points of view as to

whether rehearsal is important to the overall production of
the film or not. On one side (say, the left side) there are
those such as Paul Williams, "I am very actor oriented, and
am very concerned with performance. I don't know how to
do it without rehearsals." Next there are directors such as
Bernardo Bertolicci, "I don't rehearse too much. I try, if I
can." Leaning over to the right side there are directors such
as Robert Altman "I don't have any real rehearsal period.
I'm embarrassed to rehearse because I don't know what to
do." Finally there are those on the far right, like Michael
Winner, " I don't believe in rehearsal for a film."

There are many directors who would rather take several

shots during the filming process than waste that time in
rehearsals. Then, when that perfect impromptu action
occurs, it is more realistic because it has not been played
over previously. Once a scene has been rehearsed and the
perfect action for that scene has been discovered, to
recreate that perfect scene when the camera is rolling is
sometimes difficult, because now the actor is trying to act
out that impromptu action.

Shooting the Picture

With the rehearsal period coming to a close, preproduction
ends and shooting begins. At this point, the director of
photography usually works in close collaboration with the
director to set up how each scene is to be shot. This
collaboration could make or break the film.
The first and most important question is where should the
camera be placed. Before selecting the final placement of
the camera, it is natural for the director to run through the
basic actions of the actors, called blocking. It is rare that
the movements of the actors are precisely set, rather, a
general sense of the action is determined which helps to
facilitate the camera actions.

The director has a number of options as to where to place

the camera. It can pan back and forth, up and down. It can
move (through the use of a hand-help or steady cam) or
can even follow the actor, or dolly. Directors usually begin
with a master shot, in which everyone in that particular
scene is included in one take.
Next, the same scene will be shot several times over, but
now the camera moves in and focuses on medium shots,
over-the-shoulder shots, two-shots, or close-ups. It is
important to get several shots (at different angles) of the
same scene so there are a number of shots to choose
from.

A director's ability to select and control visual images

begins with an understanding of specific types of shots.
Long shots orient the audience to subjects, objects and
settings by viewing tem from a distance. An establishing
shot generally locates the camera at a sufficient distance to
establish the setting, while a full shot provides a head to
toe view of a particular person or persons. Medium shots
provide a ¾ view of a person, while a close shot (or close-
up) refers to isolation of elements in the shot, normally the
head and shoulders of a person.

Camera angles are frequently used to establish a specific

viewpoint, such as the involvement of the audience in a
particular characters perspective and or action. By placing
the camera in the approximate spatial position of a
character, a point-of-view (POV) shot can be established.
This type of shot often follows a shot of a character looking
in a particular direction, which establishes the spatial POV
in the scene.
A variation on the POV shot is a subjective shot, which
shows the audience what the person is looking at or
thinking about. Other shots include reverse angle, low or
high angle and overhead shots. Once the editing process of
the picture begins, which shot to use will be determined.
Along with this, one of the director's key jobs (which is
shared by the editor during post-production) is to
determine the precise duration of each shot.

A director can only coordinate the production effectively if

he or she can communicate with everyone effectively.
Because of this, directors have developed a relatively
precise terminology with which to communicate with their
crew. During multiple camera recordings, this may be
crucial.
The director generally begins each command with the
specific number of the camera to which the command is
directed (i.e. if there are 3 cameras used, they will simply
be called cameras 1, 2 and 3). When the commands are
given the director is specific and brief. For example,
commands such as "ready camera 1" or "camera 1 zoom in
to close-up" are very common, rather than saying
something like "camera 1, if you're ready we're going to
zoom in a little closer on the subject."

Some directors, such as Curtis Harrington (What's the

Matter with Helen) say they are very dependent on the
cameraman. Suggestions are welcome, although generally
he has an idea of where he wants the camera to be placed
and what lighting he wants present.
James Bridges (The Paper Chase) admits that he still
doesn't know that much about the camera. "I hire the best
people, and I work with them and tell them what I want."
Franklin Schaffer (Planet of the Apes, Patton) agrees, "Talk
to a cameraman and tell him what you want, what
conceptually you see the picture as. He will then come back
technically and say 'I can get it this way…"
To take pressure off of a director, camera operators must
anticipate what camera positions, lens types and positions,
and framing they are to use for the segments they are to
shoot. This must all be worked out in advance, in
collaboration with the director. While it is possible for the
director to make instantaneous changes during the final
filming, the risk of making major mistakes is greatly
increased with each major change that is made. This is
especially relevant while filming on location, where
substitutions of cameras and other materials may not be
readily available or even accessible.

