The role of the acting profession, articles by directors. Profession Director

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.

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.

Many people would like to become famous by directing their own film or staging an original play. In a sense, the profession of director is complete freedom of expression, but it also has its pitfalls. To become truly in demand and successful, talent and artistic taste alone are not enough.

What does a director do?

The director can work in various institutions: circus, theater, opera, film studio. Even concerts of vocal performers often introduce a pre-developed element of show performance.

There is a lot of work for a director in the advertising field, when creating videos. The very first task of a specialist is to develop a concept for the project, then discuss and write a script together with the playwright. After this, the director selects members of the production team who will work with him on the play or film (assistant, lighting operator, choreographer, costume designer, choir director, movement and stunt director).

Based on thoughtful scenes, sketches and a general work plan, a financial estimate is drawn up, which will be the budget of the film or production. Then the selection of actors is carried out, who must best correspond to the images conceived by the director. The director can appoint his own assistant, who will monitor the correct fulfillment of the director’s requirements, as well as record each stage of the work.

Qualities and skills of a director

A director's work on a production is a colossal effort that includes many elements. Together with the artists, he designs costumes and scenery, participates in the selection of music with the composer, develops and corrects plasticity and movements with the choreographer.

The director must be able to do everything that his troupe does, be a specialist in everything. This is the only way he can achieve harmony and integrity of all components, completeness of the work. Each stage of the troupe’s work is approved by the director and, if necessary, changed and finalized.

As for the director’s personal qualities, they are not at all ordinary. In addition to the obligatory talent and taste, a specialist must be a strong and strong-willed person, be able to dictate his opinion and defend it in a dispute. He must have a subtle sense of harmony, be able to communicate with a large number of people and find an approach to each of his employees. In addition, the director must have technical knowledge in his field, the ability to understand the equipment and use its capabilities in the production.

Making your own film or creating a production is not an easy task. It requires time and is not always appreciated by critics and viewers. To become successful, the director must be able to find a compromise between his idea and the expectations of the audience.

Pros and cons of being a director

Advantages:

creative profession;
working with interesting people;
fame and success in successful projects.

Flaws:

work takes up all the time;
practically no personal life;
creative crises are possible.

Career growth and salary

A director's career path can develop in a certain field: theater, cinema, animation. There is no growth as such, professional production skills are being honed. In any case, the profession requires the ability to manage people and achieve goals. Another direction is working on your own project or producing. Here it is necessary to develop entrepreneurial qualities. A director's salary largely depends on the scale of the project he is directing.

Media, entertainment in the form of films, shows, plays, theater productions and the like have become a part of our lives. Now we cannot even imagine how we would live and have fun if there were no television and theater. But someone comes up with all these productions and films, develops the script, and embodies what was planned in the actors’ performances. This is the profession we will talk about in this article.

In any movie, show or production, the profession “Director” appears. A certain job description is hidden under the mysterious name. Although a person who is far from the industry of filmmaking understands the director’s list of actions quite vaguely. Or perhaps it doesn’t represent him at all. So, what kind of profession is a director?

In fact, the director is the most important person in the film. It is on him that the acting, the presence and type of scenery, the quality of the film, the correctly selected cast, the composition of screenwriters, voice acting, special effects, and so on depend. The profession of "Director" involves continuous communication with and management of many people. Without him, there would be chaos and complete misunderstanding between people on the site.

Profession "Director": description

This profession is very complex, capacious, but also exciting. The director can be compared to the conductor of an orchestra. It is he who directs the actions of all the specialists who are on the set. His task is to achieve productivity in the interactions of people, to coordinate the sequence and necessity of performing different tasks, to convey to the creative staff what exactly is required from whom, and most importantly - in what time frame and in what form. The profession of "Director" is the most important in the field of cinema and theatrical productions. It is thanks to these people that truly exciting and fascinating masterpieces of world cinema and productions are presented to our attention.

History of the profession

The history of the “Director” profession is not as long as one might assume. It appeared only in the second half of the nineteenth century. Before this, there was no such position. It would seem, how did theaters function then? In those days, performances were staged either by the authors of the works themselves or by the acting troupe together. The need for directors arose with the increase in the number of theaters, as well as with the advent of the film industry.

