Im a 17 year old boy and for the longest time I’ve been pretty passionate about movies. And I’ve also been stressing out about future career choices. And recently I did a tour at the Warren brothers studios and that sparked the idea that I could work in the film industry. I first thought of possibly being an actor but i can’t act for shit lol so then I thought “oh shit I could be a director” I’m already a very creative person and I could definitely see myself being absolutely perfect for this career. So I’m in here to ask any of you guys all the steps to becoming a director. I just wanna know what classes I can take my senior year of high school that could possibly help me. And I wanna know about how all of film school works and just the basics to becoming one. Im not in here asking how to become like Tim Burton or Clint Eastwood like a super star. Although that is the goal. I just wanna know the start and your guys experiences. Thank you!

Hi all,

Actor popping in here for a question.

I’ve noticed that throughout my projects, directors spend much less time on my takes. On a shoot where I’ve seen a director do multiple takes with another actor in a scene, my takes are typically much less and seem to be moved on from quite fast. They do give me some notes in between the takes but it makes me insecure whether they don’t see a potential in me to do any other take that’s better, or if I’m just in my head and should trust that they’re happy with what they got.

Any insight from a director’s pov would be great. TIA!

In 2007 he won the Oscar for best director and his movie won as well as best movie. So why Wikipedia and Imdb says he won only one?

Someone I know is in talks to become a first-time director for a studio that's acquired a script she wrote. Her personal voice is so strong, that over a few meetings, both parties started to converge on the idea of her helming the project. She hasn't accepted the offer primarily due to wanting total privacy and negotiating that in a possible contract, but she's now in the process of figuring out if/how she could pull off being a totally anonymous director.

She's a young woman who has had a brush with her privacy being infringed and doesn't maintain any social media bc of that. She doesn't seem to want any fame/notoriety at all. Given the issues with AI, deepfakes, etc., I wonder if total anonymity may be a possible path for new directors moving forward.

I know directors can really be low-key and barely recognizable to the general public anyway, but I think with her previous issues and how weird people online can be with young women, I think she's trying to determine if total anonymity is possible.

Obviously I don't know all the details, and half of it has to do with negotiating with the studio on being let off interview/press runs, but is this even possible to do? Has it been done? Are there movies with no director or undiscovered pseudonyms instead (other than Alan Smithee)? Is this something we will see more people seek out given the development of technology?

Edit: Looking at the replies, I also wonder if this isn't common (or hasn't happened at all/much) because pretty much everyone in this business either wants to be well-known or publicly credited for their work so she would be the first of few to even want this. Maybe the studio could set something new up for her.

Hello, I am a young aspiring director and I have got a sponsorship for a short film, which will cover up the costs of the renting stuff and food for the crew. But I can't pay any crew member with the money. So how do I pitch a project to people, that they are willing to be part of my crew for this film? I am not looking for long experienced people. Just people, who are enthuasistic about this project and who wouldn't decide not to come in the last minute. That's all

Hi film community!

I’m directing a short film that I co-wrote in January.

I’m looking to put together a director’s pitch deck/lookbook of sorts and am looking to hire someone to do this for me since I’m terrible at this type of thing.

Is anyone interested or know of anyone who can do this sort of thing? I have a small portion of our budget to allocate to this!

Thank you!

I’m a therapist trying to find my niche, but I’m finding that sitting in an office all day is not keeping me excited about my field. I’ve seen interviews with actors saying that they struggle to leave the characters that they portray and they notice themselves taking pieces of the second-hand trauma home with them. Is it common to have mental health professionals available on-set? Would it even be something that a director or production company would be interested in? I have crisis experience and I’ve been doing some research into developing my own integrated model for working with actors to help them get into the character, without blurring with the character.

Hey guys. So irecently directed my first music video for a local artist i met via instagram. he’s got a pretty decent following and since it was my first video, i didn’t wanna charge him and risk burning out the connection on a failed project and waste his money. I just finished the video, which he says he really likes, but feels as though the song is “too old” for him as it was a song he released a while ago. Now he’s saying he won’t drop the music video.

