A message about the profession of director. Profession director - Mollenta - Youth information portal

The head of the creative team works on the production of a film, play or show.

Wage

50,000–90,000 rub. (rabota.yandex.ru)

Place of work

Can work in cinema, television, theater, circus, etc.

Responsibilities

A production director is, first of all, a creative leader! He is responsible for the artistic component of a project in cinema, television or theater. Actors, cameramen, sound engineers, production designers and others work under the direction of the production director.

The production director himself may be the author of the literary basis (script or play), or he may take into account the works of other authors. The main thing is that it is he who is ultimately responsible for what the viewer sees. Success or failure will forever be associated with the name of the director.

Specializations: feature films or documentaries, theatrical performances, circus programs, musical shows, public events. The production director selects the actors, works with them on their roles, together with the sound engineer and stage designer thinks through the design of the performance, etc.

Important qualities

The profession requires artistry, charisma, imaginative thinking, a high level of intelligence, a broad outlook, imagination, self-discipline and high ability to work.

Reviews about the profession

“The director not only has to stage the event, but also come up with it himself, and in order to write this very script, you need to find an idea, a concept. And here the ability to observe is important; firstly, all ideas should be taken from life. You can take an idea from life through observation. After all, if you look closely, you can find many topics. But how can you become observant? Don’t worry, over time it will come to you.”

Editor of the citykey.net portal.

Stereotypes, humor

Dear, what should I give you on March 8? Choose what you want - a diamond necklace, a mink coat, a villa on the French Riviera?.. - Darling, give me only tonight and your love. - Removed! - the director announced.

Education

To work as a stage director, you must obtain a higher specialized education.

Studying in St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg State University, Russian State Pedagogical University named after A. I. Herzen, St. Petersburg State University of Film and Television.

Studying in Moscow: Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, Moscow City Psychological and Pedagogical University, Theater Institute named after Boris Shchukin at the State Academic Theater named after Evgeniy Vakhtangov.

The director of a film is in many ways similar to the conductor of an orchestra. Firstly, as a conductor, he must put together in his mind an ideal of how the music should sound, and the director must see in his mind how the film should look. Second, like a conductor, a film director must communicate his vision to the various performers so that everyone works toward a unified vision.

The director's work is sometimes compared to the work of a field general, constantly giving orders to military personnel. Although some directors work this way, they were generally disliked and were not successful for a long time. The most effective directors communicate their vision and encourage staff and actors to participate in the process, bringing out their best creativity.

In reality, these two processes of creating a vision and sharing it with the group are one ongoing process, initiated by the director, and constantly evolving, because all team members contribute, and the director implements ways to improve and develop the overall vision.

Of course, the director's job is to communicate. Although some directors are the creators of the film and play several roles at the same time, the only tasks specific to the director's work will be conversations, listening and persuasion.

The director needs to be able to write and tell stories well, and be able to use all the available tricks and tricks to better perceive these stories for listeners. Good directors keep notebooks or journals where they keep their thoughts, ideas and plans for the film, so they can turn them on at the right time to make sure nothing gets forgotten in the chaos of production.

Reading the script

The director's primary task during the pre-production period is to read the script. In many independent films, the director is also the screenwriter, so you'd probably think that the writer would already know the story and could skip this step. When the vision of the picture is formed, you should not neglect this step.

This is the period when the director can freely look from the outside at the script as the basis of the film, dive deeply into the plot in order to clarify the initial conditions, find all the hidden meanings, psychological intrigues, ordinary questions, an explosion of feelings, images, sounds and smells, so that be able to articulate it all into one powerful and memorable vision.

The writer-director is often at a disadvantage here because it will be more difficult for him to read the script and evaluate it with fresh eyes.

Read the script as if you were watching a finished film, and you have no idea how it will end. Just let the story play out in your imagination.
After reading the script, write down your thoughts in your notebook. Pay special attention to what emotions you felt. Your job will be to make a film that evokes these sensations and emotions in the viewer with maximum effect. If some action is not emotional, also note this. Try to resist the temptation and come up with adjustments at this point in the plot. Now you are trying to understand how this story works.
Finally, decide what the emotional core of the film is. What is this movie really about? What goals and obstacles to achieving them do individuals encounter, what emotions did the story evoke, how will it affect the audience, what will the viewer learn from the characters.

Alternatively, you could have your friend read the script and see if the story evokes the same reactions in them as it does in you, or if the script even works.

