Videos that show a director directing

O

orange

Active member
Hello

I wonder if anybody knows of videos or documentaries, where you follow a director when he or she directs. Not like the ordinary behind-the-scenes stuff where there are only interviews with the crew and actors and you only see snapshots of "Action! Cut!" but where you actually follow a director when he or she is directing a film and instructing actors and crew, solving problems, casting his vision etc.

Thanks..
 
Interesting video. I'd like to see more like that. . . . Actually, I'd like to see AND HEAR more like that. Was it just my computer, or does the audio cut out, shortly after the video starts?
 
Yes, sound cuts out around 1:10 into it :(

Back to the OP's question - no, I've seen various docos of directors talking (or being interviewed) about directing, but not simply seeing them doing it.
 
I think there's a video of the director of "I Heart Huckabees" yelling at one of the actresses on set and calling her a C word. Does that count?
 
Not sure how much actual director-following they do in it, but The Shining BTS is quite good.
 
The problem is that without context the snippets of direction you see in a BTS clip make no sense.

Proper sit-down interviews are the only useful sources I've ever encountered for learning how a specific director works on set.
 
Man, there was a really cool clip I saw of Fincher directing on the set of fight club, but I can't seem to find it right now.

I'll pop back in if I find it, or maybe someone else knows what I'm talking about
 
I remember one of him running through setups with department heads on location, which was pretty cool - but again, only because there was some context to it (they intercut the scenes they were discussing shooting).
 
It would be an amazing resource if more videos existed of great directors working with actors. However, I have doubts that the most important point in time would be during the shooting. Rather, I think the best time to learn would be 1) rehearsals, and 2) "meet and greet" encounters. By the time everybody is on set, the relationship has already been formed, and specific directions wouldn't indicate to the viewer what is actually going on. If the director has done his/her job, he's usually not saying much more than "faster" or "slower" while shooting.
 
Definitely check out David Fincher bonus materials, especially "The Social Network" bluray has loads of footage of him directing and going through the script with the writer and the actors and it's fairly uncut. It really shows him doing what he do.
 
Die hard fan of fincher. Listen to all his commentaries on his DVDs, you'll learn a ton. The Social Network bonus feature that drapeama posted is great too.

On YouTube, if you type in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Bonus, you'll get the dvd bonus features. They're decent. But this one really shows Fincher's directing. Noice how the performance changes from the opening minute to the last.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQnx5KaZ-ME
 
Wow, the third take, at 2:31, the actor totally nailed it. Perhaps some of Fincher's direction contributed, but it was the middle take that was the best.

Now David Fincher --- he has his gifts, very good with lighting. I'm not sure I would look to him for how to direct actors. Giving the actor a line reading is worldwide deplored as one of the most amateurish directorial mistakes. I say this as someone whose first impulse is to give the actor a line reading. "No, say it like this..." In Directing Actors, Judith Weston points out that right up there for all-time most useless direction is the Psychological Roadmap. "First you're angry with her for forgetting your birthday. But then as you look into her eyes, you fall in love with her all over again. But then when she says the condescending comment about your job, you feel insecure, like a little boy."

Besides Judith Weston's book Directing Actors, I like much of what Mark Travis says in this interview, Story Mastery & The Director's Journey, and I'm looking forward to reading his much-regarded books.

Not to drift too far off-topic, this thread is about on-set direction footage. But I guess a little commentary after the footage is fine.
 
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