"I divide in my imagination the directors I know in two big

categories," Jean Renoir once stated, "One category is the
directors from whom the work starts from the camera. I am
the opposite. I like to start with the actors." The actor is
the most vulnerable person on the set, and it is up to the
director to bring out a great performance in the midst of
the actors uncertainties and insecurities. Unfortunately,
knowing what exactly it is that each individual actor needs
to accomplish their goals is not an easy accomplishment.

There are those actors who are willing to listen to whatever

the director says and try and comply with them. On the
other hand there are actors who are very strong-willed and
have their own ideas set in stone. Sometimes the director
must be willing to give in a little in order to reach the
desired result. The best and most creative directors will
constantly be in search of solutions, and will usually find
them. Some directors are willing to change everything
possible in order to appease their actors. Other directors,
like as Brian De Palma, have been known to be very strict
on their set and inform actors from the very beginning that
they run the show.

A director can make or break the entire experience for an

actor. Good directors can create great experiences, while
poor directors can create unworkable situations. Actors are
looking for directors to protect them on the set. By this I
mean that they want the set to be a place where they are
able to transform themselves into the character they are
supposed to be, without any reservations or distractions.
Actors become dependent on directors and vise versa. One
last item of importance for the director-actor relationship is
that of keeping the "thread" of the story on track. This
means that the director must sometimes step in and inform
the actor if their emotional line is off track or if they are
getting out of sequence with the shot.

Many directors end up using the same actor's picture after

picture. Once a good working relationship becomes
established it is only natural that the collaboration
continues. The director and actor will know each other's
idiosyncrasies, their style of filming and their approach to a
picture. Once they have worked together and established a
good working relationship, it is much easier to collaborate
together again rather than moving on to someone new. A
perfect example of this is the relationship between director
Martin Scorsese and actor Robert DeNiro. To date the two
have worked on eight different pictures together. Scorsese
and actor Harvey Keitel have also collaborated on
numerous films.

Film Editing
Like director-cameraman or director-actor relationships, the
director-editor relationship is of great importance. Once a
good relationship is established between and editor and
director, they tend to work together on numerous projects.
Each will know what to expect from one another and will in
turn create respectable work for one another. An editor is
looking for flexibility; enough material to work with to
create the best overall production possible. When there is
plenty of coverage of scenes, it gives the editor much more
to work with in order to accomplish this task.

Film editing is used to determine which shots are to be

used where and when. Editing is also used to determine
which shots should be preserved, which should be broken
up and which should be cut out completely (called out-
takes). Because many films are shot out of sequence, it is
the job of the editor to put the film in the order in which it
is intended and to create the final product. Films are often
shot out of continuity. That is, all shots to be made at one
location are recorded at the same time, regardless of when
they occur in the script.

Film editing usually begins the same time as the production

begins. The raw footage of that particular days shot will be
given to the editor, which in turn is presented to the
director (known as a daily or work print). The editor,
director and producer view each day's work print in order to
evaluate how well things are going. After viewing and
approving the footage, the editor catalogues it before
beginning a rough-cut. The best editors are able to
determine immediately which shots will work visually and
which will not. They will try to integrate the best aspects of
every shot, determining how to make it seem as though
everything occurred in one single shot.

Once the picture has wrapped, it is now up to the editor to

produce an initial cut of the overall production. The editor
cuts together various pieces of film into a single visual track
and an accompanying sound track. The sound editor is a
specialist who constructs and organizes all the various
sound elements so that they can be properly blended or
mixed together into a final soundtrack. Typically an editor
will try and make the film as close a relation to the
shooting script as possible. Sometimes this is just not a
possibility for some previously unseen circumstance, and
the editor must decide the best version of the picture that
they can possibly put together.
The film will take on many versions during the post
production process. It will go through the editing room
where the editor will make his cut and the director will
make his cut, both leaving the scenes that they believe will
create the best picture. Differing viewpoints are common,
and when the studio gets involved it may even become
quite hectic. The producer may work with the director on
the editing and some of the composing of the final picture,
but in general the director, editor and composer work
together on the final cut.

The best way to describe the director-composer relationship

during the editing process is summed up perfectly by
Abraham Polonsky. He states, "Although I don't tell the
composer what to do, because I'm not a composer, I tell
him where the music should go, and I tell him what it
should be like. And ten I treat him like an actor or a
cameraman, even though music is an independent art. So
is acting. So is editing. So is writing. So is photography.
They're all independent arts subject to the director or the
script. So I treat music the same way. I try and get the
musician to respond to my sense of what the picture
means, and then hope his talent, which I don't have, will
invent something that will make my idea even better that it
is."

