The Top Ten Things NOT to do as a Director

By Melanie Chung
September 08, 2005

As an ambitious filmmaker, my ideas more often than not become much bigger than feasible. Much of what an independent project depends on are frequently things beyond the control of a director, such as the budget or location restrictions. Recently I had completed production on a small ten minute independent drama that I had written and directed. And what I had learned from this film is beyond what any one person can teach you, or impossible to learn in a structured educational environment such as a film school. Scorsese, I have read, films approximately three pages of a script a day, with a twelve hour shooting period. Due to location restrictions, I had to film six pages in a ten hour day total (inclusive of setup and take down which usually approximates four and a half hours alone). Needless to say, I was strapped for time. However, the best that I can take away from my experience is to simply learn from my mistakes for the future. And now perhaps I can help all of you aspiring directors learn from them too.

1. Put all your actors in one basket.

Like the saying goes, you can't put all of your faith and trust into one solitary thing. Trusting your actors to perform exactly as you wish, all the time, is tricky. Of course you must trust your actors to a certain extent otherwise you wouldn't have cast them. However, I would like to emphasize that no matter how many hours or days you've spent with them working on a character, it is still important beyond words to work with your actors while on set. If an actor nails the role during a rehearsal then that at least gives you the confidence that he/she has the ability to play the role, however, actors are humans too. They forget things. The passage of time between a rehearsal and the actual shoot is light years apart. While on set, especially on a small film, the lines of communication between actor and director can be easily strained. If this relationship gets overlooked, the basis of what a film is can be lost - the acting compromised and the directing compromised.

2. Assemble an unreliable crew.

Part of working on films is working as a team. It's imperative to be able to rely on all your crew members one hundred percent to get the job done. I recently had to work with an art director who removed herself entirely from a very heavy art dec project. Not being able to trust all your key crew members can easily lead to disaster, especially if you don't speak up about it. Like a pimple that festers under your skin for days and as time passes it only grows more painful and bigger and bigger to the point where it blows up, quite literally, in your face. And it ain't pretty. You may end up picking up the slack yourself, which redirects your focus.

3. Doubt your crew.

Conversely to point number 2, it must also be acknowledged that (at least to a certain extent) your crew also wants to make a great film. Your crew is there to help you. They are there to make a film just as much as you are. If you try to take control over every aspect then you lose sight of your task at hand - directing. Unless your film is on fire than do your best to stay out of the gaffer's, director of photography's, and make up artist's way and let them do what they need to do to help you achieve what you want.

4. Freak out.

Things going wrong? Impending security ready to give you the boot? PA's tailing you around? Don't freak out. Once you begin to panic you lose your focus. Like in any stressful situation, it is important that you keep your cool and a level head otherwise everyone who is depending on you to make a beautiful masterpiece will question your ability to direct and lead.

5. Skip meals.

As many nutritionists say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Well, so is lunch and dinner. Running on an empty stomach for a ten hour day will do nothing but make things harder on yourself. Your stomach will be grumbling, the head will be aching, and the mood swings will be aplenty, which leads to the inevitable: one unhappy person.

6. Stand around in the heat of five 1000 watt lights.

You need to be able to breathe. The power of the lights used on film sets can be pretty intense. The heat they put off is also quite suffocating. Take the time to step out of them for a few minutes here and there. Staying out of the heat will allow you to breathe some clean(er) air and will keep your head alert and sharp.

7. Judge the fate of your film based on rushes or a first cut.

Rushes (a.k.a. raw footage) are not an accurate way to determine how your film will look in the end. Jumping to conclusions can only increase your stress levels and plant doubts of your own abilities in your mind. Rushes inevitably look nothing like the masterpiece in your head. Rushes, more often than not, need to be adjusted in post, through techniques such as colour corrections or applied filters. Much like your rushes, a first cut is not an accurate way to gauge what the final cut will look like. A first cut is a rough cut. The operative word being rough. First cuts often are just the bare skeleton of the film. Even Helen of Troy has a skeleton underneath all that hair and flawless skin.

8. Keep your mouth shut.

They say nice guys finish last. There is a definite truth to this statement. If someone is not doing something the way you want it to be done (such as an acting nuance, or lighting style) speak up about it. There is a very, very fine line between someone imposing their opinions onto you and not being open to the opinions of others. It is important to be open minded to the ideas of others, but it is also important to know what you want. If an actor is not doing something you think is key to the character, don't be afraid to speak up. Otherwise there would be no point in your position if your not giving any direction.

9. Be unforgiving of your mistakes.

Not to sound like a walking cliche, but every experience is a learning experience. We all make mistakes and we all feel we could have done something differently. But there is no point on dwelling on what you could have done or what you wish you did. What you need to do is learn from it. If all of your directing endeavours are perfect than there is no opportunity to become better. I'm often much too hard on myself and I let my mistakes get the better of me. However, this does nothing for me except put me in a bad mood. If you can't forgive yourself than others won't see a reason why they should forgive you as well. Talk about getting kicked when you're already down.

10. Think there is only one way to direct.

You can't simply watch movies and then believe you can direct a film. If you seriously want to consider becoming a director, it is important that you not only watch films, but actually study them as well. Break down scenes by their shots. List how they go from a wide, to a medium to a close up. Much of the basics about directing are just getting the shots to appear seamless. Study your favourite directors and start with the basics rather than trying to mimic that big elaborate tracking shot from the ceiling such as the climax from Taxi Driver.