Student and Instructor Resources

Working with Actors

• Changing Direction: A Practical Approach to Directing Actors in Films and Theater, Lenore DeKoven, Focal Press, 2006.
• Directing Actors:  Creating Memorable Performances for Film and Television, Judith Weston, Michael Wiese Productions, 1996
• The Film Director’s Intuition: Script Analysis and Rehearsal Techniques, Judith Weston, Michael Wiese Productions, 2003.

The Craft of Directing

• Directors Tell the Story:  Master The Craft of Television & Film Directing, Bethany Rooney and Mary Lou Belli, Focal Press, 2011.
• Directing Film Techniques and Aesthetics, 3rd Ed., Michael Rabiger, Focal Press, 2003.
• Directing Feature Films: The Creative Collaboration Between Director, Writers and Actors, Mark W. Travis, Michael Wiese Productions, 2002.
• Making Movies, Sidney Lumet, Vintage, 1996.
• I Was Interrupted: Nicholas Ray On Making Movies, Edited by Susan Ray, University of California Press, 1993.
• Kazan On Directing, Elia Kazan, Vintage Books, 2009.
• On Filmmaking: An Introduction to The Craft of the Director, Alexander Mackendrick, Faber & Faber, 2005.

Editing

• The Technique of Film Editing, Karel Reisz, Focal Press, 1968.
• In The Blink of an Eye: A Perspective On Film Editing, Walter Murch, Silman-James Press, 2001.

Storyboarding

• From Word to Image: Storyboarding and The Filmmaking Process by Marcie Begleiter, Michael Wiese Productions, 2010

Electronic Resources

• AFI Catalog of Feature Films http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/search.aspx?s=
• DGA Visual History  http://www.dga.org/Craft/VisualHistory.aspx?Filter=Interviewees
• NY Times Interactive – Anatomy of a scene http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/movies/anatomyofascene-promo-page.html?ref=movies
• Every Frame a Painting https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2w4TvBbdQ3sMABf317ExCob_v6rW2-4s
• [in] Transitions a media commons Cinema Journal project: http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/intransition/

Films on Filmmaking & Filmmakers

• Stanley Kubrick:  A Life in Pictures (2007), Director Jan Harlan
• George Stevens:  A Filmmakers Journey (1984), Director George Stevens Jr.
• Directed by John Ford (2006), Director Peter Bogdonavich
• Billy Wilder Speaks (2006), Directors Volker Schlondorff, Gisela Grischow
• Fellini: I’m A Born Liar (2003), Director Damian Pettigrew
• Hearts of Darkness (1991), Directors Eleanor Coppola, George Hickenlooper, Fax Bahr
• Burden of Dreams (1982), Director Les Blank
• Lost in La Mancha (2003), Directors Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe
• Dangerous Days: The Making of Blade Runner (2007), Director Charles de Lauzirka
• Jodorowsky’s Dune (2013), Director Frank Pavich 
• Casting By (2013), Director Tom Donahue
• The Cutting Edge (1992), Director Wendy Apple
• Visions of Light (1992), Directors Todd McCarthy, Arnold Glassman, Stuart Samuels

Organizations or Festivals for Student and Emerging Film Directors

• NFFTY (National Film Festival for Talented Youth): https://www.nffty.org/our-organization/
• Telluride Film Festival Student Symposium: http://www.telluridefilmfestival.org/students
• Student Academy Awards: http://www.oscars.org/saa
• Directors Guild of America Student Film Awards for Women and Minority Directors:   https://www.dga.org/Awards/Students.aspx
• The American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at the Cannes Film Festival: http://www.ampav.com/index.php/student-programs/cannes-emerging-filmmaker-showcase/
• Sundance Institute (programs, support, articles, workshops):  www.sundance.org

