The Director's Idea

Chapter 1

Introduction

Much has been written about the mystique of film directing, so much so that the craft and the art of directing have been submerged in a swell of adulation. The adulation is understandable. Film—celluloid or digital—is the art form of the twentieth century, and the director is given much of the credit for a film’s success. Paradoxically, directing remains a vocation that has used its mystique to its advantage; consequently, less is understood about the means of directing than about the other key roles in production. So, one of the goals of this book is to develop an understanding of what the director does and, by doing so, to help the reader become a better director. The path to better directing is exploring the tools available ...