Books on Directing

Re: Books on Directing

variety of visual presentations, thats the words I was looking for.

For example Tarantino, Kubrick, Godard,Truffaut, Hitchcock, Christopher Nolan would stick to one and only visual look, there are a lot of others.

What other directors use different visual looks and same looks?

What would Sergio Leone and Takashi Miike fall under?
 
Re: Books on Directing

Hmm...great question. I think in some cases, it's as much a "feel" as it is a look. Tarantino films feel like tarantino films more then they look like them...which is funny, as Guy Ritchie films also feel like Tarantino films.

Wes Anderson's three films all feel the same and look similar.

Woody Allen's films have some wide depth of feeling and look, but as stated, he relies a lot more on cinematographers then most modern directors.

David Lynch has turned out some very different feeling and looking movies. Comparing Dune to Wild at Heart and then to The Straight Story shows you very different films.

Maybe this discussion should be restricted specifically to directors whose films LOOK the same...as there are so many whose films FEEL the same, even with vastly different styles.
 
Re: Books on Directing

Finally, while I think James Cameron has made a couple of fun action films, I don’t see any ability in character portraiture. He is purely a technical director, so much so that he’s never made a film that wasn’t entirely centered around a gimmick or effect. Aliens comes close, but in truth is almost a purely action film as the two main characters are Sigorney Weaver and a rubber alien mask.

Hey J_Barnes

For me good character portraiture's ultimate goal is to resonate with the audience. Cameron's Titanic was a love story set against a historical disaster, which ultimately took a back seat to the story between the two main characters that were separated by the class system. This is what sent it to the 2 billion dollar mark, sent there by an audience comprised heavily of women of all ages.

When I watch Aliens, it is Weavers character that makes the film (for me). Her emergence as leader of the marines while at the same time showing her motherly side with the little girl is wonderful.

Arnold in T2 was taught by the boy not to kill, and to be more "human". A father/son type relationship developed between them and was even remarked on by his mother Sarah as she watched them toss a ball to each other in the desert.

I agree with you that Abyss was his best character effort, but I was disappointed by the ending.

Lenses, steady cams, cranes, filters etc. are all in the directors bag of tricks and are used extensively by directors to create their "style." There is nothing wrong with this, but many a film falters in the forced pursuit of technical style. When I was working in LA, I heard too many filmakers say, "but at least it looks great."

For me a real director brings out the best he/she can from their actors and puts it down effectively in cohesive narrative form, with tricks only being used if truly needed. Some of best films ever made never got the camera off of the "sticks".
 
Re: Books on Directing

How do these directors learn how to be a actor's director?

I'm really interested in this because I love working with actors.
I don't act, and I don't want to, but I love rehearshing scenes and doing things with the actors.
 
Re: Books on Directing

How do these directors learn how to be a actor's director?

You said you like working with actors, so next time don't tell them exactly what to do, rather give a slightly broader direction and see what they come up with on their own. Then gently mold their performance.

An "actors director" gives the actor leeway to interpret their character (under the gentle guidance of the director.) They understand the actor's needs as a professional and an individual.
 
Re: Books on Directing

[quote author=sojrn link=board=Directing;num=1098323126;start=30#44 date=11/15/04 at 20:40:03]How do these directors learn how to be a actor's director?

You said you like working with actors, so next time don't tell them exactly what to do, rather give a slightly broader direction and see what they come up with on their own. Then gently mold their performance.

An "actors director" gives the actor leeway to interpret their character (under the gentle guidance of the director.) They understand the actor's needs as a professional and an individual. [/quote]


I never do tell them exactly what to do, the short I've done we did excercises, rehearshing, etc. but they all came up with stuff. I want this to be a creative team effort and not me telling everyone you gotta do this like that.

Just trying to find resources where I can find out and learn morea about this process.
 
Re: Books on Directing

My favorite quote about directing, and I can't remember who it's attributed to...(might have been renoir?)

"Never tell an actor what to do because once you tell an actor what to do, that's the only thing that they will do"

Meaning specific direction tends to take the life out of a character. I knew an actress that was in an episode of an 80's action television show, and in once scene she was required to try and break out of a room through the window.

While she was preparing for the scene, she was thinking of exactly what she was going to do and where she was going to go (it was a wide shot, no blocking). The director came up to her and suggested a couple of actions before she finds the open window:

"maybe you come over here and try and open this door, maybe you come over here and look through this shelf for something to help you escape, maybe you come to these boxes and look through them, then go over to the window and try it..."

Although before the shot she had all these ideas she wanted to try in the context of the scene, sure enough...as soon as action was called, she walked over to the door and jiggled the handle, then to the shelf and looked through the items, then to the boxes and then finally back to the window and out.

It was only in retrospect that she realized the direction, while only suggestions of what to do, became exactly what she did. All the great character work she'd done before the scene was tossed out the window in favor of the director's suggestion.

I've found this to be almost universally true with actors, thus it becomes important to talk more in intentions then in actions. Rather then tell an actor to look through a shelf for something, tell them to look for anything in the room that might help them escape. Give them an intention rather then an action..."search the room, find a way out, make sure no one hears you" will always get a more creative response then "look through this pile, look through that shelf, try the exits in this order, and be quiet when you try the doors"

You have to allow the character to be a real person in a real situation, but if you program them with specifics, they're less able to apply logical thought and reasoning while in character. They become an actor trying to follow your script of actions rather then a character trying to acomplish something.

Just my two cents.
 
Re: Books on Directing

Try Amazon under books on direction-an especially good one is "Directing the Film" by Eric Sherman. You might even find it in half.com. In it questions are posed, then short answers follow by the likes of Reiner, Berman, Friedkin and Altman just to name a few.
 
Re: Books on Directing

Nice, thank you....

I just love working with actors, I have a style of my own that I follow, but it's not that big.

I want to learn more about this cause I love doing it. :)
 
Re: Books on Directing

If you want to help yourself stand out from the rest, hold on to your style and make it big.


carpe diem - "Seize the Day"
 
Re: Books on Directing

[quote author=sojrn link=board=Directing;num=1098323126;start=45#50 date=11/17/04 at 16:01:46]If you want to help yourself stand out from the rest, hold on to your style and make it big.


carpe diem - "Seize the Day"[/quote]


Nice... is that a quote from the movie - Seize the Day?
 
Re: Books on Directing

Directing the Film is one of the better books out there about directing, and it really holds a wealth of anecdotal information as it's culled largely from the AFI archives.
 
Re: Books on Directing

carpe diem - "Seize the Day"

Robin Williams in "Dead Poets Society"


And yes, that is the correct book.
 
Re: Books on Directing

Yes, and I think that was its most recent incarnation in a movie.
 
Re: Books on Directing

And the Virgin Mary's most recent incarnation was as a grilled cheese sandwich...what a crazy world.
 
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