On Directing Stage Direction

I will be the first to say, directing isn't an easy job. You have to really pay attention. That said, I like paying attention. What I love is the crew that keeps me pointed North. I will admit that it gets a bit...well, it's not easy to keep things orientated properly. Given time, like say...theater stage, actors REALLY nail down blocking. That is, where you are and what you say. In a pinch, like on a film set, forget it. It's capture as much as you can and hope that everyone nails their position. Introducing a camera into the equation, well...folks, it's a dance. Then you try to keep the pieces together in your head. For the most part, it tends to block itself. However...it's always interesting listening to commentaries on DVD that lay out the complications of what is seemingly the easiest scene. Things like dinner table scenes are apparently the most difficult. Which is understandable if you care about continuity. For instance, who passes what food to whom at what line and you MUST remember who you are looking at when you say a line or pass food. Okay...then flip the table and do it again. In this case, directing is remembering. And that is near impossible. However, really good actors make it easy on you because they keep track of that shit. I legit want to vomit thinking in those terms.
Now to make it easier, a LOT of film sets have video playback (the ones that shoot on film). That is, they can see how the action plays and re-do it. But, that takes time. For me, even though I have video tap (the camera that records the film camera lens), I tend to forego playback or even have a tap because I rely on the cinematographer. Keeping orientation is difficult though less and less people tend to care. Especially if it's only two characters.
Lately, I've been enjoying directing more. Especially with newer people. A LOT of people tend to freeze when being directed. I am one of them. I hate it. Hate acting, because I'm horrible at it, and then embarrassed afterwards. If it's just action, fine...can't do lines to save my life. I've tried and it's awful. In fact, it was for a directing class, and it's really embarrassingly bad.
If I were to give any advice to new directors, it would be to learn blocking. And then, learn to listen. When things sound really awful, stilted for sounds like it's read from a page...don't panic. The actor is listening to you and rely on you not to make them sound/look foolish. This takes...YOUR aesthetic. That means having tastes. Or at least, knowing what you hate.
I love listening to director stories. There was this one about Clint Eastwood on "Unforgiven." There was a moment when he gently suggested to Gene Hackman that during the scene when Will Munny was about to shoot Little Bill and the gun misfires, that he take a pause before saying his next line "misfire (pause) KILL THE SONUVABITCH." During the take, Hackman kept running the two lines together, without the pause. A few times and Hackman was feeling frustrated. THEN, Eastwood suggested they set up a small dolly track that would push the camera in after the line "misfire!"...so now it was "misfire (dolly in) KILL THE SONUVABITCH!" See, Hackman, as a seasoned actor knew the next line needed to be on the closer shot. So he naturally waited for the dolly to move in.
This is brilliant directing.