Total Directing : Integrating Camera and Performance in Film and Television

Introduction xvii Acknowledgments xix PART 1 PREPRODUCTION 1(48) Director and Script 3(13) The playing field 4(1) Getting projects off the ground 5(3) Subject matter, character, and plot 8(1) The first reading 9(1) Subsequent readings 10(2) Becoming the author 12(2) The director and the writer 14(1) The script editor 15(1) Research and Vision 16(12) Research and creativity 16(2) Formulating a director's vision 18(2) Research done by others 20(3) Production design 20(1) Costume and makeup 21(2) The director's own research 23(3) Choosing locations 24(2) Three phases of preproduction and the tech scout 26(2) The Director's Team and Controlling the Budget 28(7) Watching the budget 31(4) Casting 35(14) Two approaches to casting 37(1) Typecasting 38(1) The casting director, agents, and headshots 39(2) Auditions: an opportunity, not a cattle-call 41(3) Two casting scenarios 44(2) Conducting an audition 46(2) Making the offer 48(1) PART 2 PREPARING THE SCRIPT FOR REHEARSAL 49(44) Basic Structures 51(1) Subtext 51(2) Acts 53(3) Scenes 56(1) Sequences 57(1) Arcs 57 Connecting with Characters 50(20) Backstory 50(1) Connecting with character 51(15) Asking questions 63(3) Objectives 66(1) Resistance 67(2) What's the story? 69(1) Blocking and Beats 70(12) Starting to block 73(2) Beats 75(3) Writers'beats 76(1) Actors'beats 77(1) Directors'beats 77(1) Scene analysis 78(4) Putting Together Beats, Objectives, Actions, and Transitions 82(11) Beats and objectives 82(2) Actions and objectives 84(3) Adjustments 87(1) Putting actions and objectives together 87(1) Example of a through-line 88(1) Transitions 88(5) PART 3 TOWARD THE FIRST REHEARSAL 93(82) Working with Set and Location Plans 95(6) Working from a plan 98(1) Two places to work on a scene 99(2) Finding the Characters' Opening Positions 101(7) Stage directions 102(1) Opening positions 103(3) Visual transitions between scenes 106(2) Movement 108(12) Actor movement 109(6) The psychological level 109(5) The physical level 114(1) Business 115(1) Action and activity 116(1) Restricted movement 117(3) Blocking Actors to Camera 120(13) Some basic concepts 120(2) Working with two actors 122(3) Working with three actors 125(2) Working with four or more actors 127(6) Marking the Rehearsal Script (Part 1) 133(5) First step 133(3) Subsequent steps 136(2) Marking the Rehearsal Script (Part 2) 138(11) Plan 141(1) Marking moves 141(2) Add the camera 143(1) Noting moves on the script 144(3) Props 147(1) Blocking during rehearsal 147(2) Improvisation 149(10) Structure and rules 150(1) Opportunities to use improvisation 151(6) Directing an improv 157(2) Gauging a Performance 159(8) Watching a performance 160(2) Directorial adjustments 162(1) Choices 162(2) Adjusting actor's choices 163(1) Playing against 164(1) Over-directing 165(1) Result-oriented direction 166(1) Conducting the First Rehearsal 167(8) Preliminary arrangements 167(2) The read-through 169(1) Scenework 170(5) Blocking 171(1) Evaluating 172(3) PART 4 SOME PRINCIPLES OF SHOOTING 175(124) The Hollywood Continuity Style 177(16) Shot sizes and their applications 178(10) Varieties of wide shot 179(4) Tightening the shot 183(5) Shot sequence and when to use a closeup 188(5) The line of intimacy 191(2) Framing and Lenses 193(14) Composition 193(9) The rule of thirds 194(1) Horizontals, verticals, and diagonals 195(1) Analysis of two paintings 196(6) Lenses 202(5) Different lenses have different effects on the picture 202(3) Depth and planes 205(1) Separation and distortion 206(1) Audio 207(11) Microphone types 207(3) Sound perspective 210(1) Microphone placement 210(4) Recording the best quality audio 213(1) Supporting the sound department 214(4) Gaps and overlaps 214(1) Atmosphere and wild tracks 215(3) An Introduction to Continuity 218(9) The traditional shot sequence 219(1) The reverse shot 220(2) Indication 222(1) Avoiding jump cuts 223(2) Movement and screen direction 225(2) The 180-Degree Rule 227(19) The line 227(2) One person and vehicles 229(3) Movement 232(2) Shooting three people and ``the line'' 234(5) Shooting four people 239(3) The scene with five or more characters 242(1) The 180-degree cut 243(1) Do not get obsessed 244(2) Visualization & Formats 246(8) Storyboards 248(3) Basic drawing 249(1) Types of storyboards 250(1) Formats 251(3) Shooting considerations 253(1) DVD and streaming 253(1) Styles of Shooting 254(13) The long take 257(2) Quick cutting 259(1) Moving the camera 260(2) Hand-held camera 262(1) The Steadicam and moving-camera style 263(2) Cutting moving shots together 265(2) Marking Up a Shooting Script 267(17) The previous shot 271(1) Naming and marking the shots 272(4) Coverage 276(3) Employ the minimum number of camera positions 279(1) Marking the camera positions 279(1) Technical requirements 279(3) Marked-up scene 282(2) Shooting Different Scenes 284(15) A dramatic two-person scene 284(7) My comments 287(4) A four-person sitcom scene 291(8) My comments continued 296(3) PART 5 PRODUCTION 299(62) Personnel Management and Rehearsing Actors on the Set 301(12) The tech scout 302(2) Crew psychology 304(1) Actors on the set 305(1) The on-set sequence 306(1) Problems of shooting without rehearsal 307(3) What to do if no rehearsal time has been allocated 308(1) A few performance tips 309(1) Extras 310(3) The Eyes 313(18) Mutual support 314(2) Eyes in lighting and camerawork 316(10) Camera placement 317(4) Cheating with the eyes, body, and camera 321(3) Camera height 324(2) Point of view 326(5) Continuity Continued 331(16) Single- and two-camera shooting 331(1) Actor continuity 332(3) On-set continuity 335(5) The script supervisor or continuity person 335(1) Shot-to-shot continuity 336(3) Scene-to-scene continuity 339(1) What to look for in different shots 340(4) The wide shot 341(1) Full-length and three-quarter shots 342(1) Mid-shot 342(1) Medium closeup and closeup 342(2) Props 344(3) Directing a Shot 347(10) Procedure for starting a take 347(1) What to look for during a take 348(5) The video assist 350(1) How many takes to take and the pick-up shot 351(2) Working with actors on the set 353(2) Beyond the shot 355(2) Choosing Film Versus Video 357(4) PART 6 POSTPRODUCTION 361(52) The Structure of the Edit 363(9) Editing drama and documentary 364(1) Film ``rushes'' or ``dailies'' 365(1) Assembly and rough cuts 366(1) An overview of postproduction 367(5) Film 368(2) Primetime U.S. television shot on film 370(1) Single-camera video for television 371(1) Multi-camera video for television 371(1) Working with the Editor 372(11) The editing room 373(1) The director/editor relationship 374(1) Choosing takes 375(2) Time and timecode 376(1) The power of juxtaposition 377(2) Tempo and rhythm 379(4) Making Edits 383(8) Editing dialogue 383(4) Checkerboarding 386(1) Overlapping audio 386(1) The joy of making cuts 387(4) The Sound Edit 391(12) The audio postproduction sequence 392(1) The ``soundscape'' 393(2) Types of sound effects 395(2) Creating effects 397(2) Walla and wildtracks 397(1) Foley 398(1) The sound designer 398(1) Strategies for placing sound effects 399(2) Automatic Dialogue Replacement (ADR) 401(2) Music 403(10) Source music 403(1) Copyright 404(2) Working with a composer 406(4) Discs 410(1) Mixing 410(2) A note on post-partem depression 412(1) PART 7 A BRIEF HISTORY OF AMERICAN SCREEN ACTING 413(34) The Russian Connection 415(12) Stanislavski 415(4) Stanislavski's successors 419(2) Eisenstein 421(6) The significance of Eisenstein's work 425(2) Silent Film Acting 427(9) Performance trends in America at the turn of the twentieth century 431(1) D.W. Griffith and the rise of Hollywood 432(4) The Legacy of the Russians 436(11) The Group Theater 437(1) Acting in the early talkies 438(2) Lee Strasberg and The Actors Studio 440(2) Michael Chekhov 442(1) John Cassavetes and Mike Leigh 443(1) Screen acting 1990--2000 444(3) PART 8 MULTI-CAMERA PRODUCTION 447(28) The Studio 449(6) Multi-camera television studio performance 450(1) Preproduction and the shooting schedule 450(2) Limitations of multi-camera studio production 452(3) The fourth wall 452(1) Audio 453(2) Multi-Camera Studio Technique 455(9) Technical director, director's assistant, and floor manager 455(1) Where does the director direct? 456(1) Three-camera technique (or I Love Lucy) 457(2) Single-camera technique 459(1) Two-camera technique 460(1) Directing the scene 461(3) Blocking studio drama 462(1) Rehearsing 462(1) Recording 463(1) The Studio Script 464(11) The last shot 464(1) Floor plan 465(4) Furniture moves 465(1) Camera positions 466(1) Cabling 467(2) Changing shot 469(1) Marking the moves 470(1) Cameras and cutting points 470(2) Assign a camera to the shot 470(1) Describe the shot 470(1) Indicate exactly where you want the cut to occur 471(1) Number the shots 471(1) Information on characters 472(1) Timing 472(3) PART 9 THE DIRECTOR'S LIFE 475(26) Three Directors 477(11) John Schlesinger: the demands of professionalism 478(3) Alan Clarke: evolving a personal vision 481(4) Roland Joffe: the power of inspiration 485(3) Getting Started in the Industry: Interviews with Directors 488(13) Theodore Witcher 488(1) Kasi Lemmons 489(3) Steve Carr 492(3) Kevin Bright 495(2) Jan Egleson 497(4) APPENDIX 501(3) Storyboards 501(3) Academy Aperture (4x3) 502(1) Widescreen (HDTV) 1.78:1 503(1) Widescreen (USA) 1.85:1 504(1) BIBLIOGRAPHY 504(5) Non-history chapters 504(3) History chapters 507(2) Glossary 509(27) Index 536