I have been making films ever since I was ten years old (short, crappy films, and I've had two very long hiatuses during this time) and I am now fifteen. Although I have been making films for all of this time, I think only recently I have seriously think about directing and what importance it has to the films.
But what importance does it have to the film? I would really like some advice in regards to directing, so that I can improve.
I never really thought of my films visually. As long as you could see what you needed to see, right? I often didn't have time to thoroughly direct a scene and make it looks beautiful. Furthermore, I was always darting back and forth between setting up the camera and then acting in the film itself - this is what happens when you're fifteen and trying to make films with a bunch of reluctant friends. Now, I am trying to think of my films more visually. It's hard with the restrictions I have - time, people, resources, no professional lighting, less than ideal sets... but I want to improve how my films look.
My brother, who also makes films, once said to me my films don't look like films. They look like videos. I want them to look more like films. I understand how different angles can evoke different emotions in the viewer. It's just finding how to use these in my own films. What I tend to write are comedy-dramas - it's all very vague. There's no set genre for my films. A lot of the scenes are people sitting around talking. How can I make this more interesting? Movement seems key - having the characters move around the set and interact with objects and one another. But I find it hard to use this in my films. Furthermore, I find it difficult to not use a close-up or a mid-shot for every line of dialogue, then to cut back and forth between the actors. I always think of films in terms of the script first, then the direction second. I try to have every line have significance, to have a slight "punch" to it. Therefore I get the feeling that if I don't use a mid-shot or a close-up for certain lines of dialogue, people miss them. But I use this far too frequently, and I need to stop.
Woody Allen films are often a whole lot of talking and not much else. And when I say Woody Allen films, I really just mean "Annie Hall" and "Manhattan". But they still look visually great. Is this to do with the direction specifically, or just due to the environment they were filmed in, the tall interesting buildings of New York?
What I really want to do is use depth of focus, where I can either blur out the foreground of background so the viewer can focus on what I want them to focus on. However, I'm using a relatively cheap HD Digital Camera, which cannot do this.
It's all very confusing. I really need some direction when it comes to directing. I need to improve.
So, for those who skip to the end of the post instead of reading the entire thing, I'll make it simple:
How do I become a better director? And how do I direct conversation scenes, where people are just sitting around, and make them look interesting?
I'm going to post some examples of my work so that people can understand what I mean.
This is the first part of Dateless Losers, the last film in my "traditional" style that I made (although my style has developed and become more sophisticated since, I reckon). You can probably see what I mean about most of it being just conversations:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGUrtWxuwPE
This is Snakes in a House, the most recent film I have finished. It's only a short flick, and it's a lot more surreal and "action packed" than previous things I've done. But, whatever...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC3MkgCeFYw
So advice on directing would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
Dim.
But what importance does it have to the film? I would really like some advice in regards to directing, so that I can improve.
I never really thought of my films visually. As long as you could see what you needed to see, right? I often didn't have time to thoroughly direct a scene and make it looks beautiful. Furthermore, I was always darting back and forth between setting up the camera and then acting in the film itself - this is what happens when you're fifteen and trying to make films with a bunch of reluctant friends. Now, I am trying to think of my films more visually. It's hard with the restrictions I have - time, people, resources, no professional lighting, less than ideal sets... but I want to improve how my films look.
My brother, who also makes films, once said to me my films don't look like films. They look like videos. I want them to look more like films. I understand how different angles can evoke different emotions in the viewer. It's just finding how to use these in my own films. What I tend to write are comedy-dramas - it's all very vague. There's no set genre for my films. A lot of the scenes are people sitting around talking. How can I make this more interesting? Movement seems key - having the characters move around the set and interact with objects and one another. But I find it hard to use this in my films. Furthermore, I find it difficult to not use a close-up or a mid-shot for every line of dialogue, then to cut back and forth between the actors. I always think of films in terms of the script first, then the direction second. I try to have every line have significance, to have a slight "punch" to it. Therefore I get the feeling that if I don't use a mid-shot or a close-up for certain lines of dialogue, people miss them. But I use this far too frequently, and I need to stop.
Woody Allen films are often a whole lot of talking and not much else. And when I say Woody Allen films, I really just mean "Annie Hall" and "Manhattan". But they still look visually great. Is this to do with the direction specifically, or just due to the environment they were filmed in, the tall interesting buildings of New York?
What I really want to do is use depth of focus, where I can either blur out the foreground of background so the viewer can focus on what I want them to focus on. However, I'm using a relatively cheap HD Digital Camera, which cannot do this.
It's all very confusing. I really need some direction when it comes to directing. I need to improve.
So, for those who skip to the end of the post instead of reading the entire thing, I'll make it simple:
How do I become a better director? And how do I direct conversation scenes, where people are just sitting around, and make them look interesting?
I'm going to post some examples of my work so that people can understand what I mean.
This is the first part of Dateless Losers, the last film in my "traditional" style that I made (although my style has developed and become more sophisticated since, I reckon). You can probably see what I mean about most of it being just conversations:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGUrtWxuwPE
This is Snakes in a House, the most recent film I have finished. It's only a short flick, and it's a lot more surreal and "action packed" than previous things I've done. But, whatever...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC3MkgCeFYw
So advice on directing would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
Dim.
