Part of the art of directing is working with other minds not just your own. Directors are just a small part of the puzzle, it is the group as a whole that gives a movie a more rich development. A director who relies Primarily on him or her self when making a movie has and will have a tendency make that movie feel like it has a single voice with no depth or soul. That is, all the characters will sound the same and the movie as a whole will be flat.
Young directors need to realize that the team as a whole is important on every level. There is nothing wrong with giving the script to every one and the janitor for Critique and revision. Every person on the face of the planet has an experience to share. Collectively with the direction of the director can mold the script in to a rich product. In a very rare case is any script so good that it only needs the first draft to go into production. Million doller baby is a fine example and some famous play rights are that way too. But don't hold your breath. To get a group of minds that think collectively in sink is not so easy and when you find those minds work hard to maintain the relationship.
The entire entertainment industry is built on relationships in one form or another. So get along with every one. You never know who will be the next steven spealburg. At the same time every one in this industry has there little black book of who they won't work with ever again. So learn to get along and know who you can and can not work with.
Every person in this industry has there weakness and strengths in the art world. Learn to play off your strengths as well as learning how to tap in to another artest for his strengths.
Respect everyone and there experiences. It is easy to look down upon those who don't have the clout, money, resources, talent etc. Everyone is valuable especially good people with good work ethics. As a director one must earn there respect amongst there peers by being patient, understanding, kind, compassionate, ambitious, and is not afraid to get in the trenches with there own crew on any level.
A director must be willing to be the servent to his crew and not the other way around. A good director must involve the entire teem in the filmmaking process and take impute from everyone and anything. A director must do just that direct. He must direct the ideas and talent accordingly so that a single vision is attained and the story essence is not lost.
People who write scripts and have no desire to become a director are more likely to actually make a film because the reality is hungry directors need good scripts and there are a lot of starving directors out there.
The point I am trying to make here is it is better to actually have a finished film then to say I must be this or that if I am going to make a film. Making a film in general is hard work. Making a good first film that stands out is an act of God. Any film produced is a miracle. movies are not made they are forced in to existence. Everything in the known universe is against you when producing or making a film in general. You need to have the confidence the size of an elephant, but you still need to be able to know how to bring the right minds and the right people to the set. No movie can afford to have narcissistic egos on the set. If it does it will fail.
A good book to read on producing is "So You Want to Be a Producer" by Lawrence Turman. Probably one of my many must reads. I recommend this because regardless of what path you want to take its good to understand relationship between the director and the producer there world. Both the director and the producer should work together artistically, creatively and on a business level. Both are not better then the other. However, it is sad that many people feel that one is better then the other. I have been on both sides of the fence and one can not exist with out the other. The roles must exist to suport the film.
Film schools over glamorize the directoral position to the point where every one seems to graduate as a director, or a cinematographer or an editor. There is no focus. Sure I like to direct but I'd much rather make a movie then sit and twiddle my fingers wishing for the day some one might ask me the honers. Big name directors come from all walks of life and A list directors account for less then less then 1 percent of the directoral pie.
A book I segest on reading about this topic is called:
The Working Director: How to Arrive, Survive and Thrive in the Director's Chair by Charles Wilkinson.
Great book for some one who just wants to know how to be a working director not a rock star director.
Its nice to have dreams in this world and directing is a nice dream to have, but not at the expense of other peoples money. How in gods name is anyone going to tust any person on paper when the numbers are not there. Let alone If you only got one shot to make a financially viable feature why blow it when you can suport the millions of cheap A list talent out there who are starving for the work.
Making a movie is not all about directing. Producing is probably the best way in to the game. From a producer's perspective, the movie is riding on him or her to make a good film, but you have a better chance to ride on the coattails of other well known talent who have proven them self and proven to the money that they can do it again and again. Not to mention that once you make enough the option to direct a movie based off of producing clout is not too far off.
a good example is the producer by the name of Nora Ephron. She is a fabulous well rounded artest. she started out acting in films then writing then producing and went on to directing. She is best known for her romantic comedies and is a triple nominee for the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay; for Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless in Seattle. She sometimes writes with her sister Delia Ephron. Her most recent film is Julie & Julia.