The importance or unimportance of editing is all dependent

on the particular director. Alfred Hitchcock left little room
for editing. It was his concern that you spend millions of
dollars creating a picture and then place it in the hands of
someone who may be indifferent to the film and may leave
you with a less than satisfying result. Brian De Palma once
said, "When I shoot a film, I know exactly what's going to
end up on the screen. There are few surprises in the editing
room." There are those that do believe that editing is a
crucial part of the filmmaking process, such as Franklin
Schaffner, "Some of the most stunning moments occur
when you are in the editing room."

Because the film Born on the Fourth of July took such a

long time to develop (the initial talk for the film began in
1978 and was supposed to star Al Pacino), along with the
story hitting so close to home, director Oliver Stone took a
very different approach to the editing process for this
picture. Stone himself was an ex Vietnam war vet, and had
been in close contact with Ron Kovic for a number of years
before the picture was finally produced in 1989 (staring
Tom Cruise). Most directors normally have their editors
prepare what is known as a "rough cut," the dropped
sequences, or outtakes. Instead, for this film, Stone had his
editors choose "selects," which were camera takes that
they put in sequential order (according to the script) for
further consideration.

For example, for any particular scene, fourteen thousand

feet of film might be printed, then five thousand feet of
"selects" chosen, including two to five takes of that scene.
When they had finally finished the first cut of the entire
film, it was eleven hours long. The material was then
discussed between the directors and the editors; what they
felt were the more important scenes in the picture. Stone
and the editors decided upon what they felt was the best of
the takes and stored the others as "alternates." The first
version of the final cut suffered from technical mistakes and
an excess of material, which made it tiring. Version two
lacked emotional impact. The next version was done
documentary style with no reaction shots. Finally after
weeks of deliberation a version was settled upon, which is
essentially what you will see today.

Previews
Once a film is complete, the time for an audience to view
the picture begins. Studios will typically have a sneak
preview for a film, in which they can gauge audience
reception to the picture. Unfortunately, there have been
instances where a studio has hindered a great picture
because they felt the audience reaction was not what was
to be expected. They then go back and interject
unnecessary sex or action scenes to try and compensate,
essentially butchering the film.

The reception of the previewing audience is, however, a

good device to estimate the overall reception of the film.
These audiences are often given a form to fill out, stating
what parts of the picture they liked, disliked, what made
sense, what was confusing, which parts dragged and were
unimportant, etc. Through this, the directors and editors
can go back and make any revisions needed before
releasing the film nation (and eventually world) wide.

Having finally received the approval needed from the

studio, a film will finally be scheduled for release.
Depending on how the studio feels the film will fare on the
market, it may be released in anywhere from a dozen to
thousands of theaters across the U.S. Predicting how well a
film will do is never foolproof however. Some small budget
films have gone above and beyond all expectations, for
example, the multimillion-dollar success of the
independently directed and produced film The Blair Witch
Project. Other big-budget films such as Waterworld, even
with big name stars, studio support and directing, lost a
great deal of money.

There are mixed feelings amongst directors as to whether

the concern for the audience will effect the final product in
which he produces. Samuel Fuller (House of Bamboo)
stated that he is "positive that every director or artist,
painter, whether he says 'I don't care whether the people
like it,' instinctively does. Otherwise he wouldn't be doing it
for public acceptance." There are others whom say they are
indifferent as to whether an audience will affect the final
outcome of a picture. One such director is John Huston,
who explains, "I can't do anymore than make a picture that
I believe in and hope that there are enough like me that
want to see the picture too."
There are of course, those directors whom emphatically
deny that the audience has anything to do with the pictures
they make. Stanley Kramer (Guess who's coming to
Dinner?) said making his pictures has nothing to do with
the audience. Jacques Demy (Lola) says he never considers
the audience. Both Federico Fellini and Roberto Rossellini
have admitted that they have never seen any of their own
pictures and therefore cannot even comment on audience
reactions to their pictures.

Reviews from Critics

Many directors take what critics have to say very
personally, and therefore find it better not to read reviews
of their films. There will be some critics that dislike a film
very much, while others find the exact same film very
enduring and delightful. From a critical standpoint a film
may not possess all the qualities of an Oscar-caliber
picture, although the film will still bring in millions of dollars
at the box office due to audience appeal. It is important for
the director to take constructive criticism well but with a
grain of salt.

