When not to direct?

[john threat]

Hi Guys!

When do you say no to directing? What kinda project makes you say: pass.
Or when do you see a project and say, thats great but maybe say I am not the person to direct this and maybe produce or hand it off to someone else?

Have you ever walked away from saying yes to a directing job?

What say you

 

[capitalP]

I say no to Music Videos. Usually because the artist just wants a favor or the pay is so low that it will not be worth time and effort. Music videos are a lot work and most new artist don't realize that.

I have also turned down a few writers who ask to direct their screenplay. They just hand me the screenplay with no financials. So yes it looks like I turn down a lot of jobs due to money, but truthfully, directing is too much time and dedication to do freebies. But I would direct a project I was passionate about without getting money from the artist. I haven't found one yet.

 

[Allan Black]

Anything on the side of a mountain, heights cliffs .. ugh.

Cheers.

 

[jghenderson]

I haven't really turned anything down yet, because I am still young and relatively new to the field so i've felt that any and all experience will be beneficial to me. However I am getting to a place where I will need to start saying no to any job that doesn't either pay well or advance my career in a direction I want it to go. You reach a point where the experience you gain isn't necessarily worth the amount of time you put in that you could spend on other projects that have the potential to take you where you want to go.

 

[farawaybeaches]

I'd say take anything when you're starting out, UNLESS it's a big or significant project and you feel like you're not fully equipped get a good grasp on or something you can't do for ethic reasons. If you become successful to a certain point, it's good to narrow the field and maybe only accept projects that you really only have your heart in.