Videos that show a director directing

Yes, that's a really great thread!

Combatentropy > Not to sound offensive but i don't think there's one way of directing actors. Anyway is fine as long as you get the results you need. Some shout, some say nothing, some show step by step what needs to be done, it's all a matter of your way of doing things.

The best doc on filmmaking i've seen is Tarkovsky's The Sacrifice. It shows a lot of how he directs actors. You can find it on Youtube. I don't remember the name of the doc but doing a simple search of the film will give you results.
 
combatentropy said:
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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My one criticism of Judith Weston's first book is that it was too dogmatic with its suggestions. Although I learned much from it, it made me more fearful of saying the wrong thing. I thought if I said the wrong thing the performance would be ruined. But I've seen many of the best directors give line readings. The trick is to be flippant about it and begin with, "maybe you could say it kind of like..." You can even hide a line reading by reading the segment of script aloud and performing the line casually. The point is not to instruct the actor exactly how to speak, but to push them in the right direction if they're way off.

Her second books "director's intuition" is incredible.
 
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