The director cannot allow one bad remark about their film
to alter their thoughts and beliefs about that film. If a
director truly believes in the quality of their work than
reviews should account very little to them. As Paul
Mazursky once stated, "I don't take most of the critics
seriously. I don't see how you can see ten pictures a week
and do a legitimate job day to day." Robert Altman has
mentioned that the only thing that he has really learned
from critics is that there are people that look at film from a
different point of view then his own.
An example of how reviews do not necessarily reflect the
impact a movie may have is seen in a 1980 review in
Variety magazine of the film Raging Bull. Directed by Martin
Scorsese, Raging bull was given mixed reviews for both its
so-called "lack of quieter, introspective moments" along
with "audience alienation." Scorsese was also criticized for
DeNiro's character being a "turn-off" in that same article.
Despite these criticisms, Raging Bull went on to be
nominated for several Academy awards including those for
best actor and Best Director, and is today considered on the
of the American Film Institutes 100 best films of all time.

Directors are in charge of both the technical and artistic

aspects of the film. They conduct the auditions, supervise
the rehearsals, and approve locations, scenery, costumes,
and even the music

"If a movie gets spectacular reviews but doesn't do

business, the director is off the hook," Michael Crichton
(Westworld) explains, "If a picture gets hideous reviews
and does a lot of business, everybody is content. A picture
that gets bad reviews and does no business is probably
going to be laid at the feet of the director. That's the style
of the times."

Directors are the individuals who "translate" the script from

the written page into a film. To do this a typical director
may supervise hundreds of people at a time, including (but
not limited to) the scriptwriters, cameramen, costume and
set designers, etc. Directors are in charge of both the
technical and artistic aspects of the film.
They conduct the auditions, supervise the rehearsals, and
approve locations, scenery, costumes, and even the music.
In short, they direct the entire cast and crew during
shooting. Frequently they will have several assistant
directors helping them with details such as handling extras,
transporting equipment, and arranging for food and
accommodations when needed.

Usually, individuals who want to become directors start in

another phase of filmmaking (like assisting or acting) and
use their experience and varied job opportunities to
eventually advance to directing. It is rare that even those
who attend film school specifically for directing will
graduate and immediately become a leading director on a
film. There are exceptions (as mentioned), like Quentin
Tarantino.

Ultimately, the screenwriter's concern is with the situational

flow and the vocal sound of the film. The cameraman must
attend to the particularities of each shot. The actors must
concentrate on specific gestures and movements.
The editor will be confronted with the piecing together raw
materials that either make implicit an already finished
artistic vision, or evidence so little unity that his work
becomes one of reconstruction, of attempting to produce
some coherence, although his contribution in such a case
will have been obstructed at the level of professionalism
rather than art.

Successful directors are involved in every phase of

production, from the very beginning to the very end. Some
directors will assume multiple roles in their films, such as
director-producer, writer-director, or even writer-director-
actor-producer. Whatever the role they take on, as the
director, they must know how to hire the right people, fire
the wrong people, and how to handle people so that they
work as effectively as possible in a team atmosphere.

FilmMakers recommendations
ACTION CUT - This is the most unique series of learning
tools in the film industry that provides an in-depth look
inside the directing craft on a step-by-step, shot-by-shot
professional level of production from the written page
through the moviemaking process to the final film.
The Director's Journey : The Creative Collaboration
Between Directors, Writers and Actors by Mark W. Travis
Directing Actors : Creating Memorable Performances for
Film and Television by Judith Weston
Directing 101 by Ernest Pintoff
On Directing Film by David Mamet
The Directors--Take One : In Their Own Words by Robert J.
Emery, Leonard Maltin
Directing Your Directing Career, Support Book & Agent
Guide for Directors: 2nd Edition by K. Callan
From Script to Screen : The Collaborative Art of Filmmaking
by Linda Seger, Edward Jay Whetmore
Interpreting the Moving Image (Cambridge Studies in Film)
by Noel Carroll
The Cinema of Oliver Stone by Norman Kagan
Breaking into Film : Making Your Career Search a
Blockbuster by Kenna McHugh
Scorsese on Scorsese by David Thompson, Ian Christie,
Michael Powell
The Film Producer : A Handbook for Producing by Paul N.
Lazarus
Martin Scorsese by Andy Dougan