THE ROLE OF A DIRECTOR

By Peter Skillen

The role of the director

The key role of the director is to convey his vision of the movie script onto the screen. It is also the job of the director to stylise the film, choose the actors, locations and liaise with the production team to bring that vision to the screen. Some directors do write their own scripts.Directors also have to very closely with the pre production teams in order to convey their vision to the Screen. Some directors such as Del Toro are famed as much for their stylistic approach the their films as well as their abilities to tell a story. Pre-production process is a massively important role for this is where the directors vision for the story is made.

A directors role is varied.

It is also the directors role to work closely with the actors in helping them portray the characters in the film in the manner he requires to tell the story. Many directors work in many varied ways , some are very authorative and demand the actors stick to the written script whilst others may allow the actors to bring their own feel to a character or scene.

Stanley KubrickStanley Kubrick was visionary director that was famed for his ability of being able to convey and interpret any given genre from script to screen. He vast career spanned four generations and included some of the most acclaimed films in history. He was famed for attention to detail and felt that by changing the scenery an actor worked in would bring more to there performance. Kubrick was also known for his perfection and would often re-shoot scenes many times to achieve this. Kubrick also directed some of the most controversial films in cinema history, his film a clock work orange was banned in the UK for over 20 years even though it is classed as one of the most important films of our time.

Stanley Kubrick

Kubrick's Sci fi epic 2001 and one a space odyssey is class by many as the film that changed the face of a genre and has inspired many other directors such as Spielberg and Lucas. Kubrick’s ability to shine in any genre was personified in his Vietnam war film classic Full metal jacket. The film follows new recruits through training to the fields of Vietnam cataloging their personal stories with heart felt passion side by side with the horrors of war and it’s psychological effects on the young men that fought. All in all Kubrick is without doubt one of the greatest directors of our time.

Director in the edit

After the initial shoot the director will spend most of his time with the editor in the editing suite as this is were the story is put together.Although it is the editors job to put the film together it is the directors job to to convey the story to the editor. This is a massively important process and on which the editor and the director have to have an understanding of what it is the director is trying to show.The editor can influence the director on whether the story he wants to tell is being conveyed to the audience or whether his vision may have to be tweeked in order to achieve his aims.

Specific Genre

Some directors such as Wes craven will stay within a genre. Wes Craven started work in the horror genre in 1972 with his directorial debut the last house on the left But in 1984 he took the horror genre to a new level with what many class as one of the most memorable characters of all time within the horror genre Freddy Kruger. Wes craven is also famed for pushing the boundaries within the genre constantly finding new ways to shock and appeal to audiences through out his career. Wes Craven is lauded as single handily redefining the face of modern Horror genre with his 90’s teenage horror scream.

Success or failure?

The success or failure of a film lie ultimately with the director of a film as it is the director who has the final say in the production of the film. This said though there are cases where the director vision has not been liked by the production studio and has been changed. This due to contracts is mostly out of the directors hands and it has been known for a director to disown a film and the directors name changed to a fictional one.This is known as a Alan Smithy.All in all the director is often the crowd puller for an audience and having a successful director attached to your film can often guarantee its success.

ConclusionIn conclusion when a director is working in a cinematic role stays within a certain genre or not they are expected to constantly evolve and deliver to the changing face of the cinema audience. However in contradiction to this there are times when a director is expected to stay consistent and not to change. In the case of british soap for instance change is a slow process as characters have to keep certain traits and the director is working within the confines of that character and the word they populate.Within the world of the soap it is not unusual for a single town or village to experience disasters and events that sometimes would never happen within a life time of a major city or county. It is there fore the directors job whilst keeping the familiarity with the characters and the setting to find ways to make the world the soap is set in exciting but also believable.It is also now not uncommon for top directors to direct music video’s or to guest direct TV shows or performances therefore the director needs to be versatile with visual skills and an sense of connection with their audience if the film the are going to work with is going to be successful. Many directors make the jump to the role of producer overseeing projects created by younger directors by order of a studio or as a way to get more personal or passion projects made. A seasoned director named as a producer on a project can sometimes be the deal maker in for an up and coming director.

Career pathsBecoming a director is no easy task and can take years of working in other menial tasks within a studio before being considered for the role of director. Although some people have made the giant leap to directorship from seemingly nowhere most have been educated in some form of film. One of the of the best path ways into film direction is through a proven track record. The best way to achieve this is through education hard work and practice practice.

On the left is a typical path way through education that will educate you in all things necessary to create a pathway towards becoming a director and would give you the opportunity to create a portfolio of your work which on completion would almost guarantee a job within the industry.