Demand for the profession

The profession of "Film Director" is one of the most prestigious at the moment. Making your way to the big screens, working on films that will subsequently be seen by millions of people, is the cherished dream of many people who have connected their lives with directing. However, not everyone can really reach such heights. At the moment, a director can engage not only in film editing, but also accompany holidays and concerts of various sizes, stage plays in theaters, work with a group of animators, and so on. So, we can say that the demand is average. In big cinema there is almost none of it, and in very modest circles there is enough of it, but there are not enough people willing to work from time to time, and even for a small remuneration.

Human qualities

In order to get a good position in this profession, you must have a set of certain human qualities. The profession of “Film Editing and Theater Director” is exclusively creative. A candidate director must have an exceptional sense of beauty. Bring the actors' performance to a perfect level, feel the temporary components of the production, see what additional and main effects are needed, lighting, sequence of actions, and so on. The director must see the picture as a whole and at the same time in parts, so as not to lose sight of any important detail. In addition, communication skills must be well developed. Still, you will have to constantly work with a huge number of different people, explain to them their tasks, and find an approach to everyone.

Director's skills and abilities

You can learn the profession of director at colleges, academies, universities, cultural and cinematographic institutes. At least one of them in any city provides the opportunity to learn this craft. The profession of "Theater and Film Director" requires excellent knowledge of both foreign and national, both modern and historical. The director must understand genres and be able to correctly express his thoughts, both orally and in writing. Developed oratory and competent speech are important. No director can achieve anything in this matter without leadership data. Imagination, broad outlook, personal artistry, the ability to quickly make the most unexpected decisions - all this must be possessed by a director. The specifics of the profession require constant improvement of this data.

Director's responsibilities

This person is responsible for selecting the script, reading it, and correcting it. His tasks include collaborating with screenwriters and producers and finding funds for the film adaptation. director" and "film director" imply direct participation in the production and organization of a film adaptation or theatrical performance. These people select suitable candidates for a particular role, carry out preparatory work with them, explain the essence of the future role, the nuances of the game, and set the time for filming and rehearsals. At the final stage, the director’s responsibilities include checking the proper level at all stages of the work. He needs to make sure of the quality of the sound, lighting, music, scenery, work of stylists, etc. The director includes the most important co-operator of all representatives on the set. he is the organizer, manager and manager all rolled into one. His tasks include promoting his brainchild, advertising, selling to cinemas or theaters. Without his active participation, no one will ever hear about the new masterpiece.

Most famous universities

Almost all Russian directors are graduates of two famous Moscow universities. This is the All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography named after S.A. Gerasimova (VGIK) and These two universities have produced many creative and talented individuals. It's quite difficult to get there. And most likely, you will have to study on a paid basis. There are only 5-8 budget places available. But the prospects that these educational institutions give their students are worth the money they have to pay for education. Education and the fame of the place in which it was received is a very important moment in the career of a public person.

Pros and cons of being a director

The work of a director is quite labor-intensive and requires full dedication from a person. In order to get to a more or less enviable position, you will have to work a lot. Sometimes even for days on end. Look for opportunities, find and make useful contacts, keep in touch with many necessary people at the same time. In addition, you will have to invest a lot of emotions and your own feelings into the creative process and the process of conveying your point of view to the people around you. You will have to work a lot, for a long time, persistently and not always with good pay. In order to get a good project, you may have to go through several free competitions. But if the plan is realized, respect, position in society and the material side of the issue will not fail to please.

Salary expectations

You can start your career with Depending on the total cost of the project, the salary of assistants ranges from twenty thousand to forty. Directors and producers of various large-scale conferences and exhibitions, various presentations designed for a large number of participants, can receive a salary of seventy to two hundred thousand rubles per project.

It is quite difficult to estimate average salaries for this profession. Successful directors can earn millions for their films, and ordinary industry representatives involved in low-budget films and productions can really work for pennies. In the theater, the director can receive either a percentage of the proceeds for the entire performance or a clearly fixed salary. The salary usually in such cases ranges from thirty-five to fifty thousand rubles per month. The interest rate may be more favorable, but it does not promise stability.

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.