THE ROLE OF THE DIRECTOR IN FILMMAKING

While a film director, like Brillante Mendoza often works behind the scenes, his signature can be seen in every frame of the movies he makes.  In the making of a film, the director is a type of creative leader, not only to the actors and the crew, but also to the story.

A director is responsible for shaping and overseeing every creative aspect of a film.  They develop a vision for a film, decide how it should look, what tone it should have, and what an audience should gain from the cinematic experience. He, in short, is the storyteller who is intimately involved in all aspects of the film’s development.

A good director makes sure that all parts of a film are creatively produced and brought together in a single totality.  He visualizes the script, controlling a film’s artistic and dramatic aspects, while guiding the technical crew, and actors in fulfillment of their vision.  He often works closely with the film producer.

The director also plays a key role in post- production, overseeing the editing to make sure that this results in a cohesive story that adheres to his creative vision.  He may also work with sound mixers and the film scorer for this reason. 

In the end, when you see a great film on the big screen, its creative vision is the result of the hard work of a film director.

SIDEBAR

ALL ABOUT LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION

“Lights, camera, action” is a catch phrase most commonly associated with film directors. It is a short hand term for “filming has begun. Turn on the lights, sound and other equipment. Start rolling the cameras and begin performing.”

How did this all begin?  Weaved stories show that this phrase was accidentally first uttered by legendary American film director DW Griffith in New York in 1910.

While filming, he got frustrated with the actors and crew that he expressed his annoyance by saying, “Lights!” to re-spot the lights of his actors; the “Camera!” to roll the camera; and finally “Action!” to get things moving.  Upon hearing the phrase, the actors and production staff were alarmed and went back on their mark to shoot the scene.

Griffith’s film – as well as his subsequent epic Birth of a Nation in 1915 and Intolerance in 1916 – gained immense popularity and was praised by critics.  Many moviemakers followed his film techniques and expressive skills, as well as the phrase he helped make famous.

Since then, Lights, Camera, Action has been the standard operating movie protocol that signals the production crew to begin a take.