Being a film director is a dream career for many. If you're willing to put in the time, have a creative vision and the impressive ability to make something out of nothing, being a film director just might be the perfect job for you. However, keep in mind that director assignments are extremely competitive, and it can take years or even decades to reach your goal. However, if this is your dream, then you should go for it!
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Starting your movie career
Step 1. Watch movies critically
You've probably seen a lot of movies if you want to become a movie director, and you can start by using your movie-watching experience as a way to learn more about making movies. Watch as many movies as you can and pay attention to the details.
- In any case, try to find at least 15 mistakes in every movie you watch. Look out for flaws in the acting, editing, flaws in storyline continuity, etc.
- Develop your awareness for storytelling while watching movies. Watch movies with sound and pay attention to how the story unfolds through images. Or listen to the dialogue, soundtrack and other sounds in a movie to see how the story unfolds through what the characters say.
Step 2. Start making short films
In order to become a director, it is important to get started right away and use all the resources needed to make your own films. Get a camera if you don't already have one. While a good camera will help produce better quality movies, just start with a camera you can find.
- Write your own screenplay or work with a friend who can write.
- On the weekend, gather a group of friends and shoot scenes for a short film. Over time, you can edit the footage using a program such as Adobe Premier.
- Making short films will force you to learn the technical aspects of directing. You need to know how to edit movies, write them, and everything else you need to do. Making your own short films gives you the opportunity to put on multiple hats and develop different skills.
Step 3. Learn to act
The best way to direct actors is to get some acting experience yourself, whether it be by acting in your own movies or being part of a theater group. Learning more about acting and doing some acting work yourself will give you a greater appreciation for the actors and actresses you work with and make it easier to communicate with them.
Learn the jargon from actors. For example, you can learn more about different acting methods or techniques, such as classical acting and method acting
Step 4. Read the scripts of other directors
While you will probably start writing your own scripts, at some point you may need to work with others' scripts. Reading scripts that others have written is a good way to practice shaping other people's stories. When reading scripts from others, try to imagine the details in shooting each scene.
For example, if two people are arguing in a scene, how would you position them? What camera angles would you use? What kind of lighting would you use? What sounds do you hear in the background?
Step 5. Consider going to film school
While not required at all, film school is great for three reasons: forced experience, access to crews, and networking. There are plenty who have made it without going to film school, but many more have made it with an education. You have access to internships, workshops and most importantly, names, names, names. If you have a project, you can be assigned a crew and you can start networking by helping others yourself.
While highly competitive, NYU, USC, University of California at Los Angeles, California Institute of the Arts, and AFI (Los Angeles) are among some of the best schools. Several well-known directors have studied at these schools, such as Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone, Ron Howard, George Lucas, John Singleton, Amy Heckerling, David Lynch, Terrence Malick, Francis Ford Coppola and John Lasseter
Step 6. Be part of a crew
You don't just become a film director. Most directors started out as runners, cameramen, or in some other role as part of a crew. No job is too small. Whether it's paperwork, making sure the actors get their bagels or monitoring the camera equipment at night, it's a step in the right direction.
- If you're at the film academy, see if you can do an internship somewhere. If not, look online and try to get to know creative types in your area and offer your services. If you are friendly and trustworthy, people will want to work with you more often. And the assignments will get bigger and better every time.
- A production company is more likely to give a chance to someone with five years' experience as a production assistant than to a new batch of film school graduates. Try to find a job as a production assistant or another entry-level position as a member of the crew and do your best.
Step 7. Start Networking
Long story short -- you don't become a director without a reel or portfolio. This is the most important thing to have. That said, this is definitely an industry where it's a lot easier to show your reel if you have an entrance. To get an entrance you have to start networking. The more people you know, the more options you have.
Attend subject-specific events such as mixers, conventions, parties, premieres, etc. Introduce yourself to people and try to develop good relationships with the people you meet. Offer to help with future projects or invite others to work with you
Part 2 of 3: Making a name
Step 1. Find other commands to progress
On your way to becoming a film director, you will need to fill a resume with other types of directing work, such as directing music videos, TV shows, and commercials. The salary you receive for such jobs won't run into the millions, but these jobs will help you fill your resume with directing experience.
Some of these performances pay well and you can even enjoy the work, so don't turn down a directing job just because it's for a commercial, not a feature film
Step 2. Create more complex short films
Making short films with friends you've met in the film industry is the fastest way to fill your portfolio. Team up with the friends you've made, and others who are also trying to break into the movie world. Sometimes you will have to pay for everything out of pocket, and sometimes not, but it is a necessary step on the ladder to success.
Step 3. Submit your short films as participation in film festivals
If you have a film that you are particularly proud of, you can use it as an entry for a film festival. The great thing about this is that you can choose any film festival. There are probably a number of film festivals in your province or region that you can participate in.