Part One: Film Language and a Directing Methodology

1. Chapter 1 Introduction to Film Language and Grammar
1. The Film World
1. D.W. Griffith: For Love of Golf (1908), The Lonely Villa (1909), The Lonedale Operator (1911), Birth of a Nation (1915)
1. Griffith was one of the first to move the audience on to the stage
2. Film Language
1. Rope, Alfred Hitchcock (1948)
1. The design of the scene, there are only nine sentences/shots
3. The 180-Degree Rule
1. Chinatown, Roman Polanski (1974)
1. During a hysterical outburst, Dunaway’s character’s position within the frame is changed forcefully by Nicholson’s character’s slap.
2. Taxi Driver, Martin Scorsese (1976)
1. The camera crosses the 180-degree line four times as Betsy (Cybill Shepherd) is pursued by Travis (Robert De Niro)
4. The 30-Degree Rule
1. The Birds, Alfred Hitchcock (1963)
1. Hitchcock ignores this rule to “punch up” the discovery of the body of a man with a series of three shots from the same angle
5. Screen Direction
1. Vertigo, Alfred Hitchcock (1958)
1. Maximum tension is created when Jimmy Steward climbs up the winding staircase right to left.
6. Elaboration
1. Notorious, Alfred Hitchcock (1946)
1. Stretching time in the staircase scene at the end
2. On the Waterfront, Elia Kazan (1954)
1. Marlon Brando walks through the crowd of dockworkers at the end
3. The Godfather Part II, Francis Ford Coppola (1987)
1. Moving into a tight close up of the tortured face of Michael (Al Pacino)
4. Rendezvous in Paris, Eric Rohmer (1998, France)
1. The protagonist walks back to his studio in a series of protracted shots creating suspense
5. Starting Over, Alan J. Pakula (1979)
1. A long, slow tracking shot over the participants of a divorced men’s workshop elicits a mood
7. Familiar Image
1. Lancelot du Lac, Robert Bresson (1975, France)
1. A repeated solitary shot of a small gothic window creates meaning
2. Notorious, Alfred Hitchcock (1946)
1. The long tracking shot of front entrance to the Nazi spy’s mansion prepares the audience for the reverse exit
3. Jaws, Steven Spielberg (1975)
1. The yellow barrel is pulled out of frame and then returns in a later image
2. Chapter 2 Introduction to the Dramatic Elements Embedded in the Screenplay
1. Spines
1. A Streetcar Named Desire, Elia Kazan (1951)
1. Kazan’s thorough and insightful detective work on Blanche’s spine
2. 8 ½, Federico Fellini (1963, Italy)
1. The spines of the film and the major characters are explored
2. Whose Film Is It?
1. Notorious, Alfred Hitchcock (1946)
1. A case where the protagonist, Ingrid Bergman’s character (Alicia), does not drive the action throughout the entire film
2. Films with no central protagonist or serial protagonists:
1. Nashville, Robert Altman (1975)
2. Street of Shame, Kenji Mizoguchi (1956, Japan)
3. Hannah and Her Sisters, Woody Allen (1986)
4. Little Miss Sunshine, Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris (2006)
5. Little Children, Todd Field (2006)
3. Character
1. Films with complicated characters:
1. 8 ½, Federico Fellini (1963, Italy)
2. Citizen Kane, Orson Welles (1941)
3. Casablanca, Michael Curtiz (1942)
4. The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola (1972)
5. A Streetcar Named Desire, Elia Kazan (1951)
6. A Beautiful Mind, Ron Howard (2001)
7. Away From Her, Sarah Poley (2006)
8. Interview, Steve Buscemi (2007)
3. Chapter 3 Organizing Action in a Dramatic Scene
1. Dramatic Elements in Hitchcock’s Notorious Patio Scene
1. Notorious, Alfred Hitchcock (1946)
4. Chapter 4 Staging
1. Vertigo, Alfred Hitchcock (1958)
1. A man sitting on the desk while another man sits behind it indicates the nature of the relationship
2. Swept Away… Lina Wertmuller (1974, Italy)
1. Staging orients the viewer to the varied geography of the island
3. Gandhi, Richard Attenborough (1982)
1. Gandhi serving tea during a meeting where staging punctuates actions
4. Tokyo Story, Yasujiro Ozu (1953, Japan)
1. Staging helps create a frame for the camera to render
1. Pattern of Dramatic Movement
2. Characters A and B are Apart and They Come Together
1. Swept Away… Lina Wertmuller (1974, Italy)
1. In one panning shot, the characters are far apart, one on a hilltop and the other below on a beach.  Later, they are intertwined.
3. Characters A and B are Together and They Come Apart
1. Notorious, Alfred Hitchcock (1946)