I am not saying producing is the only way to directing but it is a way. The path to directing and producing are not so different from one another and both positions lead to the other and vice versa. In fact the two are interchangeable and many well known directors are also seasoned producers.
Movie making takes work no matter what you do. Establishing credibility takes even more work and having a movie that actually makes money is an act of God not to mention the fact of actually finishing the picture. Especially from a person who is trying to break in to the industry.
There is a way to the path of directing those big budget features and no matter how you look at it you still have to produce and direct and quite possibly write the films your self to get there. Hence it takes a lot of work, money and resources. The sad truth of the matter is you have to buy your way in to the industry ether that or someone you know takes you under there wing to get you to the top. I know this reality all to well. I have been on both sides of the playing field and lived to tell this tail. There is no doubt that in the shark infested world of filmmaking you need the upper hand but you also have to make friends with the devil aka the sharks. This is not to say you need kiss butt. Its a mutual power game. People who kiss butt are easily spotted and are considered the loest of the low because they will scratch there way to the top at all cost and will take and steal without any remorse and will have no fruits or offerings to the move making effort.
This is a big hint for all you future filmmakers. No matter what if there is no money and agreements not written in legal form it does not exist. Other wise its all talk. If this is scaring any of you then that is good. I hope to scare the pants off of any one who is not willing to fight the battle.
One major methed of becoming a director in the circuit of the filmmaking industry is festivals. After a movie is made you want to get the film lots of exposure. This exposure can be attached to the film on the based of winning awards. In the festival world, you have to submit to smaller festivals first then to bigger festivals. The key here is exposure. Films can actually be sold this way. Look at your options and don't be to greedy because your first big film should always be the slut. Pardon my french, but it is the truth. The fact is credibility is more important then your position, money or any thing else. So put all your standerds aside and hustle your film in to existence. The person with the film has what no one else has, an actual physical product in hand. A film is tangible once it has been put on disk or medium of choice.
The internet is nice, but its just a small way for people to get to know your work. But the film needs the illusion that it has been exposed to the right places. This whole industry is built on an illusion, yet in the end there must be a product and that product must see distribution in order for it to make sense financially. The old saying goes, "power follows money and money follows power." This craft of movie making is still a Business. In the end people still need to make money to suport there habits. The more a person is willing to compromise and pass the torch on to someone more established then them selves the more likely investors will invest in a film so it can get made. From the gorilla standpoint micro budget films have different rules, but if you want a bigger budget try getting an A list director with named talent. Who knows, if you go with Mr. A list director then you might learn a thing or two about the craft.
Building a filmmaking team starts when you go to school. Try to find the right people to work with. Establishing a good film team early is the key to not getting your self shafted later. If every one on the team can't respect one another then what is the point. I have learned this lesson the hard way and I will never do it again. It does not hurt to bring new people in once and awhile but caution and limited tolerance for negative energy and a lack of respect should not be a part of the filmmaking experience. Making a movie is already hard enough as it is. Why add an element that proves more of a headache and heartache.
Never invest your self in a film that you know deep down is not something that makes you passionate. Working on any film is already enough of a chalenge. If you can't believe in it and you are trying to force it in to existence then you will find your self going no where fast and your energy along with your spirit of filmmaking will just be wasted. Making a film takes a part of you and your soul. learning how to develop pashen for filmmaking is as much a part of the craft as the art it self. The business part of the art will never go away and the two must coexist in unison to exist at all. Both the business and the art can not survive with out the other, at least not long term. So if some one offers you a paying gig take it if it does not conflict with your personal beliefs or morals. Nothing wrong with being selective but you also don't want to be starving artest ether.
So get out and make films. Worry about status and the money later. It is better to make a film then to clame your self a title and wish you made a film.
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