All in all I'm not the best screenwriter ever, and that's mainly due to the fact that I have a hard time of coming up with a good, interesting story to tell. So that begs some questions, does one have to be able to write a good screenplay to be a good director? And what's the correlation between the two jobs in terms of coming up with the story? (If that makes any sense) I'm really curious about this...
Do you have to be a good screenwriter to be a good director?
- Thread starter beamazed
- Start date
Not necessarily, no. Not all directors are writers, and certainly not all writers are directors. What you need to be a good director is good overall vision of a script, that you're able to clearly communicate to all the various people on set. Also good rapport with your actors is pretty essential as well.
Have you ever told a joke? Did you spend time and effort setting up the punchline? Have you ever tried to scare your niece or nephew by telling them a scary story? did you build it up, so they would be most scared?
I think that's all directing is. You take a story and figure out how to best deliver it. I think if you just try to figure out how to tell a story in the best way you possibly can, that will answer your questions. You don't have to live up to somebody else's standard of whether you are a good scriptwriter to feel good about yourself as a director.
You want to tell a story? Tell it!! Tell it the best way you can. In the meantime, learn how to manage the human beings who will help you to tell that story.
Cheers
I think that's all directing is. You take a story and figure out how to best deliver it. I think if you just try to figure out how to tell a story in the best way you possibly can, that will answer your questions. You don't have to live up to somebody else's standard of whether you are a good scriptwriter to feel good about yourself as a director.
You want to tell a story? Tell it!! Tell it the best way you can. In the meantime, learn how to manage the human beings who will help you to tell that story.
Cheers
No, you do not have to be a good writer to be a good director.
Writing..., well, practical writing for self-direction, involves creativity of crafting a story with available or attainable resources; equipment, locations, cast and crew, budget, and time.
Mostly it's creativity + planning.
Directing is whole lot more difficult.
Thinking of stuff is nothing compared to actually doing it and spending money and social capital to make ideas reality.
Plus, there's managing the icky sloppyness of people.
A director has to manage cast and crew both on set and their schedules even getting them to the set - in addition managing materials.
Often writer-directors are also producers and (poor) promoters.
Thinking up of sh!t is relatively easy.
Actually getting something made is considerably more difficult.
In other words a great screenwriter with hard drive gold is less valuable than a poor director getting lousy product to market.
Writing..., well, practical writing for self-direction, involves creativity of crafting a story with available or attainable resources; equipment, locations, cast and crew, budget, and time.
Mostly it's creativity + planning.
Directing is whole lot more difficult.
Thinking of stuff is nothing compared to actually doing it and spending money and social capital to make ideas reality.
Plus, there's managing the icky sloppyness of people.
A director has to manage cast and crew both on set and their schedules even getting them to the set - in addition managing materials.
Often writer-directors are also producers and (poor) promoters.
Thinking up of sh!t is relatively easy.
Actually getting something made is considerably more difficult.
In other words a great screenwriter with hard drive gold is less valuable than a poor director getting lousy product to market.
I will agree that writing a pos is easier than directing a pos.
But when it comes to making something great… i do not agree
Consider this POV:
Screenwriter A has not one but FIVE various award and finalist screenplays on his/her hard drive at home.
Director filmmaker B has one really cr@ppy film complete with IMDB credits and a createspace account (or like) from where he/she actually does sell physical DVDs, downloads, and rents.
Which is better?
Hard drive gold X5 doing nothing or a single cr@ppy product getting sold?
What I'm arguing is that "No" you don't have to be a good screenwriter to be a good director.
It's better to be a good director and a mediocre screenwriter than the other way around.
Heck, even a mediocre screenwriter getting a poor film directed and out there is better than a great screenwriter getting nothing really done.
Screenwriter A has not one but FIVE various award and finalist screenplays on his/her hard drive at home.
Director filmmaker B has one really cr@ppy film complete with IMDB credits and a createspace account (or like) from where he/she actually does sell physical DVDs, downloads, and rents.
Which is better?
Hard drive gold X5 doing nothing or a single cr@ppy product getting sold?
What I'm arguing is that "No" you don't have to be a good screenwriter to be a good director.
It's better to be a good director and a mediocre screenwriter than the other way around.
Heck, even a mediocre screenwriter getting a poor film directed and out there is better than a great screenwriter getting nothing really done.