In-depth structural analysis of the scenario

At the preparatory stage of the director's work, the script is broken down into pieces in order to find out what makes this plot act on people.

Determine exactly what the essence of each character is, what life ideas he pursues during the story and what he strives for. Each character has goals to entrust, destroy, ridicule, teach, accuse, heal, learn, find, change or conquer. Most of them will have external and internal tasks. For example, the external task may be to build a house, and his internal task will be to demonstrate his abilities and convince his friends of his importance.

Such tasks exist even before events begin to develop, or can form at the beginning of the plot. Define these tasks for each hero.

What obstacles stand in the way of achieving the goals set by the heroes? In interesting stories, the obstacles are internal, based on the psychological aspects of the person, but are presented in the form of more obvious external circumstances, such as other characters or natural phenomena such as a raging snowstorm.

What actions should the characters take to try to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals? These are the real steps that need to be taken along the way.

What tools and opportunities can the characters take advantage of? These will be some clarifications in the text, presented in the form of adverbs, for example, calmly, proudly, energetically, quickly or charmingly.

What adjustments do characters make when their actions and attempts fail?

Review each character's goals, obstacles, methods, actions, and role adjustments for each scene in which they participate. Mark important notes in your notes. These will be very useful and necessary comments when you are able to provide strong and precise instructions to the actors while working on the set.

Also, try to determine in each scene what real actions the characters can engage in, so that you don’t stand around reading out your dialogue. In reality, people, in order to carry out their tasks and during various dialogues, are always busy with something, for example, cooking, reading books, surfing the Internet.

Working with a screenwriter

If the director is not the writer of the script, it is very important that the director and screenwriter be able to establish a good working relationship during pre-production and maintain it until filming. The screenwriter sees the plot and developments in his imagination, and the director needs to translate this story into real scenes in real places with real actors playing their roles and performing on stage within a certain budget. This can often lead to disagreements in seeing the big picture. In addition, screenwriters often become too attached to their own opinions and cannot appreciate any innovations proposed by the director with fresh eyes.

The director should always maintain his positive attitude and enthusiasm for the written script. Recognize that the screenwriter worked on this work for months or even years in relative isolation. They understandably have their egos kicking in and may be reluctant to consider changes.

It is common practice at large film studios to hire a second screenwriter immediately after signing the rights to a script, who will make the necessary changes and thus can prevent a clash of two creative egos. It will also allow a new writer and director to take a completely new approach to the story.

If a new writer is not brought in, the director needs to determine what he can do with the writer's original version. Answer the following questions:

What initially inspired the screenwriter for this story?
What is the reason for writing this story?
What life lessons does this story teach?
How does the screenwriter feel, what is this story all about?
What does the writer think about the main relationships in the story?
What is the background to this plot and the biography of the main characters?
Are there any characters based on real people and what is the point of that?

The writer and director will no doubt find differences, and it is important to work from the most basic areas of agreement to the most specific areas where there are differing points of view, in order to resolve them. Ultimately, you need to come to a common vision between the director and screenwriter.

You can almost always find weaknesses in scripts. The director must make it a point to ask tough questions about the logic and truthfulness of the emotions in the script. The director should also include "What if..?" questions when suggesting any changes to the story, such as casting the hero as the villain, or changing the actors' actions in key scenes.

These questions will almost certainly lead to the need to rewrite the script, and will add weight to the story. Some writers are better than others when it comes to rewrites, and some will simply give it up if they don't feel mentally prepared or aren't willing to make changes that the director feels are necessary.

This will make it clear to independent filmmakers that it is important to buy back the rights to a script, otherwise the entire production could be shut down by a disgruntled screenwriter.

One important factor to remember about re-recording is that re-recording one scene can change the logic of the rest of the script, which can force other scenes to be re-recorded. This can delay the preparatory process for a long time. The challenge is finding the balance and writing a script that is strong and impactful without needing absolute perfection.

Reading a film script

A valuable technique at this stage is for the actors to read from the rewritten script. This can be a pretty smart and objective move, especially when the actors haven't read the script yet, or when the actors are still rehearsing their lines in discussion with the director. It is advisable for the screenwriter to be present at the reading of the script so that he can understand the key points of the story when they are presented in something other than in the author's head.

