History of the director's profession. Profession "director"

Spending days and nights on the set, staying up all night discussing a new scene with the cameraman, and as a result, filming your “Natural Born Killers”, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” or “Deadpool”. In short, you want to become a director - and this is a great desire. To find out what you need for this, we turned to the person who hires directors - that is, the producer. Pavel Shumov, general producer of the film company Studio8 and teacher at the Moscow Film School, wrote a manual for us on the most valuable directorial qualities.

1. Willingness to take responsibility

This is the most important and rarest quality: many who dream of a profession as such give up at the stage when a project falls into their hands and they need to decide on it. That is, be prepared to be responsible for the result.

Often, would-be directors spend so long searching for the “perfect script” that they end up missing out on all the opportunities and never realizing their dream.

In addition, the shooting process itself is an endless series of decisions made. If you don't like to be responsible for your choices, there's probably no point in directing.

In the Russian model of commercial production, one of the main problems is that there is practically no relationship between the success of the project and the demand for the director: if someone makes unprofitable trash all his life, he is still considered an accomplished director, and money continues to be given for his next films. It turns out that the so-called director has no responsibility: with this approach, he does not and cannot have the motivation to shoot a product of any quality - “they will find an investor for my next film anyway.” But let your bar be higher.

2. Meticulousness and attention to detail

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An optional, but very useful trait: when you imagine the result so clearly that in your head you have already “watched the film from beginning to end” - you cannot agree to something that will lower the quality bar. You must carefully prepare for each shoot, get your way from the production team and actors - and then you get, if not a masterpiece, then at least a product for which you are not ashamed.

Nicole Kidman in her interviews contrasts directing with acting: in her opinion, directors are freaks who, by virtue of their profession, must control every detail. And she’s right about this: if not you, then who?

3. Own vision/style

You can be a director—and even a fairly good one—without this quality. But every iconic or famous director is easily distinguishable due to the presence of a unique angle on the story. Even if you skip the opening credits, you'll never confuse Tarantino's film with Guillermo del Toro's; You are unlikely to think about Zvyagintsev’s painting that it is the work of Balabanov, and so on.

Recently, it is a unique view of the world that allows young directors to “shoot” in a crowded market: Naishuller, who shot a fresh video clip for his group as a director, was immediately hired to shoot a feature-length film “Hardcore”, based on the technique and idea of the video; The American group Ok GO from the first music videos declared themselves, first of all, as authors with an unusual vision of the world - and their every next song, to be honest, is awaited not because of a new word in music, but because of its amazing the videos they make for their songs.

You don’t need to be a director to create figure-of-eight dialogues—it’s so much technical work. Therefore, a portfolio consisting of daytime TV series with scenes like “Vasily realized that Tatyana was cheating on him” is, by and large, worth nothing.

It’s better to make one micro-budget short film in which you express yourself 100% as a director than 10 TV episodes with flat, stilted characters.

4. Classical education

At least at the self-taught level: read books, study theory, watch master classes of the greats. Nowadays there are so many free materials for self-education that it would be a sin not to use them. You should know the basics of dramaturgy and staging; be able to set tasks for the actors so that they convey in the frame exactly the emotion that you need. Understanding the editing of the frames being shot and much more will definitely help you.

Of course, you can play the game “I’m an artist, this is how I see it” - and shoot a full-length film entirely in close-ups or with deliberately terrifying acting - but, most likely, the result will be something incredibly boring, and, as a result, unprofitable.

The fun thing is that even if you are not familiar with the basic program, and you think that “now you will create something unique” - most likely, you will simply, project after project, learn all the same basics of classical education from your own mistakes .

5. Observation

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Watch as many commercially successful films, cult films, and simply winning projects at festivals as possible. They will be stored in your memory so that from time to time they will act as an “invented bicycle” when you come up with a director’s decision for the next script.

Every year, a lot of videos circulate on the Internet proving the identity of scenes from different directors: for example, this year it was popular “Iñaritu borrowed solutions from Tarkovsky.”

