Directing Short Films

Recently I Directed two short films in 2 weeks. The first one, 'Trapped', was one of the end of year short dramas chosen at C.I.T and the other, 'Is This Your Card?' was for the Open Road Film Festival competition.

Both projects were quite different, one had a lot of time and planning and the other was put together very fast. I'll start with Trapped.

Work for Trapped started months ago with pitching. I wanted to put together the best pitch I could so the project would be chosen. It wasn't required but I decided to do a Director's statement to explain the vision I had for the story. This ended up helping a lot later on when it came to pre-production work. I researched the visual style I wanted and found references to support it and came up with character backgrounds so that I could understand the characters better and be able to answer any story related questions asked by the judging panel. I found it tough to write a Director's statement because A) I hadn't done one before and B) because there aren't many examples on the internet to go off. It took a while but I finished it and it has been a useful tool to look back on when we were in script development.

After being chosen our crew went into script development and pre-production. As is, the script needed work so the writer and I wrote several new versions. I realised that the story was starting to move away from what drew me to it in the first place and I needed to get it back there. After 8 or so re-writes I was happy with the script. I worked on my script breakdown, which I also found challenging. Trying to find that right word to explain the characters objective was really hard. I spent a lot of time on the internet looking for action verb that would fit with what I wanted for each unit. So many words can be very similar but still be totally wrong for what I was looking for. Eventually I found the right words and it was then time to find actors.

We cast a wide net to several acting websites and agencies to get the best range of actors we could. On audition day I chose to have the actors do two scenes that were emotionally different to see how the actors would perform. We were happy to hear from the actors they had interpreted the story exactly how we wanted it to be. We were fortunate enough to find two actors that exceeded our expectations of what we wanted for out two main characters. Right from the start they knew who their characters were and how they should be portrayed in the film. Their talent made my job as a Director so much easier. We had one rehearsal before filming and our three actors nailed their characters. It was also great to hear ideas they had for their characters that I hadn't thought of and I welcomed it. It really showed they understood who their character was.

After 2 or so months of planning it was shoot day. I was nervous because it was the first real film I have Directed with actors and a full crew. I was completly confident with my actors and with the work we have all done but it was that feeling of the unknown. Will we keep to schedule?, will I make a mistake?, Will we get the coverage we need?. All those type of questions were in the back of my mind, I tried to keep them there and focus on the job I needed to do. There were a few hiccups here and there by the crew (not the actors, they were fantastic) but we finished on schedule and got all the shots we wanted.

The high point for me was the first scene we shot. Seeing it on the split and it being exactly as I imagined it to be was a great feeling. It kept me focused for the rest of the shoot because knowing that with colour grading the rest of the scenes would look like that scene, especially when we couldn't see that while shooting.

The low point was on the second day of shooting. Our extra was only available for 1 1/2 hours at midday. Normally for an exterior shoot that is a really bad time to film, with the sun being at its harshest and moving shadows. We spent a lot of time trying to cover the blown out areas of  the house and grass with the little equipment we had. We got the scene done but it was stressful for everyone involved.

I feel like I have learnt a lot from this shoot and what not to do in the future. It was a great learning experience. I cant wait for it to be edited so I can see the final product.

The second short film I Directed was much more stressful. We had so many obstacles to overcome to be able to get it made. This project also started months ago. It was for a national film competition in it's first year. Gregor Jordan and Bryan Brown in association with Harley-Davidson and Canon created a 75 second ending to a short film. It was our job to come up with the beginning. The possibilities were endless. I was really excited about this project and came up with a few scripts.

The first obstacle was trying to fit this project in with the huge amount of TAFE work my crew and I had already. We were hoping to film in a gap we had between projects. The first projects were delayed and pushed back. They took longer than expected and we thought we would have no time to make the short film. We were very disapointed but the deadline for the competition was pushed back a further 2 weeks. I knew it was now or never and we started work immediately. We put out a casting call straight a way and started organising a location.

The script we wanted to do worked best if we could film at the Police academy as it had all the locations we needed in the one place. This is where our next obstacle surfaced. We had basically a week to get everything sorted and had 1 day to shoot. Everything was lined up except for the location. Things weren't looking good and we were denied permission to shoot there. Again we thought we had to give up. After discussing it with our co-ordinator hope was still alive. We decided to do the other script I had written and again we were full throttle trying to get it all organised.

We had a week to get everything sorted and still only had 1 day to film. Things looked tough but we were determined. More obstacles came in the form of paperwork, film shoots, actors becoming unavailable, organising a Harley(this was part of the competition and should have been easy but was far from it. A whole story that I won't get into) and a ridiculously small crew.

