Want to become a movie director? Read on!
A movie director is the person responsible for the overall creative aspects of a movie production. While creating the aesthetics of a movie, they may make changes in the written script, determine movie locations in line with the vision of the movie, finalise on costume concept design, approve special effects, and provide coaching to actors. The job is indeed demanding and may require one to work with strict deadlines, long hours that never seem to end, filming under extreme weather conditions.
In reality, there is no formal education and training as a director as a number of movie directors begin making short films or home movies early in their career or before going to film school and a lot of the education comes as an on the job experience. Many gain basic creative skills in the without attending film school. For example, some develop an interest in directing by working in various components of film production, such as screenwriting, producing or even acting and casting roles.
Aspiring movie directors may pursue a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, film, or a related creative field. These courses normally last four years and offer apprenticeship in film directing, which help students develop a variety of skills which include but are not limited to casting, rehearsal procedures, text analysis and camera work. Students also learn how to create and use story flow boards and shoot scripts. Common courses include film history, storytelling, screenwriting, and production. To gain directing experience, students are required to participate in a set number of joint student film projects as part of their learning.
Seeing as this will demand hands on experience, most film schools strongly encourage internships within the industry so as to acquire technical skills and understand it. This also help students network with a number of contacts which is vital to their career growth in the industry.
Directing a movie or film project often focuses on management skills, helping directors to be in charge of many people across different areas of film production from the special effects to location management. A master’s degree in art or any other creative field requires the development of a professional portfolio and a thesis, which may be in the form of a short film or documentary. Coursework covers areas in theme concepts, film development and directing.
As is expected, the industry is highly competitive and it is important to seek additional continued training and education leaning more to the business of film making, production and advancement in technology. To become a film director, one really needs to be on their creative edge when creating films, in addition to becoming connected within the industry.