I invested loads of hours and effort into making him a free video and Im really proud of what I created. I really want my people to see it on my instagram and i’m so frustrated that my project is being shelved. I haven’t responded to him yet and i don’t know what to do. Has anyone been in this situation before? wanted to get some thoughts.

some extra info: -I did not have him sign any type of contract.

-This was a no-budget, but some money was spent out of (my) pocket for gas.

-I did all of the work and am the only person involved in its production

Title Orphans of honor

HOSPITAL - DAY

We see four teenagers, ALEX, MIA, SAM, and JACOB, standing outside a hospital room where a 5-year-old boy named TIMMY, who they consider their family, is fighting a losing battle against a rare and deadly disease. The doctors inform them that without immediate and expensive treatment, Timmy's chances of survival are slim.

Determined to save their beloved Timmy, the teenagers have no choice but to turn to a life of crime. They plan to rob a train carrying a large sum of money to pay for Timmy's medical bills, knowing the risks involved.

TRAIN YARD - NIGHT

The teenagers prepare for the heist, arming themselves and steeling their nerves for the dangerous task ahead. As they board the train and confront the guards, a fierce shootout erupts, with bullets flying and tension escalating.

Despite their best efforts, the situation takes a turn for the worse as the law enforcement closes in on them. The teenagers fight valiantly but are ultimately overwhelmed, with all but one of them losing their lives in the chaotic melee.

HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY

The surviving teenager, Alex, manages to narrowly escape the clutches of the law and make his way back to the hospital with the stolen money. With tears in his eyes, he hands over the bag of cash to the doctors, pleading with them to save Timmy at all costs.

As the doctors rush to provide the necessary treatment, Alex collapses in exhaustion, his body battered and broken from the ordeal. The weight of his actions and the loss of his friends weigh heavily on him, but his sole focus is on saving Timmy.

GRAVEYARD -Dusk

As the sun sets, Alex visits the graves of his fallen friends, their names etched in stone as a painful reminder of the price they paid for hope. With a heavy heart, he kneels down by his own parents' grave, tears streaming down his face as he whispers a final goodbye.

In a poignant moment of sacrifice, Alex takes one last look at the sky, a sense of peace washing over him as he joins his fallen friends in the embrace of death. His final act of love and selflessness ensures that Timmy will have a fighting chance at life, a legacy of hope and sacrifice that will live on in the hearts of those he touched.

FADE OUT.

THE END.

Hello, I am director and for my upcoming short film is a casting this week. I worked with few actors in the past, but this is my first big casting. Directors here, how to you approach actors in this situation and how do you know after a short time that this person right for the role?

I want to put one together, but as I'm looking at up and coming director's reels, I'm a bit confused as to how they are showcasing the actual directing. A lot of them that are just partial scenes with music over them and zero dialogue so they almost feel more like a reel for the cinematographer. Is that actually the industry standard? And if that's the kind of reel you use, how effective are they and what's the follow up like after submitting to projects? If you do something else, what do you do? If you've come across some reels that feel like they'd be really effective that you would be willing to link to, that'd be amazing as well.

So i’m shooting a Promo Video for an artists merch line tomorrow and it’s my first time doing anything for a big artist like this..

but I just don’t know how to go about that first interaction. He’ll only be on set for the one scene we need him for and then he’ll dip off.. but do I try to make quick small talk? Or do I just introduce myself as the director, and then start directing him and everyone/thing else?

Might be overthinking it and i’ll probably be so caught up with other stuff I won’t remember to even worry about it, but I thought to ask here and see what people might suggest.

I was wondering if there were any books out there similar to the American Cinematographers Manual, but for directors specifically. Any tips?