Finally it was shoot day. We had a crew of 7, 3 locations in 1 street, 2 proper actors and the rest friends and family. We began shooting and all of a sudden a thunderstorm came in and we had half the script to shoot in exterior locations. All I could think was ARE YOU KIDDING ME?. We pushed on and filmed our interior stuff while it rained. The whole day was go go go and by night time I think we were all a bit giddy. Everyone worked extremely hard and after 13 hours we got it filmed. Next came editing which I had only 4 days to do before the deadline, while also attending classes. It was pretty nuts but so was this whole project.

I learnt so much on this one, ESPECIALLY how important pre-production is. I know that with more time to plan, film, edit and with a bigger crew this short film could have been amazing (which I guess is probably what a lot of people say). I am proud that were able to complete this project in only 2 weeks. It shows how determined we are and how much effort gets put in when you love what you do.

Semester 2 Update.

I have been super busy these last few weeks working on 5 film projects in various stages, two of which I am Directing and one that I am 1st AD for. It has been stressful to say the least but I am enjoying every minute of it.

Thus my blog has suffered so I'm going to try and summarise what I have learnt in the past 6 weeks.

Number 1: TIME MANAGEMENT but I will get to that later.

In class I have learnt about blocking and the role of a 1st Assistant Director. We were lucking enough to have a guest lecturer, Mark DeFriest http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0214606/ , while our normal lecturer was away trying to sell a film at 37 South. Passion, Passion, Passion, Script, Script, Script, Mark couldn't stress the importance of these two things if you want to be a great Director. Without passion you won't succeed in this industry and it will always seem like a job rather than something you live for. You must read the script multiple times in order to really understand it and then be able to communicate that to the actors and get great performances from them. Without a great script you are almost doomed from the start, so make that your top priority and you will be on you way to creating something amazing.

Blocking and its importance.

First you start with the story, then character breakdowns, character wants, obstacles, time and money available for the project, the location, rehearsals and then blocking. Mark gave us a page of script and on the back was a mud map, shot list and story board. Once you read the script and do a mud map, shot list and story board, you then can mark up the script and make it easy for you self to know exactly which parts of the script are covered by each shot. It is simple but effective in understanding what you want from the script. This was a really important lesson for me and I think it will be a helpful tool for when I Direct the short drama this year.

1st AD

The 1st AD comes on board at the very start of pre-production and fully understand the Director's vision and how to achieve it. The 1st AD is in charge of the set, the schedule (actors availability, locations and problem solving), safety on set and safety briefings and people entering or leaving the set. An important part of running the set is communication; the 1st AD is in constant communication with everyone on set, making sure the schedule runs smoothly and is able to fix any problems that may occur. It is also the 1st's job to keep people away from the Director so they can concentrate on getting the best performance from the actors. Everyone goes to the 1st AD with any questions or problems and if necessary then the 1st will talk to the Director. It is a good idea for the 1st AD to pick up the Director and D.O.P and take them to the set so they can discuss anything they need to so they are prepared the minute they arrive.

Characteristics of a good 1st AD

• Approachable
• Organised/Time Management Skills
• Persuasive/Authoritative
• Trustworthy
• Communication and Problem Solving Skills
• Leadership/Confidence
• Strong Voice
• Good Listener

2nd & 3rd AD

The 2nd AD is the go between for the talent and the 1st AD. The 2nd can let the 1st know how long an actor will be in hair and make up or let the actor know they are needed on set. The 2nd is usually based at unit and keeps in contact with the 1st using walkie talkies. The 2nd also receives call sheets from the production office and takes them to the 1st for approval and then returns them to the production office for them to send out.

The 1st AD should always be close to the Director and never leave set, this is something the 3rd AD will do for them. The 3rd AD is also in charge of background extras.

In week 5, I was on set for the Advanced Diploma film 'Through Alex, Darkly'. My role was to help as an art assistant which involved set dressing, taking photos of everything we moved so they could be put back in the right place and ironing sheets on the worlds tiniest ironing board. I really enjoyed my time on set and tried to learn as much as possible. We had a lot of down time during the shoot so I tried to help out where ever I could and ended up being a stand in. I really liked the experience so I volunteered to help out on another one of their shoots in the next couple of weeks.

I am glad we learnt about the 1st ADing when we did, as it helped me a lot when it came to be my turn. Last week we had our first shoot day for our Office of Road Safety short film 'The Ghost of an Unforeseen Future. I am the 1st AD and I was quite nervous because it is for a client outside of C.I.T and it was my job to keep things to schedule and run the set as smoothly as possible. We started out a bit slow but ended up on time because we scheduled plenty of time for each scene. I encountered a few problems along the way including an actress that wanted to quit and work on another project as we were about to start shooting. We decided it was best to let her go because she wasn't committed and it would show in her performance. It was easy to work around, we just cut those scenes and moved them to the next day we were shooting at the same location. We also had to accommodate the client and film a few different examples of the same shot so they could be happy with it. It too was a minor issue, it took a bit more time but it satisfied the client and that was important. I wanted to be a calm 1st AD and not yell at everyone to get them to do what was needed. I did get stressed out but kept it inside so that others wouldn't get stressed out also. I didn't yell at anyone but I feel that I need to project my voice a bit louder so that I am heard by everyone. I made sure to bring up the issues we had with the shoot during the debrief so that we could improve upon them for the next shoot.

Back to TIME MANAGEMENT. It is so important to prioritise your shcedule and make sure you know what you must get done for each project when it needs to be done. For me it is working out an order of what is due first and making that the priority and then moving on to the next deadline. It is tough juggling multiple projects and it can get extremely stressful but it is so worth it in the end when you see the final product.

I look forward to using everything we have learnt in the last year and putting it into practice in the next couple of weeks when it comes to Directing 'Trapped' one of the five end of year short films.

Week 15&16: Subjective & Objective Angles and Assessment 2

So... this is one of the hardest concepts people in my class were trying to get their heads around. By the end of the class some people still couldn't quite grasp it. It is confusing but after going over it a couple of time it started to make sense. Now I'm going to try my best to explain it how I understand it.

Subjective is all about the characters emotions

• When the camera faces the central character it captures their emotions.
• Close up shots are good for subjective shots.
• If the shot goes from the characters face to their point of view and then back to their face, revealing their reaction/emotion, the shot stays subjective.

When I figured this out I realised how much easier it was to film a whole scene using just subjective angles. This is what our assignment was all about, filming one page of script actions in entirely Subjective or Objective angles but not both.

Objective is about what the characters are doing in the scene.

• When there are 2 or more people in the shot.
• If the central character turns away from the camera it becomes an objective shot.
• When it's an over the shoulder shot.
• Long shots because you can't see the characters face/emotions properly.

Most people thought doing it all objective would be the easiest way because they just needed to do long shots or over the shoulder shots. I decided to do the more challenging option of subjective angles.

I filmed the scene using myself and my brother at my house. My brother was the Sharp Dressed Man (SDM) and I was the Shady Looking Character (SLC). The SDM was transporting a briefcase to a meeting point while the SLC was watching him. The SDM gets to the meeting point but the people he is waiting for are late. The SLC come up next to him and grabs the briefcase and runs, leaving a stunned SDM.

After I filmed it, I realised it wasn't totally subjective. I should have done some more close up shots instead of long shots

Here it is
http://youtu.be/2xbe9c0YHlI

Week 14: Meeting Rhoda Lopez

This week we did a directing workshop with actress Rhoda Lopez. IMDB link http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2699159/ Rhoda was most recently seen in The Great Mint Swindle.

All the past weeks worth of lessons were put into use this week. It was finally our chance to talk to a real actress and see how a director should communicate with her. We all had the same one page script and it was up to us to tell her, and the other classmates that filled in as actors, what their objectives for the scene should be.  It took a few attempts with different objective but it started to head in the right direction. Each of the actors were playing of each other and helping the scene come to life. Rhoda gave us helpful feedback on how she thought her character would act and the kind of directors she has had to deal with over the years, good and bad.

Some important points I took from the lesson were

• Have a positive attitude. The minute a director gets in a bad mood, the rest of the cast a crew quickly follow, turning the set into a bad environment.
• Be open to your actor's opinions. They spend a lot of time researching and getting into character which helps them understand how their character should act. They could offer up alternative ways for their character to do the scene, which could be exactly what you need. Sometimes it's not what you're after but always be respectful and politely explain why that way isn't the right way for the scene.
• After a scene talk to the actors first. It's good to let your actors know if they need to change what they're doing or just that they did a good job before you talk to the crew. If you ignore the actors they could loose confidence in themselves or in you and not give the best performance they can give.
• Don't be too specific with your direction, it can limit the actor's performance and not give them a chance to explore the character. It can also be stressful for the actor to try and do specific actions at specific times e.g After this line point to this, then scratch your head, stir your coffee three times and take a large sip.

I enjoyed this lesson like most people in my class because we got to put theory into practise. I believe that's the best way to learn.