Scenario reanalysis

Now that the script has been refined, the director needs to re-analyze the script to update and expand the notes to fully understand the goals, the obstacles encountered, the methods of achievement, the actions of each character from scene to scene, step by step. These comments will be invaluable during the shoot. An assistant director is often involved in this part of the work; the following points are determined here:

How many actors and what types are needed?
How many scenes will each actor participate in, and how long will his overall presence on screen last?
Requirements, number and types of premises/locations
What stunts and special effects are present in the film?
What special costumes and makeup will be required?
What details will be needed?

Such analysis of scripts is often carried out by professional companies in large films. Good script analysis is an invaluable production tool in films of any size.

An important part of script analysis will be to accurately determine the duration of each scene, which is calculated by the proportion of text occupied on the page. The number of page fractions each scene occupies, in the upper left corner of each scene.

Considering that a film crew's daily schedule is limited to 2-5 pages, which is highly dependent on many factors, knowing the total number of scenes shot per day will help keep the schedule fairly on track.

Selection of creative team

The director's next task will be to select his creative team. Usually this process extends over the entire preparatory period.

The creative team is part of the film crew, and it will help carry out the work of implementing the director's idea and realizing the director's vision. The rest of the crew will be more like soldiers, performing specific tasks and only occasionally working on the creative process.

The creative group usually consists of the following persons:

Cinematographer, or Director of Photography, who is responsible for the creative work of the camera and lighting.
A production designer, or Technologist, who is responsible for creating the visual appearance of a film, working with sets, costumes, and makeup.
Head of the acting department, works with the director to select the best available actors for the film.
Actors.
An editor-editor who works with the director to create a cohesive film from individual scenes and shots.
The head of the music department, or composer, is responsible for selecting the right music to match the emotions of the current scenes.

The director interviews and selects suitable people to co-author the film, shares his vision with them, and then talks and communicates with them, encouraging them to help in realizing the plan.

Sometimes this process can lead to some sort of creative conflict. The director needs to apply his communication skills and ability to persuade and resolve conflict situations until a common solution is found, ultimately achieving a better result.

Actors casting

In large production studios, the casting process is largely influenced by the producers, because... the results of negotiations with stars to sign contracts often take precedence over questions of artistic ability. For independent filmmakers, the process of finding actors can be a busy and challenging process.

For more details about casting, see the corresponding section.

Main rehearsals

The director is responsible for preparing the actors for their work, conveying to them his performance and vision of the film during rehearsals. Rehearsals are described in more detail on the corresponding page.

Directing as a profession.

The art of directing was born simultaneously with the emergence of entertainment art, and the profession itself, as we understand it now, was finally formed by the end of the 19th century. In Russia, directing is associated with the opening of the Moscow Art Theater in 1898, and its outstanding representatives at that time were theater directors - K.S. Stanislavsky and V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko.

In Ukraine, the emergence of directing as a profession is associated with the names of M. Staritsky and M. Kropivnitsky, the founders of the first professional theater in 1882.

Directing did not stand still, it was in motion, in creative search.

Thanks to such extraordinary and bright personalities as K.S. Stanislavsky, V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, V.E. Meyerhold, L. Kurbas and many others. other talented masters, directing became independent and formed independent creative directions in theatrical art, while the director received a leading role. The director, from an initially unnoticed theatrical assistant on general issues, gradually turns into a full-fledged “owner” of the creative process and the entire stage. Today in the theater, in cinema and on the stage, in mass holidays and performances, the director is a leader who leads the entire creative team.

IN AND. Nemirovich-Danchenko succinctly and clearly defined the nature of directorial creativity:

1. A director-interpreter, because he shows how to play, so he can be called a director-actor or a director-teacher.

2. The director is a mirror who reflects the individual qualities of the actor.

3. The director is the organizer of the entire performance.

Thus, the director is both the organizer of the creative process, and the teacher, and the creator, and the first viewer - this is how some of his main functions can be briefly defined.

The complexity and specificity of a director’s professional activity lies in the fact that it is essentially a broad-spectrum activity and includes four interrelated areas that operate in inextricable unity:

Organizational and managerial;

Social-psychological;

Psychological and pedagogical;

Artistic and creative.

