A film director is a person who directs the making of a film. Generally, a film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, and visualizes the script while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of that vision.^[1]

Responsibilities[edit]

The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, while filming a costume drama on location in London.

Film directors create an "overall vision" through which a film gets eventually "born".^[2] Realizing this vision includes to oversee "the cinematography and the technical aspects" as well as directing the shooting timetable and meeting deadlines.^[3] This means organizing "the array of people working under him/her on how to best capture his artistic vision for the film".^{[4] [5]} This requires "good leadership and motivational skills" as well as "the ability to stay calm in stressful situations".^[6] Moreover it is necessary to have "an artistic eye to frame shots" and to give precise feedback to cast and crew.^[7] Subsequently excellent communication skills are a must.^[8] Since he depends on a successful cooperation of a lot of different creative individuals with possibly strongly contradicting artistic ideals and visions, he also needs "to be a diplomat" in order mediate whenever necessary .^[9] Thus he makes sure all assembled talent "blends into a single consciousness".^[4] The set of varying challenges he has to tackle have been described as "a multi-dimensional jigsaw puzzle with egos and weather thrown in for good measure".^[10] It adds to the pressure that the success of a film can influence when and how they will work again. ^[11] Always omnipresent are the boundaries of his budget.^[12] He might also have to ensure an intended age rating.^[13] Theoretically the director has "to answer only to executive producers". ^{[14] [2]} Still a "real-life brawl" between a film director and an actor can possibly cause that the film director gets fired if the actor is a major film star.^[15] Even so, "from the first day of brainstorming to the final release" directors often spend more working hours on films than "any actor, technician, or editor" and consequently the profession can be "physically, mentally, and emotionally draining".^[1] It has been said that "20-hour days are not unusual".^[2]

Becoming a film director[edit]

Some film directors started as screenwriters, film editors or actors.^[16] Other film directors have visited a film school to "get formal training and education in their craft". ^[17] Film students can study "the basic principles, techniques and procedures of film direction and production"^[18] This includes, for example, "preparation, shot lists and storyboards, blocking, protocols of dealing with professional actors, reading scripts, the construction of film".^[19] Some film schools are equipped with sound stages and "extensive post-production facilities"^[20] Besides "organizational and technical skills" students also achieve "insights into social contexts and relationships"^[21] Students are led to explore their own creativity and moreover they are introduced in "ways of working that foster the important exchange of ideas".^[22] They are finally supposed to be fit to deal with all forms and genres.^[23] A full degree course can be designed for up to five years of studying.^[24] Future directors usually complete short films during their enrolment.^[1] The National Film School of Denmark has the student's final projects presented on national TV. ^[25] Some film schools retain the rights for their students' works.^[26] Many directors successfully prepared for making feature films by working in televison.^[27] The German Film and Television Academy Berlin consequently cooperates with the Berlin/Brandenburg TV station RBB (Berlin-Brandenburg Broadcasting) and ARTE.^[28]
Director, screenwriter and film producer Luc Besson founded his own film school "Ecole de la Cité" for directing and screenwriting in 2013. On its homepage he explained that because he was not given the chance to attend a film school he had to go very long way and "carried tons of gear". He started at the bottom of the ladder as an unpaid intern on a short film and is still grateful to the technicians who have given him "kindly and patiently" training on the job.^[29]
In the USA there is also an "Assistant Directors Training Program" sponsored by the Director’s Guild of America. ^[4] The trainee gets paid and receives HMO. ^[30]

Characteristics of film directors[edit]

Ingmar Bergman apparently examines an x-ray film, during work on Wild Strawberries.

Here, director William Eubank performs multiple roles on-set as both director and camera operator.

Different directors can vary immensely amongst themselves, under various characteristics. Several examples are:

• Outline a general plotline and let the actors improvise dialogue. Notable examples include Ingmar Bergman, Christopher Guest, Wong Kar-wai, Spike Lee, Wim Wenders, Mike Leigh, Barry Levinson, Jean-Luc Godard, Miklós Jancsó, Gus Van Sant, Judd Apatow, Jay and Mark Duplass, and occasionally Robert Altman, Sergio Leone and Federico Fellini.
• Control every aspect, and demand that the actors and crew follow instructions precisely. Notable examples include David Lean, Akira Kurosawa, Steven Spielberg, Victor Fleming, James Cameron, George Lucas, Stanley Kubrick, Sidney Lumet, Christopher Nolan, David Fincher, Guillermo del Toro and Alfred Hitchcock.
• Write their own screenplays. Notable examples include Woody Allen, Werner Herzog, Alejandro Jodorowsky, John Cassavetes, Ingmar Bergman, Stanley Kubrick, Quentin Tarantino, James Cameron, George Lucas, J. F. Lawton, David Cronenberg, Charlie Chaplin, Billy Wilder, Ed Wood, David Lynch, the Coen brothers, Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia Coppola, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Pedro Almodóvar, John Hughes, Nick Park, Edward Burns, Kevin Smith, Todd Field, Cameron Crowe, Oren Peli, Eli Roth, Paul Thomas Anderson, Guillermo del Toro, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Oliver Stone, Terrence Malick, John Singleton, Spike Lee, Orson Welles, Akira Kurosawa, Hayao Miyazaki, M. Night Shyamalan, Paul Haggis, Billy Bob Thornton, James Wong, Tyler Perry, Robert Rodriguez, Christopher Nolan, George A. Romero, Sergio Leone, Satyajit Ray, Joss Whedon and David O. Russell. Steven Spielberg and Sidney J. Furie have written screenplays for a small number of their films.
• Collaborate on screenplays with long-standing writing partners. Notable examples include Alejandro González Iñárritu and Guillermo Arriaga, Elia Kazan and Tennessee Williams, Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown/Tony Grisoni, Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson/Noah Baumbach, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg, Martin Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi/Paul Schrader/Jay Cocks, Yasujirō Ozu and Kôgo Noda, Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, Luis Buñuel and Jean-Claude Carrière/Luis Alcoriza, Krzysztof Kieślowski/Krzysztof Piesiewicz, Frank Capra/Robert Riskin, Michelangelo Antonioni/Tonino Guerra, Billy Wilder/I.A.L. Diamond, Sergio Leone and Sergio Donati, Guillermo del Toro and Matthew Robbins, and Christopher Nolan/Jonathan Nolan/David S. Goyer.
• Be the cinematographer and/or editor. Notable examples include Nicolas Roeg, Akira Kurosawa, Peter Hyams, Steven Soderbergh, Josef von Sternberg, David Lean, Don Coscarelli, Charlie Chaplin, Robert Rodriguez, James Cameron, Ed Wood, Gaspar Noe, Tony Kaye, Takeshi Kitano, Andy Warhol, Shinya Tsukamoto, Kenneth Anger, the Coen brothers.
• Appear in their films. Notable examples include Clint Eastwood, Orson Welles, Mel Gibson, Martin Scorsese, Peter Jackson, John Waters, John Carpenter, Spike Lee, Tyler Perry, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Kevin Costner, Kenneth Anger, Woody Allen, Jon Favreau, Quentin Tarantino, Eli Roth, Michael Bay, Mel Brooks, Ben Stiller, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Charlie Chaplin, Terry Jones, Edward Burns, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Sam Raimi, Roman Polanski, Billy Bob Thornton, Sylvester Stallone, M. Night Shyamalan, Harold Ramis, Robert De Niro, John Woo, Kevin Smith, Warren Beatty, Kenneth Branagh and Ed Wood. Alfred Hitchcock, Abel Ferrara, Shawn Levy, Edgar Wright and Spike Jonze made cameo appearances in their films.
• Compose a music score for their films. Notable examples include Charlie Chaplin, Clint Eastwood, David Lynch, Alejandro Jodorowsky, John Carpenter, Alejandro Amenábar, Satyajit Ray, Robert Rodriguez, Tom Tykwer and Vishal Bhardwaj.

Professional organizations[edit]

In the United States, directors usually belong to the Directors Guild of America. The Canadian equivalent is the Directors Guild of Canada. In the UK, directors usually belong to Directors UK or the Directors Guild of Great Britain.

In Europe, FERA, the Federation of European Film Directors, represents 37 national directors' guilds in 30 countries.

Notable film directors[edit]

See also[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

• Spencer Moon: Reel Black Talk: A Sourcebook of 50 American Filmmakers, Greenwoood Press 1997
• The St. James Women Filmmakers Encyclopedia: Women on the Other Side of the Camera, Visible Ink Press, 1999
• International dictionary of films and filmmakers, ed. by Tom Pendergast, 4 volumes, Detroit [etc.]: St. James Press, 4th edition 2000, vol. 2: Directors
• Contemporary North American Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide (Wallflower Critical Guides to Contemporary Directors), ed. by Yoram Allon Del Cullen and Hannah Patterson, Second Edition, Columbia Univ Press 2002
• Alexander Jacoby, Donald Richie: A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day, Stone Bridge Press, 2008, ISBN 1-933330-53-8
• Rebecca Hillauer: Encyclopedia of Arab Women Filmmakers, American University in Cairo Press, 2005, ISBN 977-424-943-7
• Roy Armes: Dictionary of African Filmmakers, Indiana University Press, 2008, ISBN 0-253-35116-2
• Philippe Rege: Encyclopedia of French Film Directors, Scarecrow Press, 2009

Notes[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Film directors

• Directors Guild of America
• Federation of European Film Directors
• Directors Guild of Canada
• Directors UK
• Directors Guild of Great Britain
• A comprehensive collection of interviews with a century's worth of European film directors
• Films101 The best directors picked by critics and filmmakers
• Senses of Cinema - Great Directors
• Getting started in film, TV and interactive digital media
• How to become a film director
• Assistant Directors Training Program
• Film directing, the director's job
• Career and Salary