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Directing – FINAL SCRIPT 25/09/20

DIRECTING
BY LIBBY CLARK
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Directing – FINAL SCRIPT 25/09/20

VOICE OVER
Like a writer of a novel, directors are the authors of their films.
Everyone hears about the newest directors and the biggest films from
each year, but what do directors actually do?
Directors have an impact on every area of a film’s production and it is
their job to ensure the audience gets the most out of their cinema
experience.
Cinematography
Setting
Blocking
Acting
And Editing
Together these make up directing.
As well as these key areas, they also work with a wide range of people,
including casting directors, editors and the sound and music
departments.
Directors work especially close with the actors, to create a performance
that successfully communicates the films message in an appealing manner.
The role of director has not always been predominant in the world of
film, and it wasn’t until the early 1900s that they began to take
control of the production process.
Directors decide how the production will be filmed and it is through
their eyes that the audience experience the story.
Overtime the influence of the director has developed to match the
changes within society.
When Alfred Hitchcock filmed the famous ‘shower scene’ in his film
psycho, no nudity was allowed to appear on screen. Violence was also
unacceptable so the stabbing within the scene had to take place without
the audience seeing anything.
Hitchcock had to adapt the scene to suit the current environment and
restrictions within society. However, in modern filmmaking this wouldn’t
have been an issue as there is a lot more freedom with what and audience
can be shown.
D.W. Griffith is a director who had a big impact on the development of
film and the influence a director has during the production process.
Griffith’s first directing job being the 1908 chase film The Adventures
of Dollie. He got the job as a replacement for George McCutcheon and the
results earned him a full – time director’s contract.
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Directing – FINAL SCRIPT 25/09/20
He realised early on that films could be used as a tool to persuade and
influence a large group of people, so that they leave the viewing
thinking and feeling a certain way.
As one of the first directors to view filmmaking as a creative art,
Griffith introduced the idea that different shots and camera angles
could be used to impact the message within a film.
Griffith went on to be labelled ‘the father of film technique’.
It’s common for directors to develop their own individual style and this
can be recognised within their work, making it possible to identify
which directors are responsible for a film when watching it.
This is also known as ‘Auteur Theory’.
In short, the Auteur Theory is the idea that a film reflects the
director’s artistic vision and identity, something that should remain
consistent throughout their filmography.
Alfred Hitchcock is one of the best examples of Auteur Theory at work.
Through the use of brief cameos, he easily leaves his signature on his
filmography.
Hitchcock uses symbolism within his cameos to provide the audience with
something to think about following his brief appearance.
In the film ‘To Catch a Thief’, birds are present in a cage beside him
as he sits in the back of a car. This is a symbol that is followed up
later on in his film ‘The Birds’, where the birds are no longer caged.
It is this symbolism of birds that appear often within Hitchcock’s work
and is his signature on his filmmaking.
Alfred Hitchcock directed more than 50 feature films during his career
spanning over six decades. In 1979 he received the American Film
Institute’s Life Achievement Award and earned himself the nickname the
‘Master of Suspense’ for the psychological suspense he used in his
films.
He started out his career while working on advertisement for a cable
company, where he took up writing and began submitting articles for the
in-house publication.
Themes of false accusations, conflicted emotions and twist endings were
noticeable from his very first piece.
Hitchcock directed his first film in 1925 and went on to produce the
thrillers he was well known for.
Some of his most recognisable films include Psycho, The Birds, and
Marnie.

