Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics is a comprehensive manual that teaches the essentials of filmmaking from the perspective of the director. Ideal for film production and directing classes, as well as for aspiring and current directors, Directing covers all phases of preproduction and production, from idea development to final cut. Thoroughly covering the basics, Directing guides the reader to professional standards of expression and control, and goes to the heart of what makes a director. The book outlines a great deal of practical work to meet this goal, with projects, exercises. The third edition emphasizes the connection between knowing and doing, with every principle realizable through projects and exercises. Much has been enhanced and expanded, notably: aspects of dramaturgy; beats and dramatic units; pitching stories and selling one's work; the role of the entrepreneurial producer; and the dangers of embedded moral values. Checklists are loaded with practical recommendations for action, and outcomes assessment tables help the reader honestly gauge his or her progress. Entirely new chapters present: preproduction procedures; production design; script breakdown; procedures and etiquette on the set; shooting location sound; continuity; and working with a composer. The entire book is revised to capitalize on the advantages offered by the revolutionary shift to digital filmmaking.

An accessible edition of a classic guide to film and theater directing offers insight into the craft's unique challenges from managing personalities and anticipating problems to working with a script and the key elements of staging, in a primer that also features life lessons gleaned by the co-authors throughout their careers. Reprint. 30,000 first printing.

The 42 exercises detailed in this comprehensive guide provide both the instructor and the student a 'user-friendly' workshop structure. The basic concepts of directing are learned progressively. This approach is totally new -- the student discovers the demands and problems of directing by actually doing it step-by-step. The student's own directing style emerges with each exercise.

How do you develop both the craft of directing as well as a professional career in freelance directing in today's theatre industry? Drawing on his own extensive experience and that of other theatre professionals from the US and UK, Kent Thompson illuminates a pathway from training, apprenticeship and assistant directing to an established career as a director. Directing Professionally first lays out paths for aspirant directors to train, grow and succeed as directors, then advises freelance directors on how to establish and accelerate their professional careers. It also reveals the most significant ways those directors become artistic directors today. With a frank, thoughtful and often humorous examination of the job of professional direction and artistic direction, Thompson writes about the passion, commitment, artistic vision, directorial experience, leadership skills, and powerful persuasive gifts needed to succeed in this extraordinary field. Featuring case studies and brief interviews with professional theatre directors, artistic directors, producers, critics, managing/executive directors, and theatre leaders currently working in the field in the UK and the US, this volume will equip you to develop your career as a professional director in today's theatre.

Publisher description

A ground-floor guide to the practice and philosophy of directing that is open to all, including newcomers to the field. Through a series of concise and engaging essays, Directing Your Heart Out will inspire the next generation of theatre directors by encouraging them to approach the craft through instinct, compassion and the uninhibited expression of their own voice and vision. Each of the book's essays deals with a core principle of directing, such as strategies for directing text; facilitating productive discussion in rehearsals; absorbing criticism; and maintaining a positive work environment. Taken together, they serve as an effective introduction to the fundamentals of directing, or as provocative supplementary readings alongside traditional directing textbooks. En route, it references: The Seagull Encouraging an approach to directing that is grounded in self-empowerment and set out accessibly, this book opens up directing to the first-time director or student from a range of backgrounds, as well as the seasoned professional, who will benefit from the many revisionary, fresh perspectives.