1. The patio scene is a clear example of this type of staging
2. In the Heat of the Night, Norman Jewison (1967)
1. The pattern occurs over the entire movie (apart, together, apart, together)
4. Changing the Stage Within a Scene
1. Vertigo, Alfred Hitchcock (1958)
1. In one scene, the “stage” is changed from beside a gnarled tree to the rocks abutting the ocean below.
2. A Streetcar Named Desire, Elia Kazan (1951)
1. When Mitch takes Blanche on a date, the stage changes from public (dance hall) to intimate (small table) then to the mist covered end of the pier.
5. Floor Plan for Notorious Patio Scene
1. Notorious, Alfred Hitchcock (1946)
5. Chapter 5 Camera
1. Reveal
1. The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola (1972)
1. Powerful reveal of the horse head
2. Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Steven Spielberg (1977)
1. Reveal of the spaceship behind Richard Dreyfus’s pickup truck
2. Reveal of final form of the clay mountain created by Dreyfus’s character
3. The Host, Junho Bung (2006, Korea)
1. The young girl in the grasp of the monster
4. 8 ½, Federico Fellini (1963, Italy)
1. The protagonist’s face for the first time
2. Objective Camera
1. The Searchers, John Ford (1956)
1. Visual motif – a closed-down frame through a doorway
2. 8 ½, Federico Fellini (1963, Italy)
1. Visual motif – the spotlight
3. Subjective Camera
1. Notorious (Hitchcock, 1946)
1. Hitchcock uses an active (interpretive) camera as well as a subjective voice
4. Where Do I Put It?
1. The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola (1972)
1. The many characters are kept alive in scenes which do not feature them
2. All That Jazz, Bob Fosse (1979)
1. The introduction of the staircase in the protagonist’s apartment to prepare the audience for its dramatic use later on
3. Raging Bull, Martin Scorsese (1980)
1. Use of slow motion in the opening prepares the audience for recurring use of this visual motif
4. Breathless, Jean-Luc Godard (1959, France)
1. Introduction of the jump cut in the first few minutes of the film
5. Vertigo, Alfred Hitchcock (1958)
1. After careful establishment of geography, Hitchcock uses three-minute delay in resolving spatial separation when Madeline leaves the room.
5. Visual Design
1. 8 ½, Federico Fellini, (1963, Italy)
1. Guido floats over traffic in the opening – image of freedom
2. 400 Blows, Francois Truffaut (1959, France)
1. Freeze frame of the young protagonist at the end
3. Raging Bull, Martin Scorsese (1980)
1. Conscious design can be seen throughout. Boxing sequences with staccato rhythm, private life shown in longer “lyrical” shots. In one beautifully choreographed shot, LaMotta brings his wife into the bedroom for the first time
6. Style
1. The Celebration, Thomas Vinterberg (1998, Denmark)
1. Example of Dogme 95 style
2. La Strada, Federico Fellini (1954, Italy)
1. Neo-realistic style is very different from later work
3. Streets of Shame, Kenji Mizoguchi (1956, Japan)
1. Significantly more multi-angularity (cutting from one shot to another) than his other films
4. Rendezvous in Paris, Eric Rohmer (1996, France)
1. Extremely fluid camera
5. Jules and Jim, Francois Truffaut (1961, France)
1. Kinetic camera at the start for youth, later use of static camera for adults
7. Coverage
1. Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola (1979)
1. Lunch scene between Captain Willard and the general a good example of coverage design that is not generic
2. Amadeus, Milos Forman (1984)
1. Use of a two-camera setup to film the scene where Mozart dictates his Requiem to Salieri.
8. Camera Height
1. A Touch of Evil, Orson Welles (1958)
1. Low angle on “men capable of evil” creates a sense of menace
2. 12 Angry Men, Sydney Lumet (1957)
1. Changing camera height raises tension as the movie progresses
9. Lenses
1. Citizen Kane, Orson Welles (1941)
1. Extreme depth of field created by wide angle lenses and light
2. La Dolce Vita, Federico Fellini (1960, Italy)
1. Using only long lenses creates a shallow depth of field
3. 12 Angry Men, Sydney Lumet (1957)
1. Changing to longer lenses as the picture continues increases tension and claustrophobia.  Final shot is the widest-angle and highest above-eye-level position to give relief.
6. Chapter 6 Camera in Notorious Patio Scene
1. Notorious, Alfred Hitchcock (1946)