Week 13: Director's Statement

A director's statement is a written proposal of the directors vision for a film. A director's statement is often asked for by producers to see if your vision is right for the job and then by investors or funding body's to help them decide if your vision for the film is worth funding, so it is important that you get it right. Director's statements can be long or quite short, sometimes you are given a page limit and other times it is up to you. A director's statement is ever changing, anytime the script changes so will the statement

Here are some examples you could use for a director's statement. You should write at least a paragraph per dot point.

Story

• What the story is about?
• What genre does it belong to?
• What is the time period?
• What is the hero's goal?
• Cinematic scene

Themes

• Moral
• Lesser themes
• Subtext

Vision

• Performance
• Visual look
• Cinematic Style
• Editing
• Music
• Post sound
• Visual effects

I think writing a director's statement is a great way for the director to have a better understanding of the film and be able to communicate that understanding to others.

Week 12: Casting

Finding the right cast for your film is crucial to help you secure funding and then for the overall success of the film. To find that perfect cast it is important you have a good casting director. A casting director spends all their time watching actors perform and keeping an eye on their development over time. This is something a director just doesn't have the time to do themselves and should trust in their casting director to do for them.

When looking for cast members it is important to keep in mind you will need funding. Investors wont give money to a film if they don't know who your cast is because they don't believe an audience would watch a movie full of unknowns. So your best option is to find at least one big name actor for your cast and the rest can be known or unknown and you will be more likely to get the money to make your film.

It is good to give your casting director details of the type of actor you want but not so much the physical details rather than the type of emotion you want them to portray. Giving an in depth physical description of your perfect cast is going to limit the casting director and make it hard for them to find what you want. If you describe the characters emotional state, the casting director can find more actors that can portray the part better than just someone who looks like what you imagine for the role. You may also find someone that you never expected that blows you away, so keep an open mind when looking for your cast.

Some tips for during auditions to find the right cast members.

• It is a really good idea to keep the actors relaxed and happy because they could be really nervous and that could affect their performance.
• Try to test their range with different character objective so you get a better idea if they are right for the part.
• Get them to do an action how their character would do it. An example would be to have a rack of coats and tell them to pick out the one their character would pick. This shows their understanding of the character
• Always have someone to read lines with the actor. You get to see how they work off others and if they can create chemistry with other cast members.
• Try not to cast actors that are too similar to each other, this can create a one dimensional cast.
• It's not a bad thing for actors to challenge you. If you give them an objective and they suggest the character might do it in a different way, go with it, it might or might not work but it shows the actor is really thinking about the character and not just reading lines from a script.

Week 11: Character Breakdowns

Character breakdowns show how good of a director you really are. The more in depth you know a character the better you can communicate that to an actor and have them become the character rather than just play the character. That is the key to a film being believable and successful.

From your first few readings of a script you may or may not have a solid idea of who each of the characters are. A good way to learn more is to ask the writer. Who knows more about the characters than the creator. Once you get a good idea you can start creating your character background or back story. Some directors don't go into great detail with their back story's. I think this is wrong because the less details an actor is given the more times they might have to think "what would my character do in this situation" and for that brief second or two they are thinking about it, they have gone out of character. If you give them a complete and detailed back story they start to become the character and act as the character would in those situations, not how the actor might act in that situation. This is how you help the actor find the truth of the moment and create believability.

In class we watched the making of Collateral starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx, Directed by Michael Mann. IMDB Link  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0369339/ . This was very interesting to watch in regards to character backgrounds. Micheal Mann had gone to such great detail to create Tom Cruise's character, Vincent, going all the way back to his childhood and where he grew up, his parents, the schools he went to and more. I found this fascinating because before this lesson I thought it was the actor that came up with the background from their research and what they understand from the script. I think Michael Mann goes above and beyond what some other directors do because even Tom Cruise was surprised at all the information he was given and said that this is usually the kind of work he does to get into character. Michael Mann said he wanted Tom Cruise to become Vincent and think like him. Tom Cruise did a lot of physical training to achieve this, things like training with live ammo to get a realistic reaction to firing a gun, which is different to firing a gun with blanks. With Jamie Foxx's Character, Max, who was a taxi driver in the film, he got him talking to veteran taxi drivers and learning defencive driving because taxi drivers know how to cut corners and avoid accidents. The amount of time and effort put into these characters by Michael Mann made the film and characters realistic and believable. This is the type of director you should aim to be. Someone who puts a great deal of time into the characters instead of just how the film looks. It's the only way you are going to get your actors to become the character.

Watching the behind the scenes from Collateral got me inspired to come up with more in depth character backgrounds from now on because I want to be a better director.