First Time Director : How to Make Your

Directing is a high wire act. For first time directors the pressures can be magnified a hundred fold, since they usually have only one shot to make a splash in the independent film community. This book teaches first time directors how to make the most of their first opportunity using straight forward, results-orientated instructions. 'First Time Director' also contains a Foreword by Robert Zemekis, Oscar Winning Director of Forrest Gump, Cast Away, What Lies Beneath, Contact, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Back to the Future I, II, III.

Gil Bettman is an Associate Professor in the School of Film and Television at Chapman University in Los Angeles.

Acknowledgments

vii

Foreword, by Robert Zemeckis

xv

PART ONE - BEFORE THE BATTLE

Chapter 1. Preproduction

3

(20)

Soaking Up the Atmosphere

3

(2)

Decisions! Decisions!

5

(1)

Work, Work, Work!

6

(5)

Producer and Director - 'Til Death Do Them Part

11

(7)

Crewing Up

18

(3)

Summary Points

21

(2)

Chapter 2. Content Is Everything

23

(30)

Casting and Scripting

23

(3)

A Few Examples from the World According to Bob

26

(1)

Perfecting Your Script - Getting the Audience into the Movie

27

(2)

The Hero

29

(4)

The Heroic Quest

33

(3)

Attaining Perfection in Casting

36

(2)

How Do You Define Perfection? Casting Your Leads

38

(1)

Casting Your Supporting Roles

39

(1)

Content and the Producer - Sometimes They Come from Different Planets

40

(3)

How to Be Almost Producer-Proof Write the Script

43

(3)

How to Be Producer-Proof Write the Script and Raise the Money

46

(3)

Summary Points

49

(4)

PART TWO - VISUAL DESIGN

Chapter 3. Camera Blocking

53

(26)

Why Move Your Camera?

53

(1)

When Do You Move Your Camera?

54

(2)

Externally and Internally Generated Camera Moves

56

(7)

Moving Establishing Shots

63

(1)

Those Who Break Bob's Rule and Why They Do It

64

(9)

Now That You Know the Rules, It Gets Really Complicated

73

(5)

Summary Points

78

(1)

Chapter 4. The Good Moving Master

79

(34)

The Four Tasks of a Good Moving Master

79

(13)

Task 1 - Shows the Audience Everything It Needs to See in a Scene

79

(3)

Task 4 - Picks Up Some Coverage

82

(4)

Task 3 - Generates Eye Candy

86

(5)

Task 2 - Concentrates the Audience's Attention on the Center of the Drama

91

How Zemeckis Shoots a Moving Master Following the Dictates of the Four

Tasks

92

(18)

Summary Points

110

(3)

Chapter 5. Lenses - Why Force Perspective?

113

(24)

Lens Selection As a Joint Responsibility between Director and Cinematographer

113

(3)

The Basics of Perspective

116

(2)

Extreme Telephoto and Extreme Wide-Angle versus Normal Perspective

118

(3)

Lenses - Field of Vision and Depth of Field

121

(1)

General Applications of Different Lenses

122

(3)

Forced Perspective Made Easy

125

(2)

How Lenses Affect Movement

127

(6)

Summary Points

133

(4)

PART THREE - PERFORMANCE

Chapter 6. Directing Actors - It Takes Erudition and Intuition

137

(52)

Breaking Down the Script

141

(1)

The Spine of the Film - The Spine of the Characters

141

(4)

The Actor's Objective -An Overview

145

(7)

How Objectives Work- Get-from or Do-to Objectives + Conflict = Reality

152

(6)

Physicalization of the Objective

158

(3)

Identifying the Most-Playable Objective

161

(3)

Ultraplayable Objectives

164

(3)

Adjustments

167

(6)

"The More Adjustments, the Better" - How Come?

173

(4)

All Adjustments Are Gerunds or Adverbs

177

(1)

Improvisation

178

(3)

Script Breakdown - Layout

181

(5)

Summary Points

186

(3)

Chapter 7. Rehearsal

189

(26)

Preparation

189

(3)

Credibility versus Interpretation

192

(2)

Objectives and Adjustments in Rehearsal

194

(6)

Physicalization As a Rehearsal Tool

200

(2)

Improvisation As a Rehearsal Tool

202

(3)

Making Weak Actors Believable and Good Actors Great - Improv As a Versatile Tool for Rehearsal

205

(2)

Preparation Is Everything

207

(3)

Summary Points

210

(5)

PART FOUR - SET POLITICS

Chapter 8. On the Set

215

(42)

Getting Ahead by Getting Along

215

(4)

Successful Collaboration

219

(1)

Collaborating with the 1st AD

220

(3)

The First Walk-Through for Camera

223

(1)

Collaborating with the Cinematographer

224

(5)

Making Your Stars Shine during Production - Off the Set

229

(8)

During Production - On the Set

237

(7)

On the Set in Front of the Camera and Crew Collaborating with Your Lead Actors During the First Walk-Through for Camera

244

(5)

Taming the Actors Who Chew the Scenery

249

(1)

Collaborating with Yourself

250

(3)

Summary Points

253

(4)

PART FIVE - POSTPRODUCTION

Chapter 9. To the Answer Print and Beyond

257

(50)

Collaborating with Your Editor

257

(4)

Reshoots

261

(2)

Inserts

263

(10)

Post Sound - An Overview

273

(2)

Spotting the Picture for Sound Effects and ADR

275

(5)

On the ADR Stage

280

(3)

Hiring a Composer

283

(1)

Working with the Composer

284

(3)

Sound Mixing or Rerecording

287

(3)

Promotion

290

(4)

To the Answer Print and the Sweet Hereafter

294

(1)

Signing with a Manager/Agent

294

(4)

Signing with a Publicist

298

(1)

Coping with Success or the Lack Thereof Summary Points

298

(9)

About the Author

307

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First Time Director : How to Make Your Breakthrough Movie

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials