Film Director Beginner's Guide
From script to screen, learn the essential steps to becoming a successful film director, even if you're starting from scratch!
Starting out as a film director, it’s hard to know what to learn first. It’s easy to get lost in the shuffle and procrastinate learning what you need.
So here is a convenient learning pathway that could take you from film curious to actual director.
Step One: Understand the Role of a Director
In the beginning, it can be hard to understand exactly what a director does. People always assume a man sitting in a chair screaming into a megaphone bossing everyone around but it’s quite different in reality.
Here are the core responsibilities:
Visualize the Story
The director’s primary responsibility is to interpret the script and visualize the story and make sure every single person on set across all departments is working toward the same vision that the director has created.
The director makes all the decisions on how the film looks and feels. This includes choices in shot composition, camera movement, lighting, wardrobe, color palettes, and production design.
They guide the overall aesthetic & vision for a film and have to get the movie they have imagined in their head out into the real world while collaborating with everyone to make it come to life.
Working with Actors
Director’s are also responsible for rehearsing and working with the actors to craft their performances for the film.
This includes casting the right person and guiding them to bring out the most authentic performances. They also work with them to build strong motivations and emotions for the role.
Collaborating with the Crew
Director’s work closely with every department on a film set from cinematographers and editors to costume designers and sound technicians. They have to communicate their vision effectively to the crew while remaining open to any suggestions they may receive throughout the process.
They must also have a good grasp of every person on-set’s job so they can know what is and isn’t possible when making their demands.
It’s best for directors to be stubborn on vision but flexible with the details.
Problem Solving and Decision Making
Directors are asked a thousand questions a day and are faced with new challenges that they are expected to make the final decision on.
Whether it’s a problem with the actors performances, inclement weather on-location, broken equipment, or shots not turning out as planned.
A good director is extremely adaptable and thinks on their feet while making decisive decisions that affect a large cast & crew and have real world financial repercussions.
They must steer the ship and keep things moving forward even in the most difficult situations without sacrificing the quality of the film.
Not scared away yet? Keep reading…
Step Two: Basic Film Literacy & Terminology
Now it’s time to develop an understanding of film as both an art form and a craft. Instead of passively watching films like most people you’ll need to start analyzing & studying them.
Want to build film literacy?
Watch a Wide Range of Films
You need to immerse yourself in a wide variety of films across all different genres, styles, and time periods.
You can still watch for entertainment but consider rewatching your favorites and pay attention to the director’s choices and how they impact the story and its impact on you as the viewer.
Observe how different genres like drama, horror, sci-fi, comedy, etc. all have their own different conventions and tropes to learn how to manipulate them in a unique way for your own films.
This will allow you to give people what they want in a way they don’t expect it.
Read Film Criticism or Analysis
Read and watch analysis on your favorite films. My favorite way to do this is by watching video essays on YouTube about my favorite films and doing CrashCourses on film history or theory.
I also recommend checking out Mubi, Criterion, and Letterboxd online to find a diverse collection of writing on different films. They will examine not just what works or doesn’t but why.
This will begin to help you see films in a new light and start thinking more critically about the choices director’s make.
The simplest way to analyze a film is to describe what you’re seeing and then ask yourself “Why did the director make this decision?” and you’re ready to go.
Go forth and watch / analyze all the films you want and let what you personally are interested guide your way.
Step Three: Learn Essential Camera Settings
Firstly, don’t obsess over cameras. I don’t care if you shoot your first 10 short films on a camcorder from the 80’s.
You should be laser focused on learning the crucial camera settings that affect your film’s images.
Resolution
You probably already know this but whether it’s 1080p, 4K or 8K this helps determine the overall clarity and sharpness of your video.
If you have super high resolution you can even reframe or zoom your image in post-production.
Frame Rate (FPS)
This controls how many frames are captured in your video per second. 24fps is standard for filmmaking, 30fps is standard for video, and 60fps+ is if you want to create slow motion effects in post-production.
Shutter Speed
This determines how long your camera’s sensor is exposed to light for each frame. Usually you want this to be double whatever your frame rate is if you want natural motion blur.
So if you’re making a movie at 24fps you want your shutter speed to be 1/48 or 1/50.
If you crank up the shutter speed it will minimize or eliminate motion blur (like Saving Private Ryan’s battle scenes) or if you lower the shutter speed it will create excessive dreamlike motion blur often used for dramatic effect.
Aperture (F-Stop)
This is contained in your lens and controls the amount of light entering the camera by adjusting the size of the lens opening.
If you’re shooting on your iPhone this doesn’t matter but if you’re using external lenses this will allow more or less light in your image making it brighter or darker overall.
If you have a low f-stop number and allow more light into the camera it will create a shallow depth of field (blurry background with sharp subject)
If you have a higher f-stop number and allow less light into the camera it will result in a deep depth of field (most or all of the image in focus).
There’s no right or wrong decision if it works for your story.
ISO
This controls how sensitive the camera is to light.
Most cameras have a native or dual native ISO which is the ISO number that produces the least amount of grain and best overall image.
Google the native ISO for your camera and try to use it for your camera whenever possible.
If you crank up the ISO it is useful in low light (dark) situations but introduces more grain in your footage and reduces its quality. Unless you have a fancy camera that can see in the dark then crank away.
White Balance
This makes sure that regardless of what kind of situation you’re filming in that whites appear white and colors are accurate.
You can get a white balance card to put in front of your camera to ensure accuracy but here are a few standards based off your situation.
Daylight (5500K), Tungsten (3200K) and many cameras have presets for fluorescent and Custom Kelvin scale.
Exposure
This is the combination of proper shutter, aperture, and ISO to ensure that all the details in your image are visible without being too dark or too bright.
Focus
This determines which part of the image is in focus or sharp.
There is manual focus which gives you more control or autofocus which is faster and easier but can be less reliable depending on your camera and setting you’re shooting in.
This about covers it for the most essential settings that every single camera will have from iPhone to Arri Alexa.
If you want to shoot on a smartphone like I’ve been doing a lot lately you can download the blackmagic camera app to gain even more control over the image.
If you have the ability with your smartphone to shoot log footage this will also give you more flexibility in post production should you decide to do any color correction / grading.
Now that you have all the basics down…
This is the best way to start making short films:
Make a list of all resources you have available right now include locations, props, actors, camera etc.
Write a script using only the resources listed and keep it very small.
Create that film even if it’s not amazing and repeat as many times as possible.
Stop overcomplicating it and just take action. It won’t be perfect unless you start iterating and improving with each new project.
I know this was a brief overview of a very in-depth subject and I didn’t want to make this too long so I would love to hear what questions you have about directing.
- Adam
I love filmmaking deeply and truly enjoy the entire process of making a film. However, often feel afraid and question whether have the talent, skills, and ability to create a film. I want to know when and how I can gain the confidence to believe in myself as a filmmaker. l'm looking for ways to build that confidence and overcome my doubts.
thanks for your information, it's like on my collage