From the course: Creating a Short Film: 05 Directing

What does a director do?

- Hey, everybody, welcome to this training course. Academy-award-winning director Martin Scorsese said of film making, "Yes, it's a collaborative art, "yet usually one person winds up with the credit, "and the blame." In this training series, we're going to examine the role of that one person, the role of the director. Directors are ultimately in charge of all creative decisions, they are the only ones that should be directing the actors. They have final say in the color palette, wardrobe, lens choices, musical decisions, and so on. They literally direct everyone else in their creative jobs. Almost every major decision is approved or vetoed by the director, so they're in constant demand. If the director can't make a decision, or throws a fit, the whole production falls apart. And you know, preparing for this course has been a bit of a challenge for me, I mean, this course should talk in detail about what makes a good story, but we kind of already did that in Series 02, the Writing Course, and this course should likewise dig into pre-production, acting, cinematography, editing, sound, and so on, but that's just it. More than anyone else on the project, you, as director have to know all the cogs in the filmmaking machine, the roles they play, and how they fit together. So I'm going to assume that you've watched these other courses, or will watch them, and in this course, we'll focus on just those things you need to directing. We're going to look at the subtle nuances of tone and themes, how to tell a better and more visual story. But we'll also look at how to direct the crew, and what could happen when that doesn't go well. We'll also get our hands dirty, as we look at the script and figure out how to shoot a scene start to finish, and we'll look at what makes shots great, including an in-depth look at how to use camera movement to tell a better story. - What do I do? - You know, Martin Scorsese was absolutely correct. Everything hinges on the person sitting in that chair. So let's dig in and learn about the pivotal role of director.

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