IMP Director chronicles- Genesis (the beginning)

 

What it takes - Director  

 

For are IMP projects I have been given the task of directing one of the two short films. As an added bonus, I get to direct my own idea which is fanatic! However, the role of director is not an easy one. Imagine a gallon. You have all the crew fulling their duties; making sure the ship is going in the right direction, that it is sea worthy and it is protected from attacks. But non of the crew decide on the direction or path of the ship, or even where it is going to end up. That is all down to the captain. He plots of the course and makes sure the ship stays on course by using the crew he has and utilizing those with special skill sets. The captain holds the ship together. A director does just that but with a film. He 'plots the course' of the project and make sure it ends up where he/she set off to get to.

A skilled director picks his crew for there individual talents and how they work with others. He then utilizes their individual skills while uniting them as a whole. However, as with a real ship, the oceans you sail will rarely work in your favor. A skilled captain can work around the ocean. Even using some situations to his benefit. He uses his crew to make sure that his ship doesn't go down and is lost to depths. A director must be veristaile in dealing with situations that arise during a production. How he deals with them can decide if the project sinks or not.

Before setting out on any length of journey across the sea, a weathered captain will have mapped out a route, including back-up routes in case of emergency. Without a plan, they ship would sail blindly which could end up in shipwreck and disaster. Similarly, a director must have a clear course of action before filming ever begins. This comes from huge amounts of pre-production, sometimes starting a year or more before anyone shouts lights, camera action!

 Skills I Posses

 

 Knowing what it takes to be a great director is all well and good, but what skills do I already posses? For me, the biggest skill I have is my communication skills. A director must be able to clearly put across a point while not coming seeming to be argent or viewing the other person as an idiot. This comes into it's own when dealing with actors. It is vital that a director can communicate well and clear with actors so as to get the best performance possible. This is a skill I have developed. I can build re-pore with an actor so as to get exactly what I need from them. This goes the same for crew. Being able to put across what is in my mind to a DOP or costume or sound etc has taken practise but i have become very proficient at it.

I also have cultivated my pre-prodution skills. Keeping meetings on track and on topic can sometimes be a challenge when dealing with creatives, but I have found my own style of keeping creativity open, while still remaining in control. This again stems for good communication skills.

I also have a incredible imagination. Creating entire worlds in my head in vivid detail is second nature. This comes from having a lack of friends as a child. Instead of playing football in the playground, I would create a new world, characters, plots etc then take them on an adventure, visualizing it as if I was watching a movie. This gives me the ability to not just see an idea, but feel it, as if I was actually in the characters shoes.

Could Do Better

 

However, as always there are things I could improve on. One thing is how I can become very set in my ways when it comes to making adjustments to shot lists and story boards on set. when I have a certain set of shots and someone wants to shoot something different than planned I have been known to just shoot what I wanted too, turning their idea down. This is not a good quality. I have at times allowed people to do their idea and it was been a disaster which has either set us back or just wasted time. However, on the flip side of that, there has been times where an extra shot or variation has actually been a very good call ending up in the finally edit. Finding a good balance is something I need to improve on.

Progress So Far

 

As of writing this a lot has happened. I have been working closely with Vicki, my scriptwriter, as well as the other departments in order to get things ready for when we shoot. The script is nearly locked in with just some minor changes to be made. I have asked my DOP to go away and watch a few classic movies: Silence of the lambs, rear window and few others, to get a feel for the type of style I want to accomplish. I have also had my DOP come with me to work on client work to give us experinece working together. I have also been in communication with are Art Department in order to give specs for characters clothing, the overall look of the apartment, props etc. I am also in discussions with my producer on casting choices and locations.

IMP Pitches

IMP Pitches

As part of my media course, we have the amazing opportunity to create two short films as part of a IMP (Initial Major Project). However, before we could start on the nitty gritty of pre-production, we first had to do two pitches. The first, are film idea and the second for the role we wanted to fill during the production. In this review I will pick apart both of my pitches in order to find out what I did well at and what could be improved.

First things first, why is pitching important? Say you have an incredible idea for a film. You have put time, effort, blood sweat and tears into fine tuning your creation until it is sear perfection! However, you don't posses the £15 million price tag which your master piece needs to see the light of day. So you decide upon going to the big studios and pitching your idea as well as yourself, because of course you want to director your magnum opus. However, you walk into the board room in tatey clothes, hair all over the place and a slightly concerning Oder coming from your direction. You stand there and babble on for 30 minutes, filling 40% of that time with umms and ahhs. When you finally stop talking, you are left looking at 3 bored and bewildered faces. They thank you for your time and send you on your way. You wait for a call back which never comes. Put simply, a good pitch can be, and will be, the difference to you landing that deal, getting that dream job or selling your movie. A good pitcher can get him/herself anywhere in life.

Film Pitch

So back to me. The first pitch we undertook was that for are film idea. I was fortunate enough to fall in love with my idea after spending many hours hand crafting the story and characters. Personal for experience I find it much easier to pitch a product or project you really care about. When your not, it can be hard to get truly enthusiastic and get everyone in the room as excited as you are. This leads me onto a key point of pitching. No one is as excited about your project as you! You need to work to get them there. Keeping this in mind was really helped me.

The pitches were all filmed so that we could review them later. Here is the video Film Pitch- Off The Wall Video.

Overall I feel the pitch is of a high quality. It keeps to the point of the film, explaining it's bible based background as well as going into depth about the story and characters. There is good eye contact and I am not locked into one place like a statue. However, I do not come across as too energetic which would take away from what I was saying. I feel the style of communication is also good for a pitch environment as it's not to formal, keeping it friendly and relate-able, but still informational. 

The big thing I feel that could be improved is that I doubt myself and that sometimes comes out in the pitch. When you second guess something you have just said, having to ask whether or not it's accurate, it raises doubts in the minds of the people listening. Second Key point of pitching: Doubt kills ideas! If your wannabe investors doubt the project, they are likely not back you. It goes back to my earlier point: How you act towards, not just your project but yourself, can sway the outcome. 

In review, I feel it was a good pitch. It kept to the point while giving a good amount of detail about the film. Furthermore, the film was indeed picked to be produced. If that isn't the sign of a successful pitch I do not know what is.

Role Pitch

 Are second pitch was for the role we wanted to fill during the production. As my idea was the one of the two which are being produced I had my heart set on directing it. After all, I had a vision for the film ever since pen first hit paper. Also, I have experience in directing a narrative so I felt well suited to the job.

The big different between the previous pitch and this one was your not trying to 'sell' an idea of project. You are having to sell yourself! That is a much more daunting task. This pitch is a glorified job interview where you have to state your strengths and experience. This is hard for many as finding positives about yourself, looking inward and saying "yes I am an amazing camera-op" can be a challenge. Much like a CV, it's all about putting forwards your best bits, not the negative. Here in lays a key skill which is difficult for some, to easy for others. If you don't believe in your ability why should the people you are talking too. This doesn't mean be cocky, just confident.

Again, the pitches were filmed for later review- Role pitch video.

Similar to the film pitch, I felt it was a good pitch. However, I do not think it was as effective. I missed out some very key points. The biggest being examples of past work and examples of who I dealt with problems which have raised on set. Not including these points could have, and maybe did, raise the dreaded D word, doubt. Saying something and having tangible evidence are two very different things. In hindsight I would have liked to include more interactive examples: hand-outs, a mock up of the poster for the film and a short show reel like video highlighting my best work.