Each of them involves practical, creative and theoretical activities. Director-teacher V.A. Nelly identified the main qualities of a director:

The director must be a progressive person, an innovator, a son of his people and his era;

The presence of tact, endurance and high culture;

Comprehensive knowledge;

Poetic imagination;

Good taste, subtle taste in music, language, sense of rhythm;

Knowledge of drama, its technique, theory and history;

The director is the head of theatrical production, hence knowledge in all the details of the theater and its organization, technology and auxiliary means;

The actor is the main figure in the theater, its center and basis, so the director must know the actor and his work well;

To be a psychologist, to try to penetrate into the “life of the human spirit” in order to accurately and poetically create real life on the stage;

Be a natural person. While reading a play, “feel” the work and see it revealed on stage;

Drama is the art of action. The main quality of a director is the ability to note, capture the content of events, the ability to see different segments of life in which memory is manifested, which would preserve different types of action with which real life is filled;

Inexhaustible imagination, ingenuity, resourcefulness;

Strong will, clarity of perception, creative direction and the ability to foresee the result, i.e. the ultimate goal towards which creative efforts are directed;

Director- this is the person who produces the film, manages the filming process or rehearsals, if we are talking about the theater. More precisely, directors on the set some: the main director is called production director, his closest assistants are simply directors. In both cases, the basis of his work is.

Today, many people dream of becoming directors, because the profession is becoming more and more prestigious. Famous masters of their craft receive awards and bonuses, walk on the red carpet, give interviews, and communicate with the best actors and actresses. However, the director's job was not always like this. At the beginning, at the stage of the emergence of the profession, the director was developing the script, working with the actors, and managing the filming process. But times have changed and imposed more and more new responsibilities that make the profession interesting and difficult at the same time.

What does a director do?

Now, in order to become successful in his business, a director must have a keen sense of quality ideas, amazing scripts, the timing of the film’s release, and the needs of the public. He looks for funds, interests investors and producers, selects actors and crew, and manages the process of creating and editing the film. There are gradually becoming fewer and fewer barriers and restrictions as the range of director's responsibilities grows.

Domestic specialists differ in many ways from Western ones, since Hollywood directors do not recognize those who put themselves above the rest. Therefore, they do the maximum amount of work, making every effort to ensure that the picture is of high quality and successful.

After their first success, domestic directors often become arrogant and refuse to fulfill certain duties, as a result of which they quickly lose popularity. Only a select few workaholics and true talents are still interesting to viewers.

Working rights and responsibilities of the director

The director's responsibilities include coordinating the entire process of making a film, so it is he who receives awards or suffers complete collapse if his film fails. The director’s work requires complete dedication, since the specialist not only carefully selects the script, adapts it to his vision and attitude, that is, creates, selects the optimal cast, which will be the ideal embodiment of certain images, and finds an approach to each of them.

After the end of the filming process, the director’s work does not end, since he is obliged to control the editing, sound and special effects. The latter often play a decisive role in the quality and popularity of the picture. Only after all the work has been completed and the film has been released can the director consider his work completed and expect praise or criticism from specialists and ordinary viewers.

A typical director's job description includes rights and responsibilities, and usually also contains a clause on the responsibilities of the parties to the contract. The job responsibilities of a theater director, for example, include developing a repertoire, staging performances, and organizing educational work. Drawing up cost estimates and a cash flow plan is also often entrusted to the director.

In general, the functions of a director represent a set of responsibilities of a good manager, and directing as a profession implies appropriate thinking and excellent organizational skills.

Concept and implementation

Concept and implementation are the two pillars on which modern directing stands. Many directors describe their ideas in great detail; some, on the contrary, believe that improvisation is the main trump card of practical directing. Of course, it is foolish to underestimate the importance of the preparatory stage, but the history of directing says that the most important working moments still take place on the set. This could be a theater stage or a film studio. Undoubtedly, without actors it would be impossible to realize all the richness of the director's imagination.

The main functions of a director include working with actors. Of course, ideally, the creative understanding of the director and actors should completely coincide. However, in practice, one can more often observe a situation where they either strive to meet each other halfway, or what the director does cannot be called anything other than the active imposition of the only correct point of view.

Sometimes even eminent masters do not consider it necessary to hear the opinion of the executor of his “most serene” will. But what the director does is create characters. It cannot be carried out without bypassing the soul and creative potential of the actor.

In accordance with the classical principles of directing, the following components of the plan (the basics of directing) are distinguished:

creative interpretation of the script;
description of characters;
determining the features of acting;
rhythms and tempos in the temporal aspect of the work;
spatial solution (the so-called directing space);
decorative and sound design.

In conclusion, it should be noted that timely and thorough performance of the duties of a director will make a true master out of a diligent beginner.