Directors

I was at a screening of War Horse recently. There was a guy sitting in front of me talking to another guy. Apparently Guy #1 is in some sort of school. A directing program. I didn't catch which school. I was trying to read but this guy was saying some things that struck me as crazy. So I split my attention between my book, and Guy #1.

This directing school has him taking a lighting class. Ugh. Such a bother. (Really?) And he would have to take classes to learn about cameras. Ugh. (Really?) And they had done field trips to Panavision and Arri, and Clairmont.

This guy's thought was, "I'll just tell someone what I want the shot to look like."

This one statement made me think he had no idea or clue. Did he really think he could skate thru a shoot, any shoot without knowing how to line up a shot? Know something about lighting?

Most of the directors I know, either big time professionals or ones that do small projects, know how to handle a camera, line up a shot, something about lighting. Does this guy think that Speilberg doesn't know what camera lenses do? Yeah, you have a DP to do the heavy lifting, someone you can speak shorthand with, but really... On commercials I hear the director tell the DP to change lenses, go from a 50 to a 28 or something similar. They know what the lenses do, they know how it's going to look rather than describing "I'd like more of a fish-eye look..."

I know a director who teaches a class on guerilla film making at Comic Con every year. He seems to know something about probably every camera format there is for use by small productions. And probably the bigger systems. He's intensely curious and looking for the next thing that may be cool which he can use. That's the director I like. Smart, curious, and not someone who feels superior and entitled to a career.

This Guy #1 reminded me of a director I worked with on a sketch comedy show years ago. He was not very good. Couldn't tell the arc of a story to save his life or make the day go quickly. On a tech scout the DP said, "We could do this from the dog's POV." The director said, I shit you not, "What's a POV?" There was a pause when everyone stopped and looked at him, "I don't know and I don't care."

God forbid Guy #1 is connected or has a famous last name. I hope he has someone take him aside and mentors him on how things are done.