Directing, Fourth Edition: Film Techniques and Aesthetics

585 Pages·2007·5.94 MB·English

by  Michael Rabiger

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DIRECTING
FILM TECHNIQUES
AND
AESTHETICS
Fourth Edition
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DIRECTING
FILM TECHNIQUES
AND
AESTHETICS
Fourth Edition
Michael Rabiger
AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON • NEW YORK • OXFORD •
PARIS • SAN DIEGO • SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO
Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
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Publisher: Elinor Actipis
Publishing Services Manager: George Morrison
Senior Project Manager: Brandy Lilly
Developmental Editor: Cara Anderson
Assistant Editor: Robin Weston
Marketing Manager: Becky Pease
Cover Design: Wendy Simpson
Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA
Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK
Copyright © 2008, Michael Rabiger. Published by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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Recognizing the importance of preserving what has been written, Elsevier prints its books on
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rabiger, Michael.
Directing : film techniques and aesthetics / by Michael Rabiger. — 4th ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-240-80882-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Motion pictures—Production and direction.
2. Motion pictures—Aesthetics. I. Title.
PN1995.9.P7R26 2008
791.43(cid:3)0233—dc22
2007017582
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-0-240-80882-6
For information on all Focal Press publications
visit our website at www.books.elsevier.com
07 08 09 10 11 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
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For Lewis, Netta, Alma,
Lauren, Freya, and Olivia
with much love.
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CONTENTS
Introduction ix
PART 1:ARTISTIC IDENTITY AND DRAMA
1 The World of the Film Director 3
2 Identifying Your Themes 16
3 Dramaturgy Essentials 27
PART 2:SCREENCRAFT
4 A Director’s Screen Grammar 43
5 Seeing with a Moviemaker’s Eye 64
6 Shooting Projects 91
PART 3:THE STORY AND ITS DEVELOPMENT
7 Recognizing the Superior Screenplay 119
8 Analyzing a Screenplay 130
9 Director’s Development Strategies 137
10 Alternative Story Sources 146
11 Setting Creative Limitations 155
PART 4:AESTHETICS AND AUTHORSHIP
12 Point of View 165
13 Subtext, Genre, and Archetypes 175
14 Time, Structure, and Plot 181
15 Space, Stylized Environments, and Performances 192
16 Form and Style 201
PART 5:PREPRODUCTION
17 Acting Fundamentals 215
18 Directing Actors 223
19 Acting Improvisation Exercises 231
20 Acting Exercises with a Text 248
21 Casting 258
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viii CONTENTS
22 Exploring the Script 272
23 Actor and Director Prepare a Scene 284
24 Initial Meetings with the Cast 289
25 Rehearsals and Planning Coverage 297
26 Production Design 304
27 The Preproduction Meeting and Deciding Equipment 311
PART 6:PRODUCTION
28 Developing a Crew 333
29 Mise-en-Scéne 347
30 Producing a Shooting Script 369
31 Before the Camera Rolls 382
32 Roll Camera 385
33 Location Sound 400
34 Continuity 410
35 Directing the Actors 414
36 Directing the Crew 424
37 Monitoring Progress 428
PART 7:POSTPRODUCTION
38 Preparing to Edit 439
39 Getting Started on the First Assembly 450
40 Editing Principles 458
41 Using Analysis and Feedback 472
42 Working with Music 478
43 Editing from Fine Cut to Sound Mix 485
44 Titles, Acknowledgments, and Promotional Material 494
PART 8:CAREER TRACK
45 Planning a Career 501
46 Major Film Schools 510
47 Breaking into the Industry 517
Glossary 529
Bibliography and Useful Web Sites 543
Index 551
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INTRODUCTION
Here is a practical, comprehensive film directing manual. It will prepare you like
no other for the methods, thought processes, feelings, and judgments that a direc-
tor must use throughout the fascinating experience of creating a film. By talking
to you directly and respectfully as a colleague, and by offering hands-on projects
as learning tools, it recognizes that you learn best from doing.
Making films that speak with your own voice and identity will engage your
head, your hands, and your heart, and enhance every aspect of your waking life.
Film makes extreme demands on its makers so this book makes an ideal com-
panion for the self-taught or for anyone going to film school. There, coursework of
necessity focuses on surmounting technological hurdles, and courses will always
leave significant gaps in the conceptual and authorial side of filmmaking. These the
student must bridge alone. Commonly he or she can get no clear sight of the path-
way from beginning to end of the artistic process, and find nobody to give help at
moments when it’s most needed. This book makes accessible the context, explana-
tions, and mentorship that everyone needs.
FILM’S ARTISTIC PROCESS ENHANCED
Digital technology has massively accelerated the film student’s learning experi-
ence. Low cost shooting permits a fully professional shooting experience. The
novice director can now experiment, improvise, solve problems collaboratively
with cast and crew, revise earlier solutions, and treat crises as disguised opportu-
nities. A guerilla approach like this—normal enough in documentary but alien to
the cost-driven traditions of the features industry—empowers the low-budget
independent to produce cutting-edge creativity. Even seasoned professionals are
turning to digital filmmaking: George Lucas made his Star Wars: Episode II
Attack of the Clonesusing high definition (HD) digital camcorders. Shooting the
equivalent of 2 million feet of film in a third less time, he saved $2.5 million in
stock and became an enthusiastic convert. You see the fruits of this liberation in
the digitally-enabled work of Mike Figgis, Steven Soderbergh, Wim Wenders,
Spike Lee, Michael Winterbottom, Gary Winock, Rick Linklater, as well as the
leading lights in the Danish Dogme Group and many, many others.