But this is how it should be: many people quote the works of great masters, and you can safely reproduce scenes from Chaplin in your sketch or Kubrick’s techniques in a film about space. If, in addition to these shots, you had something to say in your movie, great; it's bad when borrowing is all you can do.

6. Sense of humor

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Any process is fraught with complications and difficulties, and filmmaking is no exception, so it is simply impossible to survive without a sense of humor. It is humor that often helps to get out of conflict situations or overcome fatigue.

Plus, many scenes only benefit from bringing fun into them: the same “Die Hard” would be a banal and boring film without the evil jokes of Bruce Willis. It is clear that the vast majority of lines are written by the scriptwriters, but the fact that the director can ruin any scene with the participation of even an Oscar-winning actor in no time is, alas, a fact.

7. Communication skills

Many aspiring directors think that they will be the center of the universe in the production process. And here they will be seriously disappointed: the director is a hired specialist who, if desired, can be replaced by the producer. At least for this reason it is worth being able to find a common language with the team. During pre-production, you will have to interact with dozens, if not hundreds of specialists: from actors to costume designers, from production designer to makeup artists. It is difficult to get cooperation from your team if you are closed in on yourself or are accustomed to not caring about others.

This quality is even more important if you are a director and producer in one person - at a minimum, it should be pleasant to talk to you. You must be able to explain the essence of your film and the reasons why this particular project needs to be financed.

Of course, in any industry there are examples of real tyrants who have achieved success, but such qualities still rarely open all the doors.

8. Tech savvy

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You should at least understand cameras and optics, and ideally, constantly study all the “hardware” that surrounds you on the set and at the post-production stage: sometimes technical innovations are even more important for a film than the plot (a good example is "Avatar")

It is important to understand what scenes and how you can shoot without using nature or difficult-to-create interiors. Considering that almost no high-tech film can do without chromakey, motion capture and other technologies, it’s worth understanding how to work with them.

9. Inexhaustible energy

From the outside it seems that filming is “camera, motor, start,” and then posters, premiere, parties, recognition, and so on. In reality, filming is relatively boring most of the time. Not everything works out right away, and sometimes it doesn’t work out at all. And if at the beginning of the shift everyone is cheerful and cheerful, then (depending on the intensity and organization of the processes) by the second half of the day many begin to “deflate”.

The director is the driving force of the project. And if you give up first, everyone else will instantly follow your example (and this process is often irreversible).

Energizer directors, who clearly know what they want to achieve, are able to drive their teams so much that they succeed in even the most difficult shoots - and colleagues work shifts of 20 hours or more in one go. Infect people with optimism and always have answers to all the team’s questions: despondency and powerlessness are your enemies.

10. Talent

I put it at the very end of the list, since although this quality is extremely useful, it is often replaced by hard work and a combination of the qualities described above.

Talent is a two-sided medal: with its help you can quickly make your way, shining brightly with your picture in an endlessly long row of gray works; but he is also often a thorn that does not allow you to compromise, which (especially at the beginning of the journey) often leads to conflicts and loss of projects.

Ideal case: you are talented + wealthy (at least for the first project). One example of this situation is director Cody Blue Snyder's first film, All that Remains (available for free on Youtube), which he made with money his parents saved for college. Having made the choice to invest in the debut, the guy took a risk with his future education - and he was right.

But... see point 1 - unfortunately, the truth of life is that 99 out of 100 young directors, having spent everything on their first film, do not achieve success, and therefore the vast majority simply do not dare to take responsibility and remain directors only in your imagination.

Talent without hard work and everything described above is almost always a useless burden. Therefore, if you do not think that you are gifted from birth, do not despair: you still have every chance of becoming the best, albeit with much more effort.

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.

Profession director

The director is the most important person on the stage or film set. He is an organizer, manager, creative director and inspiration for the entire acting group. If it were not for the art and high professionalism of directors, the world would not have seen talented feature films or theatrical productions. The directing profession is quite complex and difficult, because mastering it requires not only talent and creativity, but also a lot of work, first of all, on yourself.