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Okay how about this.. which is better.. screen writer sells a screenplay for 500,000 and has tons of offers for his next work
director sells a POS that everyone makes fun of and he barely earns his money back
if we're going to tilt the scales however we want, it's easy to make one sound better than the other
consider this.. if you took an average director and then gave him a quentin tarintino script, how many people would go see that and how much money would it make? perhaps that one that leaked, since he doesn't want to make it anymore..
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Well, that's certainly true.
No contest.
$500k is some legit dough.
Problem is is that anyone around here considering being writer-director probably isn't going to be getting paid $500k to write and then get paid again to direct.
I'm thinking the OP is thinking about writing and direct him/herself.
In which case - don't handicap yourself at the starting block thinking your screenplay isn't good enough.
You're best off getting a poor product to market than nothing at all.
Just be mindful of estimated revenue vs. actual whole-production costs.
IMHO, of course.
No contest.
$500k is some legit dough.
Problem is is that anyone around here considering being writer-director probably isn't going to be getting paid $500k to write and then get paid again to direct.
I'm thinking the OP is thinking about writing and direct him/herself.
In which case - don't handicap yourself at the starting block thinking your screenplay isn't good enough.
You're best off getting a poor product to market than nothing at all.
Just be mindful of estimated revenue vs. actual whole-production costs.
IMHO, of course.
my main point is you're saying thinking up shit is relatively easy.. i believe rik at one point said he read hundreds of screen plays and only gave a consider to like one or two ..
a great screen play is a rare rare thing, and if you start with that even a totally average unspectacular director can make a good movie from it IMO. certainly more logistics as a director, but directing is actually fun. writing is lonely and all work.
a great screen play is a rare rare thing, and if you start with that even a totally average unspectacular director can make a good movie from it IMO. certainly more logistics as a director, but directing is actually fun. writing is lonely and all work.
Here's my take on it - and admittedly I'm very biased, as I'm a writer not a director (but I've found a good director who I like to work with).
A bad director and/or bad actors can ruin a good screenplay.
But a good (or great) director and/or actors can't save a bad screenplay.
A bad director and/or bad actors can ruin a good screenplay.
But a good (or great) director and/or actors can't save a bad screenplay.
Oh, yeah, for sure.
Lotta cr@ppy writers out there looking for some sap to pay for directing and producing their rubbish.
Anyone looking for someone else to fund their folly is... optimistic.
Directing is, and may be, fun for many.
Writing is a lot of work, but alone it doesn't really bring a product to market.
And from the way the question was posed I think the OP is considering writer-director, which is really the most likely way to get anything done, good or bad.
I think it's not so much of a qualitative either/or question, but more of a quantitative "how much of A vs. B?" sorta thing.
And I think it's appropriate to back the truck up a little and agree with you that I'd much rather begin a good production with a good screenplay.
Getting all the assets in place is kinduva hassle whether it's for a good, great, or poor screenplay, so... spend your time and resources appropriately.
True, Mara.
Lotta cr@ppy writers out there looking for some sap to pay for directing and producing their rubbish.
Anyone looking for someone else to fund their folly is... optimistic.
Directing is, and may be, fun for many.
Writing is a lot of work, but alone it doesn't really bring a product to market.
And from the way the question was posed I think the OP is considering writer-director, which is really the most likely way to get anything done, good or bad.
I think it's not so much of a qualitative either/or question, but more of a quantitative "how much of A vs. B?" sorta thing.
And I think it's appropriate to back the truck up a little and agree with you that I'd much rather begin a good production with a good screenplay.
Getting all the assets in place is kinduva hassle whether it's for a good, great, or poor screenplay, so... spend your time and resources appropriately.
True, Mara.
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Well they are definitely two different kinds of crafts ... But I feel that a director more than screenwriting should dive into dramatic structure and dramaturgy. That definitely helps A LOT to translate actions into a scene and then into a film. It's all about the driving force of the characters, but it is pretty complex as any action/reaction of a character is related to something else ( not necessarily the "big goal" of the story) ... I feel I'm getting a little off but dramaturgy definitely helps imho. Ah David Mamet docet.
Also check what billy wilder said answering " do you have to be a good writer to be a good director ?"
Also check what billy wilder said answering " do you have to be a good writer to be a good director ?"
Making up compelling shit is absolutely the hardest thing. Even A List writers often cannot do it. You can make a bad movie from a great concept, but you cannot make a great movie from a bad concept. It's the hardest thing. Hollywood cannot do it consistently and it's one reason they keep making adaptations of existing properties.