ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

10 years, 11 months ago - Mät King

You could always make a short just to keep you busy. Perhaps, something that you've wanted to do but have never had the time. Alternatively, sometimes a change is as good as a rest and you may feel all the more inspired, rested, and excited after two-months of doing something else.
Maybe you could make a short about filling those two-months with fantastically original shots of calendar pages turning as leaves drop into autumn...
Is it ever too soon to start Christmas shopping?
Enjoy that time.

10 years, 12 months ago - Andrew Morgan

I usually learn new tools whilst I'm between jobs/waiting for stuff to happen - currently learning DaVinci Resolve in depth since I'll probably be using it for editing in the future.

10 years, 12 months ago - Marlom Tander

You're shooting a feature and you have downtime? :-)

Refine the script, refine the budget, explore ways of doing more for less. Spend more time casting.

Actually, def the last one. You've got the luxury of time.

10 years, 12 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

What prep are you putting off until December that you can't do now? You've got this amazing gift of 2 months extended preproduction, so start scheduling, get rewrites, poke and proud your budget, find more backers, get better cast, make friends with a lighting hire company, phone around doing deals, get your contracts in place, etc.

Mentally run through every moment of every day - from people arriving on set and what they need (breakfast, consumables, kit storage space...) through to getting people and kit moved, generators running, toilets on location, right up until the wrap party. Every moment. I guarantee you'll find things you haven't considered (car parking at location, taxis after late night last tube times, the real cost of catering, finding a loo in an open field, wet weather provision, the lot), then you can plan for them.

You can't overdo preproduction. Preprod is the time when your running costs are low but you're committing the big money for later. Embrace it. Ask for help, advice, comments and then embrace or ignore them selectively, but this is such an opportunity to make your life easier later.

10 years, 12 months ago - D. James Newton

This is all great advice, Paddy but much of it I won't be responsible for. I'm directing not producing.
The question is really trying to focus on what to do with the enforced downtime between projects when you don't have time to fit in a new project (or chase new work!)

10 years, 12 months ago - D. James Newton

I think everyone is side-tracked here by the fact I'm not working on the project until December.
For specific reasons I can't discuss it - but it's all good. You have to trust me on that.

What I want to know is how does a director keep fit between projects...
When I say 'fit' I don't just mean physical, although sure that's a part of it. How do you stay on top of the game when you are not actively chasing and developing projects.
I feel like it's all too easy to be the jogger who is running on the spot at the "Don't Walk" sign.

How do YOU progress yourself in-between career opportunities?

Some more suggestions from FB:
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Go to the art gallery and immerse yourself in the works of various old Masters.

Take an acting class.

Go visit an editor and watch how they clear up the shit that some directors dump on them.
_____

10 years, 12 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

I guess films can work on many layers, and good motif work can add pleasure for an audience watching several times - do individual characters have a specific lighting cue or is there always a balloon in shoot when characters reference a dead third character. Or ate there any gags you want to add (eg Tyler Durden chopping adult frames into movies, with those frames chopped into the movie itself). Those might be things you can plan for? It always makes me feel clever and valued as an audience member if the director goes that extra bit further for me.

Or go to lots of big gigs, see what's happening in the world of production on an allied but dissimilar industry. There's a lot more creativity in some of those shows than many movies, particularly around use of light. Watch a bunch of foreign films, see what they do well - French cinema can sometimes tel a story with a degree of detachment you don't see in our tradition - how and why do they do that, does it work, could it work for you? Or Hungarian where the choice of shots may be very specific and the cutting speed glacial - doors and element work for you and inspire a mood or style you'll want to carry forward?

Ballet and contemporary dance might be good too - very visual (usually pretty poor for storytelling but great spectacle and some awesome music) and some productions might resonate. Dance is about shape, tempo, texture and some of those elements may get skipped in a traditional straight, fast coverage shoot.

10 years, 11 months ago - Jane Geisler

Definitely spend time with an editor! Or even better - learn how to edit yourself. If more directors knew what they were really asking for sometimes we'd be much better off. I love working with a director who can also edit for that very reason.

10 years, 11 months ago - D. James Newton

Thanks all - a consensus seems to be reached about submerging yourself in the creative arts of other disciplines and trusting that old osmosis effect.
What you absorb from elsewhere will feed into your own creativity somewhere along the line.

This has been useful, thank you. I'm off for a 20km bike ride now :)

10 years, 12 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

If there's no script yet, how do you know the project will go ahead in December? I'd seriously keep your options open and look for other paying work opportunities.

There must be *something* if no script, otherwise how would you know you want to be involved, and how did the producers pick you to direct? Assuming there is something, even a good treatment, there's something to start working with - even if you just develop mood boards and cues for the production designer, costume, etc.

10 years, 11 months ago - Katie Smith

You have such an amazing amount of time to prepare BEFORE December, If you are shooting the film I would definitely begin scheduling with the Director, viewing the locations and if you have a DP with you (unless you are the DP), start light metering the area, measuring and planning the shots, including trying to visualise what the Director wants.

I would also start drawing up shooting plans so you have a solid shot list but all of the above is near impossible without a script...

If you are thinking about anything extra before the shoot, you could try and work on a few extra sets to see how they get things done, add to the show-reel and you'll have fun but I don't know how experienced you are so this might not be something you'll be interested in.

Good luck with it though :)

10 years, 12 months ago - D. James Newton

There's the rub, no script until Dec. Ergo no casting or storyboards etc etc. I don't wish to dwell on the whys and wherefores of the project - I want to focus on what to do before I can start...
There's only so many movies I can watch :)

10 years, 12 months ago - Dan Selakovich

No script until december? Huh? I've never heard of such a thing. Surely there's an early draft you can dig into, right? Tell me the writer isn't typing away on a first draft where pre-production starts as soon as it's done. And if you're going to direct, shouldn't you be involved, at least minimally, in writing?

When people ask me what is the one thing you'd want as director, what would it be? I always answer "time." To have 2 extra months to break down a script would be a freakin' dream.

I find this so, so, odd. Do you know the story? Have their been discussions like "it's 2 characters in a single location and we can shoot in my house." If so, get a tape measure and still camera and head for the house. At least you'll know you can't do a 12' high boom shot because there are only 8' ceilings. ANYTHING you can do now, even if you throw it out, is a plus.

Other than that, the gym thing isn't a bad idea.

10 years, 11 months ago - Alève Mine

2 months? You have the equipment, did some writing, have a crew? Make another film.