The time when the profession of director was born is considered to be the second half of the 19th century. Before this, there was no single leader on the theater stage. Stage productions could be staged by the actors themselves or by playwrights. Over time, the skill and professionalism of directors grew, the principles and skills of the profession were developed, and today directors appear before us not only as directors of theatrical scenes, but also of film sets, various entertainment and social events.…

Art is an integral and important part of the life of society, because man is a spiritual being. We watch such elements of art as films and theatrical performances not only with great pleasure, but also learn something from them, understand something that was previously inaccessible to us. And what contribution to a child’s soul occurs thanks to children’s entertaining and educational programs and films. A talented director who knows how to skillfully influence the sensitive strings of the human soul will be able to put into these souls the concepts of good and evil, truth and lies, the beautiful and the monstrous. The great power of art makes us kinder, clearer, a little more sentimental, we empathize with the heroes, cry and rejoice with them. To become better, a person must see and surround himself with beauty, because it is not for nothing that they say that beauty will save the world. Therefore, directorial work is extremely important for the moral and spiritual development of society.

The profession of director is quite popular and prestigious, especially now that domestic cinema is experiencing a revival. Many young people dream of creating a super film that will cause an explosion of audience delight, positive reviews from critics and will bring awards and fame. However, this profession, like no other, is not widespread. There are quite a lot of people who graduate from directing courses, but not all graduates become directors, and only a few acquire fame and name. Only real talent can make it to the top of the director's Olympus. A talent that is based on tremendous work, perseverance and perseverance. For a future director, such qualities as imagination, imaginative thinking, the ability to work and find a common language with people are also important. In addition, the director must know the basics of acting in order to properly coordinate the work of the actors.

This profession has many positive aspects, because it is associated with creation and creativity. You will have to work with many interesting people, travel to different cities, countries and exotic places. In addition, directing work is paid quite well and is prestigious.
The negative aspects of this work include irregular working hours, often round-the-clock employment. And it can be very difficult for a novice director to break through and make a name for himself.

This profession is acquired at cultural institutes, theater academies, and cinematography institutes. Today you can study to become a director not only in state universities, but also in commercial ones, on a paid basis. Competition, as a rule, is very high in educational institutions, so you need to show remarkable talent and creativity.

The names and surnames of the world's and country's leading directors are on everyone's lips. However, few people know how to get this profession, where to study and how to get a job. Find out by reading our detailed review.

Demand

Payability

Competition

Entry barrier

Prospects

A director is a person who manages all creative processes in theatre, cinema or television. He has a fairly wide range of responsibilities, the competent implementation of which will allow him to create a real masterpiece. The first directors appeared simultaneously with theatrical productions. They are first mentioned in Dahl's dictionary as people who control the performance of actors and the creation of a performance. But the very concept of directing arose only at the end of the 19th century. It was used as an ensemble or the subordination of all processes in the theater to one concept. This idea originated simultaneously in Paris and Berlin. In the 20th century, directing began to develop rapidly in cinema. But it should be remembered that the origins of this art remain in the theater, from where the director’s experience was transferred.

Description

Nowadays, directing has undergone tremendous development. Now this is not one person, but a whole range of specialists who report to the production director. Depending on the type of work, the essence of the profession is determined. There are such directions of directing:

The essence of the director's profession is the management of filming processes. He sees the big picture and clearly understands what each character should be like. The director is the interpreter of the script, who conveys the author's idea to the actors and monitors its implementation.

What specialties to study?

In order to get a chance to get a job as a director, you should choose one of the following specialties:

Theater directing.
Directing feature films.
Directing non-fiction films.
Directing an animated film.
Filmmaking.
Directing non-fiction film and television films.
Directing theatrical performances and celebrations.
Directing shows.
Stage direction.
Circus directing.
Directing.

All of the above specialties will allow you to work as a director. You should choose based on the area in which you would like to show your talent: cinema, theater, television, circus, pop, etc.

Where to study

There are not so many higher educational institutions where directing is taught in our country, but the most prestigious are:

Russian University of Theater Arts (GITIS).
All-Russian State University of Cinematography named after S.A. Gerasimova (VGIK).
Moscow State University of Culture and Arts (MGUKI).
St. Petersburg Humanitarian University of Trade Unions.
Theater Institute named after. B. Shchukina.

