The 7-Step Film Directing Formula

The 7-Step Film Directing Formula

by Peter D. Marshall 

I’ve been working professionally in the film and TV business

 for 37 years. During that time, I’ve had the opportunity to

 work on industrial films, educational films, documentaries,

 commercials, music videos, episodic TV shows, TV movies, Indie

 films and Hollywood features.

I’ve worked with dozens of good, mediocre and bad directors -

 as well as hundred’s of good, mediocre and bad actors.

I’ve read 100′s of film scripts before they were produced:

 some which were so terrible I couldn’t get past the first 10

 pages, to scripts which went on to win Academy Awards.

I’ve also had the opportunity to spend months at a time

 teaching and mentoring film students as they write, prep and

 shoot their own short films.

I believe my years in the “film production trenches” has

 given me a unique insight into finding the answer to the

 question: “Is there a formula, or guide, that film directors

 (anywhere in the world) can follow, that will help them make

 successful and compelling films?”

Well, I believe the answer is Yes!

And by the way, my definition of a good film (a documentary or

 drama) is “the art of visually telling a compelling story with

 believable characters.”

In my opinion, most inexperienced (or experienced, but lazy)

 film directors spend the majority of their time figuring out

 how to shoot the film first (cool shots and creative camera

 angles) before understanding what the story is about and

 knowing what the characters really want.

I’m going to be bold here and state publicly that this is the

 wrong way to direct a good film!

Why?

Because I strongly believe that to successfully direct a

 “visually compelling story with believable characters”,

 you need to follow this 7-step formula:

STEP 1: THE STUDY OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR

What do I mean by the study of human behavior?

“Human nature is the concept that there is a set of inherent

 distinguishing characteristics, including ways of thinking,

 feeling and acting, that humans tend to have.”

http://www.ask.com/wiki/Human_nature

In other words, the study of human behavior is about:

a. What makes us tick?

b. Why do we do things?

Once you know the answers to these questions, you will have a

 better idea of how the characters in your script should

 interact with each other, as well as having the proper

 “psychological tools” to direct actors on the set.

The good thing about human behavior is that it is observable,

 and as storytellers, we must first observe the way people

 react to different situations and circumstances in order to

 understand How and Why their behavior changes.

As a film director, you must be a “witness” to human behavior.

 You need to get into the habit of observing people going about

 their daily lives, so you can find out what motivates them to

 take action.

Once you know what motivates a person to achieve their daily

 needs, you will have the knowledge to better understand the

 story you are telling, and you will feel more confident

 helping your actors achieve believable performances.

STEP 2: STORY

There are many facets of a Director’s prep on any film or TV

 show, but the first, and most important part of your job, is

 to understand every detail about the story: where it takes

 place; who the characters are; and what happens to them.

When you first read a script, here are just some of the many

 questions you will need to answer to help identify and solve

 potential script problems:

a. What is the story about?

b. Does the story make sense?

c. What problem is to be resolved?

d. What event hooks the audience?

e. What is the plot? (the action)

f. What is the subplot? (the theme)

Understanding the story requires a lot of work on your part

 because you then need to take dig deeper into the story and

 it’s structure by analyzing each individual scene in the

 script to find out what it is about, what works and what

 doesn’t by asking questions like:

a. What is the intention of the scene?

b. What are the story points?

c. Where are the scene beats?

d. Where is the climax?

e. What is the resolution?

f. What are the important lines of dialogue?

Your script breakdown will be a never-ending process. Each

 time you read the script, you will find something else you

 didn’t know about the story or the characters.

And the script will also constantly evolve. It will change

 because of your creative notes, writer changes, actor changes,

 producer changes, studio changes and location availability.

But as long as you know what the story is about, and where the

 story is going, you will be able to adjust to all the changes.

STEP 3: PERFORMANCE

I believe that almost everything you need to know about

 directing actors is explained in these three words:

MOTIVE DETERMINES BEHAVIOR

When we break these words down, we see that:

MOTIVE (our inner world)

 DETERMINES (controls)

 BEHAVIOR (our outer world)

And if we break them down even further, we see that:

What our needs are (MOTIVE)

 Will decide (DETERMINES)

 What actions we will take (BEHAVIOR)

One of the main responsibilities of a Director is to help

 actors achieve a realistic performance, and a good director

 does this by “listening for the truth” and by always asking:

a. Do I believe them?

b. Do the words make sense?

c. Are the characters believable?

And the key to getting a realistic performance from an actor,

 is by first understanding a character’s objectives.

a. There should be one main objective per character per scene:

 What do they want in the scene?

b. Objectives should be clear, concise and stated in one

 simple sentence: “To discover where the gun is hidden.”

How to choose objectives:

a. Ask yourself “What does the character want in this

 situation?”

b. A character’s objective should create obstacles for the

 character.

c. Look at what the character does (his behavior) rather than

 what he says.

d. Look at what happens in the scene, and how it ends.

e. Look at what people want out of life: what are the things

 we will sacrifice everything for?

On the set, actors want to work with directors who understand

 their vulnerability, so it’s incredibly important to create a

 good relationship with every actor on your film.

And what do actors want more than anything from this

 relationship with the director? TRUST!

If actors feel they cannot trust the director to know a good

 performance from a bad performance, they will begin to monitor

 their own performances and  begin to direct themselves: they

 will become “Director Proof!”

Remember, to find the character they are playing, actors must

 surrender completely to feelings and impulses, and a good

 director understands an actor’s vulnerability and creates a

 safe place for them to perform.

STEP 4: THE PRINCIPLES OF MONTAGE

One of the key elements of being a good director, is to

 understand the “principles of montage” – the juxtaposition of

 images to tell a story.

In 1918, a Russian filmmaker called Lev Kuleshov conducted an

 experiment where he shot and edited a short film in which the

 face of a famous Russian matinee idol was intercut with three

 other shots: a plate of soup; a girl playing ball; an old

 woman in a coffin.

And Kuleshov made sure that the shot of the actor was

 identical (and expressionless) every time he cut back to him.

The film was then shown to audiences who totally believed that

 the expression on the actor’s face was different each time he

 appeared – depending on whether he was “looking at” the plate

 of soup, the little girl, or the old woman’s coffin; showing

 an expression of hunger, happiness or grief respectively.

So what does this experiment tell us?

By carefully using the juxtaposition of images, filmmakers

 were able to produce certain emotions from the audience by

 manipulating an actor’s performance.

As a film director, understanding the principles of montage

 will help you to: create a more visual script; to decide your

 camera placement; to block your scenes; and to get layered

 performances from actors.

STEP 5: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE CAMERA

What I mean by the Psychology of the Camera are the visual

 meanings of shots and angles. In other words, where you put

 the camera can either enhance or detract the audience’s

 understanding of what the scene is really about, and what the

 characters are feeling. For example:

There are three angles of view for the camera:

a. Objective: The audience point of view. (The camera is

 placed outside the action.)

b. Subjective: The camera acts as the viewer’s eyes. (The

 camera is placed inside the action.)

c. Point of View: What the character is seeing. (The camera is

 the action.)

Audiences will assume that every shot or word of dialogue in a

 film is there to further the central idea, therefore, each

 shot you use should contribute to the story or the idea you

 are trying to convey.

Since viewer emotion is the ultimate goal of each scene, where

 you place the camera involves knowing what emotion you want

 the audience to experience, at any given moment in the scene.

STEP 6: BASIC BLOCKING AND STAGING TECHNIQUES

Very simply, blocking is the relationship of the actors to the

 camera. Blocking is not about getting the dialogue correct or

 discussing an actor’s motivation – unless it directly involves

 the movement of an actor.

I suggest you start thinking of blocking as the choreography

 of a dance or ballet: all the elements on the set (actors,

 extras, vehicles, crew, equipment) should move in perfect

 harmony with each other.

Before you start to figure out your blocking plan, you must

 know these five things:

a. When, and where, were the characters last seen?

b. What is the last shot of the previous scene?

c. What is the first shot of the scene you are working on?

d. What is the last shot of the scene you are working on?

e. What is the first shot of the next scene?

Your blocking plan will also be determined by:

a. Whose POV is being expressed at the time? (Is it the

 writer’s, the character or the director?)

b. What distance are you from the subject? (What is the size

 of shot: close or far?)

c. What is your relationship to the subject? (What is the

 angle of view – your choice of lenses?)

When you first start directing, blocking a scene can be one of

 the hardest parts of your job. But like anything else in life,

 blocking takes practice, and the more times you do it, the

 more comfortable you will become.

STEP 7: TECHNICAL

By technical, I mean everything else it takes to make a movie!

 (Locations, Cinematography, Editing, Sound, Costumes, Stunts…)

Yes, I know I’m putting the majority of the filmmaking process

 into one category, but without understanding the first 6 steps

 of this formula, you are setting yourself up for “filmmaker

 mediocrity” – which is writing unimaginative scripts with

 unbelievable characters that create boring and dull films.

Which leads into my favorite filmmaking quote from the

 legendary director Frank Capra: “There are no rules in

 filmmaking. Only sins! And the cardinal sin is dullness.”

From what I have witnessed over the past 37 years, I believe

 that if you follow this 7-step film directing formula, you

 will see how any director, even someone with very little

 experience, can create a visually, compelling movie with

 believable characters.

And if you have a story that has Universal themes, and the

 passion to tell this story, you can make a movie, in your own

 language, and audiences around the world will watch it.

It’s your choice!