Well, just last weekend I had the great experience of directing my first major narrative project. I have been in school for about 9 quarters helping multiple projects in different ways from grip, to producing so I am not unfamiliar to how a set works. However my only experience directing a major project was for a documentary I did near the start of my education. It felt like a long time coming for me to really practice directing and hone the craft I eventually would love to follow (editing being a close second).
The experience was lovely, and I really learned a lot. I wanted to talk about a couple things that I think are vital when on set as a young director and what will help you to keep the path clear.
Delegate!
Now I know this seems pretentious, or even rude but it’s not. As the director everyone is waiting on you to guide what’s going to happen next, what shot are you seeing, and creatively keeping the flow. What you shouldn’t be doing is worrying about everything there is to worry on a set. Even helping with some aspects of the set can actually slow things down in the long run. Don’t start helping to set-up lights, or mess with audio. It’s not about not caring, or even not wanting to help, it’s that the best thing you can do is make sure you are focused. The more focused you are on getting the good shots, helping the actor’s get into character, and making sure you know what’s up ahead is most important. The most important person on the set (for at least me) was my Assistant Director Dana Shaw. He kept my aware of the time, and was always there to help make every other aspect of the shoot was going smoothly. During the shoot I had a hard time not helping, which at least for this scale was not a bad thing. However I can for sure see that this wasn’t best practice. Remember, you aren’t being a jerk you are just trying to make sure you are keeping yourself focused to help the crew.
Pre-Production
This may seem obvious to most, but I can’t stress enough how vital it is to plan. Even on a tight schedule, give yourself plenty of time to get pre-production ready for your project. This includes location scouting, casting, scriptrevisions, and one of the most important is the shot-list. Go through with your Director of Photography step-by-step through the script and create a shot list. The more that you and your DP are on the same wavelength, the smoother the production process will go. If find that a shot doesn’t work on set, and you are supposed to get a shot off in 10 minutes, with careful pre-production it won’t take long for you and your DP to create a shot that fits the visual style of your film. Never push off Pre-Production, it’s the most vital aspect of getting the film actually made and you will find the quality of your projects improve with the more Pre-Production you can have.
There is a lot that I learned over the shoot, but these elements are really what stood out to me the most. While I think we did a good job in Pre-Production, on set I was much more hands-on with the set itself which caused some snags and some hiccups. Overall I had a great experience, and look for the short film this week on the web!