These universities are not the only ones, but they are recognized as the most prestigious. If you managed to enter one of them and successfully graduate, you will definitely not be left without a job.

What do you have to do at work and specializations?

Each director performs a whole range of management responsibilities:

The director, in the full range of his responsibilities, acts as a link between all components of the filming process. Good direction is a guarantee of the success of any film or show.

Who is this profession suitable for?

This profession is suitable for strong and strong-willed people. The director must be a born leader and be able to manage a huge number of personnel at the same time. He must be a professional in his field and have enormous creative potential. The director is impartial and does not play favorites - this is important in a creative team. This specialist must be well-read, artistic and intellectually developed. A broad outlook is the director's best assistant.

Demand

This profession is not in great demand. Few people dare to invest in young, unknown directors.

How much do people working in this profession earn?

The director's fees depend on where he is employed. If these are not very profitable small theaters or a circus, then the salary is about 15-30 thousand per month. Large-scale performances in large, famous theaters and filming are completely different numbers. The amounts are not disclosed.

Is it easy to get a job?

If you are a famous director, then projects will find you on their own. It's difficult for beginners. Investors usually look for eminent professionals, not university graduates. Directing is available to those who have connections and solid sponsors. They are the decisive factor and help to reach people.

How does one usually build a career?

The beginning of his career is the position of assistant director. You will carry out small assignments and gain the most important thing - practice and experience. After all, by watching a professional work, you will very quickly learn from his accumulated experience over the years.

The director is the next stage of development. If you are not working on a very large project, this is the top. In large-scale events, you are an assistant director. You control the supporting processes and get the opportunity to show your directorial qualities. Your work is checked and corrected by the production director. It is he who corrects shortcomings and teaches you the most significant subtleties of this work.

A stage director is the pinnacle of a career. You get all the power and assistants who will take care of secondary processes. Now you are in charge of the creative areas of work. This position is given only to the most experienced and well-established directors.

Prospects for the profession

The main prospect of the profession is participation in famous film projects. As a result, you will be able to gain popularity and love from the public and investors. They are the ones who will provide you with further work and substantial fees. High-quality films that are admired by critics are a passport to the world of foreign cinema. This is a completely different level and an opportunity to earn substantial amounts.

In cinematography and theatre, the leading role is given not to actors or producers, but to directors. It is he who is entrusted with responsibility for the final result, and it is in relation to him that the highest demands are made.

In recent years, domestic cinema is undergoing a revival. The society is regularly presented with new films that can rightly be considered masterpieces of the film industry. In this regard, the demand for people with creative specialties who will be able to maintain the achieved level and continue the development of art is increasing.

Who is the director?

– a specialist who manages a set of key processes on film sets, stages, circus arenas and other theatrical and concert events. He interprets the script and has a complete understanding of how a particular scene needs to be played to make the plot look as realistic as possible.

The profession of director arose relatively recently - at the end of the 19th century. Of course, the need for people coordinating actors and working on staging performances appeared in an earlier period, namely during the formation of the theater. However, at that time, theater troupes mainly managed on their own, so the number of such specialists was limited.

The idea of directing in its modern presentation belongs to the German and French theater - it consists in the formation of an ensemble and the subordination of the entire performance to a single concept.

Emergence and rapid cinema development caused not only an increase in the popularity of the profession, but also the range of responsibilities assigned to directors, which would be quite difficult for one person to cope with. This determined the need to highlight narrower areas:

The production director is an experienced professional who heads the entire team and is responsible for the result of its work. He selects actors, corrects their performance, and makes amendments to the script.
The director has the second most important level after the production director and, in fact, is his assistant, who learns from him and gains experience. He is involved in major projects and is given responsibility for selecting extras and filming minor scenes.
An assistant director is the lowest level of the profession and at the same time a good start for career growth. Despite the fact that he is “in the wings” and does not perform any important functions, many graduates of educational institutions begin their activities in this position.
The sound engineer is improving the quality of voices. He expresses his expert opinion on what exactly needs to be said and with what intonation so that the sound matches the picture as closely as possible and evokes certain emotions in the audience.
The editing director is an expert who combines individual episodes into a single, complete picture. In his work, he is guided by the recommendations of the chief director and works with him, selecting the best scenes from the footage.

