Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics

This comprehensive manual has inspired tens of thousands of readers worldwide to realize their artistic vision and produce well-constructed films. Filled with practical advice on every stage of production, this is the book you will return to throughout your career. Directing covers the methods, technologies, thought processes, and judgments that a director must use throughout the fascinating process of making a film. It emphasizes low-cost digital technology, which allows cutting-edge creativity and professionalism on shoestring budgets. And, recognizing that you learn best by doing, the book includes dozens of practical hands-on projects and activities to help you master technical and conceptual skills. Just as important as surmounting technological hurdles is the conceptual and authorial side of filmmaking. This book provides an unusually clear view of the artistic process, particularly in working with actors. It offers eminently practical tools and exercises to help you develop credible and compelling stories with your cast, hone your narrative skills, and develop your artistic identity. This book shows you how to surpass mere technical proficiency and become a storyteller with a distinctive voice and style. The companion web site includes teaching notes, hands-on exercises, checklists, and useful forms and questionnaires.

* Updated and revised edition of the bestselling, most comprehensive guide to the technical and creative aspects of film directing: a complete education in a book * Loaded with practical exercises and immersive projects, with a companion website featuring teaching notes, hands-on exercises, checklists, and useful forms and questionnaires * Expanded sections on pre-production, lenses, the emotional and tonal implications of shot size, composition, perspective, visual and sound proximity, and screencraft--the core of the director's art * Completely updated and expanded film examples and references, including classics, recent indie films, and foreign films