We asked top directors at Sundance 2017 to share their tips and advice about how to direct a film. Featuring Marti Noxon (Unreal, To the Bone), Drake Doremus (Like Crazy, Newness), Craig Johnson (Wilson), Andrew Dosunmu (Where is Kyra?) and Gerard McMurray (Burning Sands).
.
.
Transcript provided by Youtube:
00:00
[Music]
00:01
we caught up with some top directors at
00:04
Sundance 2017 to ask them our questions
00:06
about the craft of directing to start we
00:09
asked what’s your process for working
00:11
with actors one is just spending time
00:13
with them and really getting to know
00:14
them and understand what makes them tick
00:15
and then the other is just washing their
00:17
work I mean it’s really about emotional
00:19
objectives and understanding subtext and
00:21
I was trying to pull something dynamic
00:23
out of the actors so you know every
00:26
everything is different but for the most
00:28
part we we really try to focus on one
00:31
thing at a time so the actors can be in
00:32
the moment the last thing a lot of the
00:34
actor is doing is thinking about
00:35
something with trying to achieve or play
00:37
at I just want them to kind of forget
00:38
about themselves because you really give
00:40
the sense of the actors aren’t acting
00:41
it’s real and they’re just sort of from
00:43
being in the imaginary circumstance why
00:46
is it important to support female
00:47
directors my daughter the other day I
00:50
would thank me you know why don’t you
00:52
braid my hair like the other girls their
00:55
moms know how to do like a fishtail
00:56
braid and and then she was like a my mom
00:58
didn’t she did the same thing she went
01:01
and then I said when that happens next
01:03
time tell them your mom’s starting an
01:06
empire and later she came up to me and
01:08
she smiled you said mommy when I’m old
01:10
and I talked about you I’m going to tell
01:12
that story so I feel like yeah we need
01:15
to we need to lead by example we need to
01:18
support other women filmmakers we need
01:20
to support people entrepreneurs business
01:23
women focus people we are running out of
01:25
time not just women but anybody who you
01:29
know not had opportunity for whatever
01:31
reason how do you work on a tight
01:33
deadline excellent
01:34
sensual bosserman conference room Naja
01:37
marathon infiniium sensual I knew like I
01:40
didn’t have much time at 18 day to shoot
01:41
this film a lot of characters who is
01:44
going really bad so I knew I had to
01:46
shoot wise and masters that was my
01:48
decision that I had made you know before
01:50
the shooting that was the best way I was
01:52
able to get the entire film in 18 days
01:54
in less than six months an idea turned
01:57
into a movie if I’d had an extra three
01:59
months the movie wouldn’t have been
02:00
better wouldn’t
02:01
different I was just forced to raise my
02:04
game and make the right decisions at the
02:05
right time I think that it made for a
02:07
really interesting creative process
02:09
I’ve got limited times I’m trying to
02:11
have the best frame possible that can
02:14
have so much things done you know
02:15
between that Frank how much like a
02:17
conference really oil painting you know
02:19
look at the painting so much things
02:21
happen with your own frame what are some
02:24
visual techniques you’ve used that’s
02:27
beautiful man that’s great a lot of it
02:29
was point of view being with Lily’s
02:33
character but not being too inside of it
02:35
you know I really tried to hang back and
02:38
not tell people what to feel and just
02:40
show the behavior without commenting too
02:43
much on it you know the distant pod for
02:44
and I had a really strong point of view
02:46
about how to shoe her to keep her
02:47
isolated and brain weasel odd track put
02:50
them in what I call just a terrarium and
02:52
that’s what I thought about a lot making
02:54
this movie with the terrarium with these
02:57
actors within a frame doing their thing
02:59
within a larger frame to create the sort
03:02
of observational feel and a little bit
03:05
of a slightly elevated comedic world why
03:07
do you use negative space in your
03:09
framing really about isolation you maybe
03:11
put so much emphasis on what’s outside
03:13
the frame that we don’t see and the
03:17
confidence people you know there’s
03:18
something you mix up feel isolated and
03:22
peaceful what do you want people to be
03:24
feeling when they walk out of the
03:25
theater
03:27
[Applause]
03:29
[Music]
03:32
the importance of telling the truth and
03:35
speaking your mind I just need to move
03:37
on find somebody knows not you
03:40
necessarily and also it’s just about
03:42
connections with our fellow human I want
03:46
people to feel like they’ve been touched
03:47
I want them to feel like exhausted like
03:50
they’ve experienced something that’s
03:52
true it’s honest it’s meaningful and
03:53
make them think about their lives in
03:55
their relationships and and what dating
03:57
is and what a meaningful long-term
03:59
relationship is just something is really
04:01
about us as a society to start really
04:06
questioning how we interact with people
04:09
around us are we are we for me that’s
04:12
really the objective of this things you
04:14
need dialogue for for all sides to
04:16
really think of us with certain things
04:18
things we neglect simply the plights of
04:21
others you know the best stories are the
04:23
ones to have pictures on them and the
04:25
best stories are the ones that make you
04:27
feel something I want to go to the
04:29
movies to feel and sometimes I want to
04:31
feel you know Captain America you know
04:33
punching someone in the gut but other
04:35
times I want to feel would like to be
04:38
alive and and understand other people
04:40
better so that was my hope what do you
04:43
think makes a good director sensitivity
04:46
I think to be sensitive to people’s
04:50
emotion is really about emotion really
04:52
being able to see things from different
04:54
perspective and I believe in the duality
04:56
of things you know I don’t believe
04:58
there’s no way to anything I think like
05:00
this duality and and I embrace that so
05:03
it’s really that for me I think it’s
05:05
just a good listener something that
05:07
really understands how to take in the
05:10
information what’s going on and how to
05:12
why we guided or tweak it or say
05:14
something to one actor to influence the
05:16
other actor whatever it is I mean I
05:17
think it’s a great director as a great
05:19
listener who are some of your
05:20
inspiration going back to like Robert
05:23
Altman
05:24
we’re just talking right yes Marion
05:27
we’re just talking how are you going to
05:30
do that do you know what time it is
05:32
old Miller’s Foreman movies Alexander
05:35
Payne when we drink yeah any chewing gum
05:42
so said well say Lars on trip breaking
05:49
the way Steven Soderbergh and there’s
05:52
just so many films with influence in so
05:54
many great filmmakers that now should
05:55
kind of in me throughout Moses I guess
05:57
over the years my advice would you give
05:58
to someone who wants to be a director
06:00
Jonah’s defense ensemble exact emotive
06:03
individual so always double on the
06:05
special and over yes if we say we turn
06:07
against the medicinal goddess tonight
06:08
you get it make them I mean today’s day
06:12
and age it’s you know the idea of
06:13
waiting for this happen er it’s actor
06:16
this money or this to that it’s like you
06:18
can waste time really fast by doing that
06:20
so you know just go make movies so to
06:23
recap some of what we learned about
06:24
directing spend time with your actors
06:27
get to know them and focus on one thing
06:30
at a time
06:30
so actors can forget about themselves
06:32
and be in the moment lead by example and
06:35
support others who lack opportunity if
06:37
you have limited time to shoot decide a
06:40
plan before you get on set and consider
06:42
using why masters instead of lots of
06:44
close-ups time can force you to raise
06:47
your game and make the right decision at
06:49
the right time this picture is my child
06:51
what would you say I’m still you said
06:53
your daughter Jennifer I would respect
06:55
it with that fingers chopped off well
06:59
being an insecure writer I call my agent
07:04
and get a second opinion think of your
07:07
frame like a canvas or a painting where
07:09
a lot has to be communicated within just
07:11
one frame think about point of view and
07:14
what you want to say about your
07:15
character through the perspective of the
07:17
camera or sound consider what’s outside
07:19
the frame and what we don’t see the best
07:21
stories have some truth in them and make
07:23
us feel
07:24
a good director has sensitivity
07:28
understands the duality of people in
07:30
life and is a good listener maybe a
07:34
little more tension when you see him I
07:36
thought I didn’t see him right maybe you
07:41
seemed a little bit and if you want to
07:42
make them just make them get started I
07:45
shouldn’t make movies anymore should go
07:49
to a lunatic asylum
07:50
[Music]
08:01
ah
—
This post was previously published on Youtube.
—
***
If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project and want to join our calls on a regular basis, please join us as a Premium Member, today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
Talk to you soon.
—
Photo credit: Screenshot from video
.