Part Three: Organzing Action in an Action Scene

1. Reference films to study where master directors have rendered action scenes:
1. The Seven Samurai, Akira Kurosawa (1954, Japan)
2. The French Connection, William Friedkin (1971)
3. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Ang Lee (2000, China)
4. Gladiator (2000) and Black Hawk Down (2001), Ridley Scott
5. Master and Commander, Peter Weir (2003)
6. Flags of Our Fathers, Clint Eastwood (2005)
7. The Host, Junho Bung (2006, Korea)
8. The Bourne Ultimatum, Paul Greengrass (2007)
7. Chapter 13 Staging and Camera for Over Easy Action Scene

Part Four: Organizing Action in a Narrative Scene

8. Chapter 14 Staging and Camera for Wanda Narrative Scene
1. Wanda, Barbara Loden, (1971)
1. On DVD - Scene 20, “The Andersons)

Part Five: Learning The Craft Through Film Analysis

9. Chapter 15 Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious
1. Notorious, Alfred Hitchcock (1946)
10. Chapter 16 Peter Weir’s The Truman Show
1. The Truman Show, Peter Weir (1998)
11. Chapter 17 Federico Fellini’s 8 ½
1. 8 ½, Federico Fellini (1963, Italy)
12. Chapter 18 Styles and Dramatic Structures
1. Style
1. Stranger Than Paradise, Jim Jarmusch (1984)
1. Film was shot on “short-ends” leading to style of short one-take scenes separated by black
2. Natural Born Killers, Oliver Stone (1984) and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Terry Gilliam (1998)
1. Films where a unique style is “invented” for a specific story
2. The Variety of Dramatic Structures
1. Classic three-act structure
1. Notorious, Alfred Hitchcock (1946)
2. The Truman Show, Peter Weir (1998)
3. 8 ½, Federico Fellini (1963, Italy)
2. Umbrella structure – multi-character stories subsumed under an “umbrella” of:
1. Theme – Little Children, Todd Field (2006)
2. Spine – Hannah and Her Sisters, Woody Allen (1986)
3. Location – Nashville, Robert Altman (1975)
3. Tokyo Story, Yasujiro Ozu (1953, Japan)
4. Some Like It Hot, Billy Wilder (1959)
5. The Battle of Algiers, Gillo Pontecorvo (1965, France)
6. Red, Krzysztof Kieslowski (1994, Poland, France, Switzerland)
7. Sex, Lies and Videotape, Steven Soderbergh (1989)
8. Shall We Dance?  Masayuki Sui (1996, Japan)
9. The Celebration, Thomas Vinterberg (1998, Denmark)
10. The Insider, Michael Mann (1999)
11. The Thin Red Line, Terrence Malick (1998)
12. In the Mood For Love, Wong Kar-wai (2001, China)