Job Description
To be a Film Director can be compared to the job of a captain of a ship or the one of an architect. In other words, you have complete artistic control in the whole filmmaking process and the toughest choices.
As a Film Director you manage all the creative aspects of the production. It’s up to you to decide how to visualise the script onto the screen but you also have to communicate your ideas clearly to the other crew members. In order to create an emotional piece of art you work closely with the Actors and the Cinematographer, guiding them about your vision of the characters, the subtext of the dialogue, the mood of the scene, the shot angles etc.
Your job starts from the Pre-production or often even from the Development phase of the script and lasts till the end of the Post-production. Usually, it’s you who lead the editing of the film, preparing a ‘director's cut’. That cut will most likely be reviewed by producers and financiers before signing off the final cut.
- Interpret scripts and create your vision for the film
- Work with department heads
- Work with casting directors to find talent
- Direct actors and the camera
- Work with editors to assemble the film
- Work with sound and music departments
- Critical thinking
- Communication Skills
- Organising, Planning, and Prioritising Work
- Conflict Management
- Taking initiative
- Managing own emotions
- Collaboration
- Time management skills
- Shot list and storyboard
- Film terminology and commands on set
- Basic guidance on how to direct actors
- Basic understanding of how to work with the subtext
Producer/executive producer, Screenwriter, Director of photography, Assistant Directors, Production Designer, Actors
Set up Situation
Your last short film is selected to a prestigious festival where an Agent notices your potential. He offers to represent you and immediately start working on a low budget full-length romantic comedy. It’s not your favourite genre but it’s a start in the big business.