- Sundance receives 12,000 submissions a year, so expect competition. It might be best to start a little smaller and work your way up. Make sure you meet the deadline and formatting requirements!
- Quentin Tarantino's 'Reservoir Dogs' was discovered at the Sundance Film Festival and Steven Spielberg stumbled upon a film no one had heard of before at a film festival called 'Paranormal Activity'.
Step 4. Assemble your reel
Your reel or portfolio is what you'll be submitting to any project they're looking for a director for, so it's important to make sure it's impressive. Models submit their model portfolios, actors and actresses their headshots and resumes and directors their reels. Your reel should provide all information about your education, professional experience and films made. Here's what to include:
- Information about your education
- A resume with an overview of your experience to date
- Your contact details
- Clips showing your editing, writing, animation and cinematography skills
- A list of film festivals you've participated in and awards you've won
- Diverse experiences -- music videos, commercials, animated shorts, TV series, etc.
- Stills and storyboards in which your work process becomes clear
Step 5. Work on your social skills
Even after becoming a director, you haven't landed right at the top of the pyramid. You have to work with many different people and sometimes people will clash with each other, or with you. As the director, it is often your responsibility to keep everyone happy. Start working on your social skills as early as possible so that you are well prepared to deal with different problems and personalities.
Keep in mind that you can face very frustrating situations. Let's say your producer calls you and tells you that he doesn't like that one scene (which you filmed in an impossible place, at 5 a.m., to get just the right shot). The actress has changed a few of her lines of text to give her character more depth, and the money is gone. After this you have to work all night to change the script so that the next morning can be filmed in the studio
Part 3 of 3: Breaking through
Step 1. Get an agent
Once you have a decent reel, an agent may be willing to represent you. An agent will negotiate contracts for you and help you decide what is and is not in your best interest. However, never prepay to acquire an agent. An agent may only charge you as a result of his or her efforts.
An important part of an agent's job is to negotiate your gross points. This is a fancy term for the fact that no matter how much money the movie makes, you get a certain percentage of it. When a movie makes $100 it's not such a great deal. But imagine your next movie raking in $1 billion! Those 'gross points' do matter, and not so little
Step 2. Don't be discouraged by lack of recognition
Prepare to take none of the credit and take all the blame. When a film does well, it's rare to see it as credit to the director. But when a movie is bad, the director is always to blame. If it's a flop, it's going to be hard to get a similar order quickly. Even if your movie is successful, you probably won't get as much recognition as the actors in your movie.
This may not be the case for you, but the common man in the street doesn't think of directors as the great film visionaries that they are. For them, it's the actors who make the film. So when it comes to the audience, you won't be appreciated. And it's no different when it comes to your crew. If your movie is bad, your producers will blame you. If an actor is upset with the way his hair looks, he will blame you. It's a cycle you learn to tolerate in the best scenario
Step 3. Join a union
After you've had a few directing jobs, you can join the Director's Guild of America (DAG) (provided you live in the US, of course). By joining the DAG, a salary of $160,000 is guaranteed for 10 weeks.
In most cases, you must be hired by a well-known company to qualify. Or you suddenly break through out of nowhere. The initial cost is a few thousand dollars and after that you pay a minimal membership fee. It is definitely worth it, especially if the projects are not constant
Step 4. Enjoy your great job
After you achieve your goal, you can enjoy and appreciate your work. It can get stressful at times, but it's also supposed to be very satisfying. You'll always be doing something different depending on the stage of the movie you're working on.
- In the pre-production you translate the script into a film. Something visual. You are busy figuring out the logistics, the casting and how everything works down to the smallest details. This is perhaps the most important.
- During production you do what everyone imagines when directing. You let the actors know how you see them and how you want them to play the scene. However, you will also have to stick to a very tight schedule to paint a masterpiece. It will be chaotic, but also exciting.
- In post-production you sit down with the editing team to make a whole from all the pieces. Make sure you have good relationships with your editors to make sure you think in the same direction. During post-production you will also determine what music is needed, in addition to all the other details to make it a whole.
Tips
- Be very visual with your direction and spend as much time as you need on your short films, making a full feature film only when you are really ready.
- Build relationships with directors, producers, production managers and production designers. You won't get anywhere without them.
- Try something simple for your first movie.
- Recommended Reading: “Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film and Television” by Judith Weston.
- If you really want to become a film director, keep in mind that this can take a long time and the film industry jobs you will encounter along the way may not pay very well. Therefore, you must learn to live frugally as you continue to work toward your goal. Make a budget for yourself and stick to it.
Warnings
- Be kind to everyone. The film industry is smaller than you think and people are talking.
- This is a very difficult career to achieve and can take well into your thirties to achieve (if you ever manage to). However, persevere in pursuing your dream, and if you are eager enough to achieve it, then you will succeed.