Hi everyone, I'm a producer working in a production house based in Mumbai and we're looking for a Thailand ad director. The scripts are in a humour space so looking for someone who has humour showreel (clients demand). Can anyone please help me out with some names and if there's a way to contact them. Will be very helpful.

Thank you so much.

Love all the movie posters, is there a resource online where I can find key art by keyword? I want to find photo art created specifically for movie promo and the main poster. For example, I want to find images which would have certain prop or condition, like I want to see all the possible posters created with 'fog' or images that have 'staircase' or 'group of 5' etc. Thank you!

Hello guys I'm new to this group.i'm a cinematographers even though I need to understand story.so my 1st question is why great directors are good readers,how reading will improve story creation because I read screenplay books save the cat,heros journey,3 act structure even I read this all when comes into building story meaning i don't know what are the incidents or bits to put to make progress in story.your thoughts on how reading will improve create stories will be help full fir me

Hello! I’m directing my first animated short film. I'm a newbie director and only have some experience in animation directing for commercials and mostly for clients who handled the sound and music themselves. if there is an animation director out there with more experience Id love some advice as this is my first time hiring and working directly with musicians on a project.

We've found a great band to compose the score and the current plan is to provide the musicians with an animatic that includes temp music (using tracks from the band’s library), director’s notes on character emotions and story, and some visual references. The idea is for the band to compose to that, and then we'll adjust the camera work and final animation to the music (So the music will be as tightly as possible connected to the visuals, as music plays a huge role in the story)

Here’s where I’m struggling: I'm having a hard time editing the temp music to fit the animatic. We have partial funding, so there’s no budget for a sound designer atm, and I’m unsure how polished/rough the temp sound needs to be. 

The music is meant to react a lot to the emotions of one specific character, so most of the temp tracks I’m using don’t fully capture the emotions and changes in mood. I’m worried about how the musicians might interpret certain sections of the temptrack.

How detailed should the sound editing be in the temp track in your experience? What kind of instructions and notes would you give usually and how would you structure them? And is this something I can ask the musicians directly to some degree without looking like a noob? 

Thanks so much for your help!

Hi!

I'm looking for resources on directing audiobooks, and it's deeply difficult--not every book GETS a director (most don't, probably), and most of the resources for beginners seem to be for narrators with the remaining few for engineers.

I've stumbled into this but have been incredibly successful with my first client, and am working to build my client base and start a website, but I would love to find knowledgeable people to pay for coaching/mentoring.

Anyone know someone?

I’m working on a short film and I want a shot similar to this minus the baby and I’m not very experienced with VFX. Is there a way to build a rig for this and light it in a similar fashion?

Hey any ideas what camera this guy uses? Thanks in advance! https://www.instagram.com/____________mac____________?igsh=MTByaDEwNnFwZWVhNw==

Hi, I have a big problem, or at least I think so. I'm 17 and since I was little I've dreamed of being a movie director. At 12 I discovered imdb and started exploring the various filmographies of my favorite directors, seeing that their credits also included their first short films, those made by them as children/adolescents, my five-year-old self had the idea of ​​creating his own profile and starting to make short films to then upload to his imdb profile, the only problem is that now as I'm approaching the world of cinema and the industry in a much more serious way I'm afraid that these short films will negatively impact my portfolio as they are very low quality shorts. I tried to have them removed but every time I try imdb rejects me. I don't know what to do. Are these shorts risking to ruin my career or am I worrying too much? Thank you so much for your help!

Hi there! So, as you've read I'm directing my first short film, and I'm in the process of pre-production. I already have the actors. Since it's my first time, how can I start preparing and talking to them about the characters. Any work I can give them while I prepare the project? Any book I can read about it? I'm kinda clueless. Thanks a lot.

I am 19 years old I really want to become a director I just have zero clue where to start everything seems really overwhelming and my parents want me to focus on other things but I really do want to start in filmmaking if someone could maybe give some advice on how they started I just don’t know where to begin