What do DPs wish their Directors would know?

[Mike Prevette]

EDIT in their head. To be able to cut up a scene and understand what it needs. All my favorite directors and DP started as editors.

[Casey Green]

is that what you are doing in your avatar? :)

[Shawn Nelson]

Great comments everyone, keep them coming!

Rudi, I would disagree with you about something. It is the Director's responsbility to choose framing/composition. He can choose to get the DPs input, and even delegate it if he wants, but it is his job. And yes, I have read 'Directing Actors', it is a good book.

[Casey Green]

All great comments...

Of course, each Director will bring certain individual talents and styles to their projects based on their experience and preference.

As a Director and crew member on many productions, here are several things I have experienced that come to mind that I believe DPs appreciate their Directors to know:

1) Communication. Even if a Director has the most brilliant ideas, if he/she can not effectively or precisely communicate them with the DP (and crew/talent) then so much is lost. Also, having to do with communication is Psychology. There are so many things going on socially on a set. Many times, people are working together for the first time and are feeling their way through the production in the early going. Having a good understanding of how to deal with the challenge of these new relationships, personalities, dealing with egos, creative brainstorming, making compromises, etc., is very important. Being an effective communicator to your cast and crew can be the difference between huge success and dismal failure.

2) Understanding the Process. This includes what many people have already commented on. The knowledge of proper terminology, equipment, workflows, how changes impact schedules, and of course pacing and continuity. Also, understanding a little of each other departments needs and challenges goes a long way. I personally believe that having in-front-of-the-Camera experience is also a great advantage to have.

3) Organization and Punctuality. Many Directors have very specific systems that help them keep all of their scenes and shots organized. Some have used techniques such as shot lists and story board cards, and others even go so far as to have a list of all the various components that make up individual shots and sequences, such as tone, color, space, line, shape, movement, rhythm, etc. And being punctual sets a good example for the rest of the cast and crew.

4) Onset Presence / Dealing with pressure. Things are bound to go wrong or at least change into something less desirable at some point during a shoot. It's how Directors deal with this when it occurs that can have a dramatic effect on the production schedule and overall morale of the cast and crew. In my experience, there really should never be a situation that requires the Director (or anyone else for that matter) to lose their temper or get too distracted by their emotions that they cannot perform their job. Of course, it's not always that easy to know what challenges are around the next corner and how you will react to them, but if the Director knows going in that they will consider them just that, challenges, then things will be on the right track form the start. Having the social skills to deal with the incredible pressure that comes along with the schedule and budget requirements of a production are very important. And rather than focusing on the negative, remaining open minded, positive, and keeping a creative approach may often allow for a solution to the problem, or even many times offer a better idea than the original.

5) Loving your work and loving the collaborative process. This doesn't hurt. :)

[Adrian T.]

One of the most important skills of a good director is his sense of telling a story visually.

Too many directors nowadays don't have a clue about the power of angle of view, framing, camera movement, rhythm and editing. They rely heavily on full coverage because they simply don't know what they want.

[Rudi Herbert]

Rudi, I would disagree with you about something. It is the Director's responsbility to choose framing/composition. He can choose to get the DPs input, and even delegate it if he wants, but it is his job. And yes, I have read 'Directing Actors', it is a good book.

Shawn, I guess I wasn't clear enough, you're right of course, but not obviously so. I mean, I always have a very good idea of how I want each scene to look like and how each character action and reaction should be framed, which in my case (I write and edit all of my stuff) is a given since I come to the set with that proverbial picture in my head. But I remember telling a DP that for a particular scene the female lead was in total disbelief and panic and I wanted her in close up to experience her reaction full on, and then he came up with some suggestions for alternate framing that ended up working better than my original idea.

So, before telling DPs what my thoughts are regarding framing, I've resorted to first telling them what is the emotional impact I want to achieve with every scene and ask for suggestions. If what they offer matches up or improves my ideas, great, if not, I can always go the "let's do it this way" route and be done, but asking for suggestions before announcing my ideas has worked better the couple of times I've worked with experienced DP's.

[Charles Angus]

I have to second the comments about editing. The director has to have a clear idea of pacing and which shots cut together and how the whole will emerge from the parts. This confidence will trickle down to the crew. One of my directors said, "Film sets are simple Reaganomics - everything trickles down from the director."

Confidence, articulation of ideas, trust, and really wanting the project to be good all are felt by the crew and influence their work ethic.

Describing the "point" or desired impact of a scene or shot to the DP is a good way of getting good ideas out of them. When a director does that to me, I can often come up with a couple of ideas that I think will work with what I've been doing for the project. The key then is for the director to pick one - its so frustrating to say, "We can do this or this or this, they are all equally easy for my crew, it's just a storytelling decision," and have the director throw the question back in your face. The director is the boss, but sometimes it seems like the director is afraid of that responsibility.

Take charge without being a dictator.

[Charles Angus]

EDIT in their head. To be able to cut up a scene and understand what it needs. All my favorite directors and DP started as editors.

I find that interesting. When I'm editing a project, all the actual editing is done away from the computer, in my head. It makes sense for a director to be doing that before the footage is shot - presumably he already has a good idea of what it should be.

I agree wholeheartedly that editing is key to DPs and directors.

Editing is filmmaking - it is the only uniquely cinematic craft.

[M Most]

I agree wholeheartedly that editing is key to DPs and directors.

I'm not so sure I do.

As important as editing is to the ultimate product, each phase of production has its own needs and concentrations. To come to the set with a rigid idea of what the final scene is going to be is to cut oneself off from the input of a lot of valuable collaborators - actors, cameraman, etc. - in favor of a preconceived notion about how it should turn out. Scenes are often "found" at various stages of a picture's development. Sometimes they are found to a great extent during rehearsal, when everyone is together on the day with sides in hand for the first time. Sometimes it's found when a great idea for lighting or coverage following the rehearsal influences how the scene will ultimately feel. Sometimes it's even dictated by the circumstances present at the time it's shot - the 5 shot scene that becomes a one-er because you went long on the previous scene and need to make the day. And often times it's found in the cutting room, when either the editor or the director or both will restructure what they thought they had into something different and better than they had previously imagined. Sometimes the picture will be restructured and scenes juxtaposed to create a narrative that seems very different from what might have been originally intended.

To me, the job of the director in preproduction is different - albeit related - to the job of the director during production, which is itself different from the job of the director during post. In preproduction, that which can be decided ahead of time is ironed out - production design, locations, wardrobe, general look and feel, and, of course, casting. During production, the primary job of the director - at least as I see it - is to direct the actors, to get the best and most appropriate performance by earning and retaining their trust, and helping them to find the right tone for each scene and create the characters with depth, truth, and nuance. In post, the job is to work with the editor to find and define the actual movie, and then to work with the sound crew and the composer to help bring it to life. To do all of these jobs requires someone with talent and vision, to be sure, but to do it really well also requires someone who's open to others' ideas and open to embracing changes and happy accidents that inevitably happen along the way.

[Radoslav Karapetkov]

The very essence of film editing:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hCAE0t6KwJY