Am I not bossy enough as director?

H

harmonica44

For my first real short film, I don't have a real pro crew, so I use my friends to step in. Sometimes they get a little overcreative though. My one friend does things with the camera, that she shouldn't. Such as zooming, but that can cause change in exposure while shooting. Or the camera will shake too much in the takes. If I tell her that we should redo it she will sometimes get defensive saying I worry to much, and that sometimes things like exposure changing and shaky cam, can come off as stylistic. The mic is also shown in some takes, and the no one behind the camera said anything. Maybe it's just not noticeable on the DSLR screen. So now I will have to do some photoshopping.

Sometimes the friends listening in on the sound, will not tell me if they hear anything unwanted either, and by the time I play it back, and find out, it's too late and we have to redub with the actors now. Should I just get bossier like some say on here, to try to get them to not get overzealous with it? They are working for food only, so I don't want to drive anyone either. But how do I get them to do what I say, and not change any setting, and actually monitor what's being recorded?
 
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harmonica44 said:
So can I fix these exposure changes in post then? I was told the Adobe package comes with a color program that should fix it.
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Ehhhh, yes it's technically possible, but seeing as you're new I'd say skip it and chalk it up to experience. Not the easiest fix. Keyframing the adjustments shouldn't be too hard, but exactly matching the frame before it as it stops up or down will need a lot of patience and a trained eye. It's not just "brightness".

Production Premium CS5.5 comes with After Effects. After Effects is the "take any type of video in, do anything you want to it, spit it out however you want" program. It's awesome software, but has a learning curve.

Edit: Actually I take that back. As your aperture is changing the DOF is changing, so it's much harder because you'll have to rotoscope objects and add blur to match the DOF in whatever segment has the most shallow. A subtle change, but if you want exact then....
 
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Directors make decisions. Directors are opinionated. Good directors listen to input. But all directors make decisions (and those directions are to be followed).

Brutal honesty -- I don't think you've got it in you. You ask way too many questions, stuff that could be answered in mere seconds by simply doing a google search. You show absolutely no confidence in what you do.

And for the ultra-low-budget indie scene, you really need to project a great deal of confidence to succeed. I imagine that is also probably true at the real-budget level.

Grow a pair. Or quit.
 
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I think you'll just have to fire them. This is not a charity you're running. A friend is replaceable. You can always find a new one.



Just Kidding.


But remember your friends are donating their time for your thing. Like wiser people have said: this is team building, start with short shorts, you generally get further with honey than with vinegar. Maybe you'll just have to be tenacious. Ask for retakes until they get tired of trying to do their own thing, just want to give you what you're after, and they start calling you David Fincher.

Just kidding.

About the nickname calling.

P.S. I'm sure it was Alcove Audio who mentioned in a recent post that it's much better to get what you want, get it right in the first place in production, rather than just hoping it can be fixed in post. He was talking about audio, but I'm sure it's true for everthing else too. Not to knock what magic can be done in post though.
 
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"Directors make decisions. Directors are opinionated. Good directors listen to input. But all directors make decisions (and those directions are to be followed)."

Yep, I'm going to respectfully listen to your input (if it isn't offered too often and it comes through the chain of command on set). Then I'm going to do what I think is right no matter what anybody else thinks about it. Once I say 'This is how we are going to do it", then that's how we do it. If you don't like it, then I guess you know where you parked your car.
 
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This is what the extensive preproduction is all about. You lay down exactly what you want to do and how you want to get it done. Your department heads inform you of the possible technical and budget problems, and, if they prove to be an obstacle, you discuss the options with them. During this process they also make artistic suggestions that you can approve or not as you see fit. This is when the shooting schedule is set in stone, and there should be no deviations without very good cause.

Your word is law. You direct people to do exactly what you want. If they cannot accept their role as working for a director and doing precisely what the director wants them to do, even in an unpaid situation, they should not be in the business.

What you have described are a few of the myriad reasons why so many here on IndieTalk have been telling you that your first couple of projects will suck, especially if you are working without a budget. You find the folks you want to work with on a consistent basis and weed out the anal sphincters. However, this is when you must prove your leadership ability and that you have a viable and cohesive creative vision that makes all of their efforts worth their time expenditure.

richy said:
P.S. I'm sure it was Alcove Audio who mentioned in a recent post that it's much better to get what you want, get it right in the first place in production, rather than just hoping it can be fixed in post. He was talking about audio, but I'm sure it's true for everthing else too. Not to knock what magic can be done in post though.
Click to expand...

It comes down to the difference between polishing a diamond and polishing a turd.
 
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Show them the problem footage as well, so they know what not to do and why its bad. If you teach them, you'll get the results you want every time -- because they've learned from you.
 
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Thanks, I already showed them. We did another scene today, after before that I gave them the talk. No one behind the camera moved the aperture or anything without my permission. The camera friend is also acting so other actors have to take her spot, when she's on screen. But with the constant sunlight change I had to change the aperture a few times, to try to make the shots match up continuously.

I'm worried that there is a section of dark shots in the middle, possibly with red grain, cause I didn't catch the sun change, till near the end of the shoot, and by that time it was too late to go back and reshoot, with the location schedule and all. We'll see. Can red grain be moved with After Effects, even if you make the colors brighter?
 
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have to agree with alcove audio.....his is sage advice.

you have to remember real filmaking is a dictatorship not a democracy.

the director is in charge, the dop is his second in command
but both bow to the power of the first assistant director

the director and dop should have worked out the look and shot list
in pre production.

the first ad creates the schedule and makes sure everybody sticks to it including the director and dop.

on the shoot all the crew should bow to these three.

as the director your word is law unless the dept heads have a technical issue with what you need to achieve.

the crew have no right to make suggestions to the director unless
specifically asked (dont speak unless spoken to)

if they need to vent they should go to the first ad

grips and gaffers go to the dop. everybody else goes to the first ad

you need to build a chain of command from the first day. a professional crew will know all this.

i think you need a dop who is dedicated to just operating the camera and lighting. this is a fulltime job and needs to be done without distractions. as you have found out distractions cause problems.

i have gaffered on 8 major features and hundreds of short films
and on any of those if crew had made unasked for suggestions to the director he would have been fired.

there is a reason for this strict protocol.....if everyone has a say nothing gets done but talk...... thats why pre prod meetings go so long.

cheers
ian
 
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