Another director who left his signature on his filmography is Wes

Anderson.
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Directing – FINAL SCRIPT 25/09/20
Unlike Hitchcock, Anderson had very little background in film when he
made his first short film, Bottle Rocket. However, the short was
screened at Sundance in 1994, and while it received little recognition,
Producer Polly Platt decided to show it to director, producer and
screenwriter, Jim Brooks.
And from there Anderson’s career began.
The main consistency within Anderson’s work is his distinctive
aesthetic. It is a deliberate and complex thing, and he produces
sophisticated films that are fun and communicate information with ease.
The blocking, writing, and performances within his films all contribute
to his aesthetic, and while other directors tend to withhold information
and strategically share details when most convenient, Anderson does not.
He refuses to try and trick his audience with his plot, instead handing
over information freely.
Wes Andersons’ style can also be found within his camera work. For
example, a lot of his shots appear to be symmetrical, as well as profile
shots. This is particularly evident in his film The Grand Budapest
Hotel.
A key fact to remember is that Anderson’s films are made predominantly
from Scratch. He writes his own stories, only taking inspiration from
book and other films every now and then.
A lot of other elements in his films are also made from scratch, such as
costumes, production design and location sets.
Everything is made to fit perfectly into his aesthetic.
Over the year’s technology has changed and grown, having a huge impact
on the development of filmmaking. These changes have made it so anyone
can make films, with phones making it easier to access cameras and
editing software’s.
Previously when filming, using cameras required a large team of people
whereas now they are much more lightweight as well as much better
quality. This makes the filming process a lot more efficient and means
crew can be kept to a minimum is necessary.
The same goes for editing. In the past the editing process included
actively cutting and pasting the film together whereas now it can be
done digitally and saved on the cloud. Technology means that film teams
no longer have to be together when working, the use of the internet
allows teams to work from different places around the globe, while still
communicating effectively.
The development of technology has also impacted audiences and how they
view products. People are now able to stream films and tv shows straight
into their homes, rather than going to the cinema to see one nightly
showing of a film.
The introduction of streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney = have
changed how audiences interact with film all together.
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Directing – FINAL SCRIPT 25/09/20
The use of older technology has changed alongside the development of
newer ones. Filmmakers have changed their techniques when using
equipment, now going much further when trying to develop meaning in
their work.
For example, in expressionist films, the lighting was predominantly from
the front and sides, with the main focus to achieve and effect, rather
than using complex techniques.
More complicated methods were mainly used to ‘create shadows augmenting
the overall distortion of the frame’.
This can also be seen in the evolution of other technologies such as
sound and colour.
Another development that has impacted how films are made is the
introduction of sound. This was a major step forward in the
technological evolution of film, however before it could be applied to
films it needed some improvements within itself.
When it was first used, microphones were extremely insensitive and
actors often had to take dictation lessons and adapt the way they worked
to suit the equipment. Many of the original sound inclusive films are
paced very slowly and can seem strange to listen to in modern day.
However, improvements in microphones and the development of multi-track
sound recording, as well as syncing methods have made the use of sound
much more effective.
The way this creative technology has been used by directors over the
years has had an impact on the way films have been used to tell stories.
One of the most influential films for creative story telling is Vitor
Fleming’s The Wizard of Oz.
The film depicts the difference between reality and a dream reality,
pushing the idea that our dreams are a much more exciting and positive
place to be compared to a dull reality.
This message was communicated visually, using colour. However to really
push the negative side to reality the shots are in sepia rather than the
appealing black and white that was used in Hollywood films at the time.
In comparison to this, once Dorothy reaches the land of Oz everything
becomes a bright technicolour, a much more positive and childlike
environment.
After its release, this creative piece of storytelling successfully
changed how people view the medium.
Many filmmakers have since taken inspiration from the film, looking at
both the narrative as well as the impressive visual techniques.
In the final months of the Second World War the film ‘A Matter of Life
and Death’ was commissioned with the goal to mend the strained
relationship between the British and their American Allies.
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Directing – FINAL SCRIPT 25/09/20
The film was finally produced and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric
Pressbruger in 1946.
Much like the Wizard of Oz, the film is set in two places, Earth, and
Heaven, which is also a figment of a bomb pilot’s imagination.
The biggest nod to the 1939 film, is Powell and Pressburgers decision to
shoot one realm in technicolour and the other in monochrome.
However, they chose to invert the original film’s pattern and present
the real world in colour and the imaginary one in monochrome.
While visually showing the opposite, the film’s message remained very
much the same. This is because while the real world is in colour, on
film the use of black and white is much more realistic. The idea was
that by showing heaven in monochrome, the film suggests that our
imagination is much more real than the real world.
This idea would have been unthinkable had The Wizard of Oz not
introduced these ideas beforehand and welcomed new creative
possibilities within filmmaking.

Camera work is another valuable resource when creatively telling stories

and a good example is the film 1917.
Director Sam Mendes decided to use the one shot technique to follow the
journey of two young soldiers in his First World War film.
This technique means the film appears to take place in real time and
with the help of Roger Deakins, the film was shot to appear as though it
is made up of a single shot, with only one visible cut in the entire 117
minutes of the film.
The goal of the one shot technique was to let the audience follow the
journey of the two main characters in an immersive experience that truly
made them feel as though they were alongside the pair. Both of the world
wars were inescapable experiences, and by removing all cuts from the
film, the audience themselves were unable to look away its design
bringing them as close as possible to the real experience.
However, using very little cuts made it extremely challenging to produce
the film as a whole. Everything had to be perfect. Before filming could
begin the cast and crew spent six months in rehearsals to ensure they
could perfect the scenes with little problem, and there was nine months
spent preparing in general.
Sets were built at the same time that rehearsals were taking place as
they needed to be sure that each set was long enough for each shot.
There was very little room for mistake.
Deakins had a big influence on the film, helping to ensure the camera
work interpreted the story in the best way possible. He explained that
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Directing – FINAL SCRIPT 25/09/20
the camera, cast, and crew had to work as though in a dance, and that
the choreography had to lead the shots forward effectively.
By the end of production, the ambitious technique had worked
successfully and the film became deserving favourite at the 2020 Academy
Awards.
Directors play an essential role within the film production process, and
it is their job to ensure the film fulfils their creative vision and
that the audience take away something to think about. The way this has
been done has developed throughout time and while to motives may have
shifted away from creativity within recent years, it is still as
apparent as ever that the work they do can leave a lasting impact on
society.
Film and cinema play an important role in culture and without directors,
both old and new, it wouldn’t be the great experience it is today.