Hey You, Director

If you’re just starting out and wanting to direct movies, short films specifically, I’d like to suggest that you don’t direct. Sounds funny, right?

I mean, don’t direct, just cast well and watch. Your job at this point is to just…watch. The goal is to be consistent with the entire movie, not just moment to moment. Small framing notes are fine. Continuity issues…if it matters, the rest…that intense motivation, background, all that shit…just don’t do it. Certainly DON’T ever direct an actor over 50. Instead, talk and ask questions. Actually, ask how that person is feeling at that moment. Not for the character, but as the person sitting, or standing. What benefits the story is all that matters. Just as directors get TOO involved with the nuances of acting like a director, instead of…directing, actors can rely on directors acting like directors too. Don’t fall for this trap. There is no motivation if the script is properly structured. It’s all there.

Michael Pare, star of “Streets Of Fire” which I consider an odd duck of a musical directed by Walter Hill, but still underrated…felt needy when it came to pleasing Walter Hill. He would pester him with a thousand questions, dissecting the script to it’s core and then go over this treaded ground. Not sure what he was hoping to accomplished but this was suppose to be a trilogy that probably left a sour taste in Hill’s mouth. Pare seemed to have gotten in his own way.

It’s simply because Hill was trained under Sam Peckinpah, where once he sees it through the eyepiece, he moves on. No fruity…explanation. Just move on. Robert Zemeckis is the same way. Though his issues are more for technical things, than performance. Though he often leaves actors in the cold. Especially if they ask questions about the character. I think very few actors understand that once they are casted, they are the right person for the role. When questions are asked, that’s when they start to dig themselves into more trouble. Think of it like trying to talk up a girl to fuck you. They already know they want to fuck you, the more you talk, the less they want to.

I digress. I think directors think they need to say something. I think as I do get older, I can feel or see what I want and move on quicker. A piece from here and a piece from there (as an editor’s brain as well). It works. You’d be surprised what people put together these days and pass off as a short. They aren’t short story films, they’re just…moments. I feel fortunate to have made many projects with people who don’t fall for the dissection stuff touted by Meisner or Stanislovsky or whatever. That’s bullshit you need to deal with before getting on set. What I noticed about Pare, was his questions were…good. It wasn’t “my character wouldn’t say that!” (which actor’s FREQUENTLY say). Instead he approaches it as “can we go over this line..?” He gives it a few test runs with the director, and then he adjust so it sounds more natural. I LOVE that. It’s non-combative, defensive garbage that goes with “my way or the highway” attitude. I like after a take to ask “whaddya’ think? You like it?” I think that takes some actors by surprise. Usually, I should KNOW if I like it. I can’t speak for actors, but I think it puts into light the question they ask themselves. Oliver Stone asks his actors if they “want one for safety.” Which is HIS way to have a take for him and another for them. Everyone is satisfied.

One note…in a studio movie, the director sometimes doesn’t get to choose. Some are really headstrong and REFUSE to shoot another take for fear a “throwaway” one will be used. I think the solution to that is to conspire with each other as to possibly shoot on the certainly would never use (like a grip walks through the shot).  Let that be the last take. I have a theory that…most of the times, IF you are sitting through dailies, the last take is horrible, they will backtrack to the second to last take. Or just go with the first (since it’s the most natural before adjustments).

I’ve also stopped yelling on set. Not that I ever screamed…except, as a cameraman when the actor wouldn’t stop fidgeting. Anyway, shouting is odd, since it’s aggressive. Silence gets questions answered and people moving forward. Some things to consider.