A theater director has a completely different specificity of work. Theater productions require special training and skills. The acting, the script, the scenery - everything must be built flawlessly, since in the theater the director will not have the opportunity to shoot another take that the audience will like.

Depending on the type of specialization, the main responsibilities of a director may vary, but the most important aspects of the job include:

interaction with screenwriters, producers and other participants in the process;
distribution of roles, control and staging of actors' performances;
lighting adjustments;
viewing the footage and highlighting the best shots;
making changes to the script;
instructions regarding the appearance of actors;
resolving controversial situations and maintaining an appropriate work environment, etc.

It should be noted that directors are unique specialists. Often they can combine work with related professions and act as producers, screenwriters, and actors. In this case, the range of their responsibilities expands significantly.

What personal qualities should a director have?

To unleash their creative potential and achieve success in their careers, directors have to work hard and put in a lot of effort. Therefore, it is very important for them to be purposeful, hardworking, strong-willed people.

As in others creative professions, in their activities they must be creative and have a broad outlook.
A high level of intellectual development, erudition and imaginative thinking are constant companions in the work of directors.
Curiosity and a desire for self-development are required to increase experience and better understand the profession.
Since people in this profession have a large number of employees under them, they must have leadership qualities and be sociable.
The ability to organize work and find compromise solutions in problem situations is the key to a favorable atmosphere in the workplace.
Objectivity and observation will also be useful on the creative path, which will allow you to give a correct assessment of what is happening and choose the right direction.

Advantages of being a director

The director gets great pleasure from the opportunity to self-realize and bring his ideas to life, which, if successful, will be recognized by the public, and he will gain popularity and recognition.

High-level specialists do not need to look for work - she finds them herself. Majority famous directors are very much in demand and receive large fees, the amount of which is usually not disclosed. Naturally, the level of their salary directly depends on the scale of the projects, but, basically, they can independently set the amount of remuneration for their work.

The profession is very exciting due to the fact that directors travel very often and participate in various events. In addition to the opportunity to see the world, an equally attractive aspect of the job is meeting famous people and making connections, which will undoubtedly bring great benefits.

Disadvantages of being a director

The main disadvantages of the profession include the low probability that a specialist will be able to achieve success in his career. For beginning directors it's quite difficult. Lack of experience and a recognizable “name” often means lack of work. A significant part of sponsors choose only famous personalities for their projects, who will certainly be able to create a masterpiece. Of course, you can start your career by working on small projects, but in this case you won’t have to count on a substantial reward. And there are no guarantees that in the future you will be able to get into the major leagues.

Being a director means not only entertainment and loud parties in honor of the premiere, but also hard work. This work most often does not provide for a standardized schedule and scheduled vacation. It is not uncommon for directors to work late into the night or around the clock until they achieve the desired result.

Very often directors experience stress and are in a state of increased psycho-emotional stress, which can have an extremely negative impact on their health. Also, do not forget that the main share of success in the creative profession is associated with inspiration. Depression, apathy and stress are unlikely to lead to the creation of something worth attention.

Where can I get a job as a director?

It is impossible to master the profession of a director on your own or with the help of special courses. Although studying the basic principles of directing self-education will not bring harm; you can become a real specialist only by receiving an appropriate higher education.

Today, in most Russian cities there is at least one university that trains directors. Many universities are for-profit, but there are also plenty of state universities where you can get this profession. All educational institutions offer training primarily on a paid basis, with a minimum number of budget places, and it is very difficult to enroll in them. Applicants are selected according to strict criteria, the main one of which, however, remains talent.

Future employment largely depends on the choice of university, since in this profession the prestige of the university plays an important role. The most popular educational institutions among employers include:

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