Directors Tell the Story

by Bethany Rooney

  The location manager will not show you pictures of a location you cannot choose. In other words, the basics have been done. The owner has been approached, has given tentative approval, and the preliminary requirements (getting a permit, parking, and neighborhood viability) have been deemed possible. Once the director has chosen a location, the work begins in earnest. Sometimes that means getting the permission of every property owner in the vicinity and sometimes that kind of saturation approval is impossible. It always means getting a permit from the local government and preposting in the neighborhood to make sure parking is available. If it’s a residential neighborhood, it means ascertaining that you can complete the work and exit the area by 11:00 p.m., which is often the local government requirement. And most important, it means negotiating with the location owner on the site rental. Sometimes a deal cannot be made. So there is a decent chance that the location you picked for artistic reasons will be denied to you for practical reasons. In that case, you go back to the drawing board, have a backup plan, and continue on with your prep. In our experience, you always end up with the right place anyway. It may take more creativity, but it always ends up with you shooting somewhere, and it turns out to be the exact perfect place.

  If necessary, go back to the drawing board, have a backup plan, and continue on with your prep. In our experience, you always end up with the right place anyway.

  THE TECHNICAL SCOUT (A.K.A. THE BIG VAN)

  At the end of your prep, you will go back to your chosen location(s) for a technical scout (tech scout). This time, in addition to those who previously scouted the location, you will take the following crewmembers:

  You will talk them through each of your angles, especially for exterior locations. Everyone needs to know what will be seen and what will not be seen on camera so they can plan ahead.

  director of photography (DP)

  transportation coordinator

  art director

  set decorator (set dec)

  leadman (set dec’s second-in-command)

  electric best boy (reports to the gaffer)

  grip best boy (reports to the key grip)

  rigging gaffer

  2nd 2nd AD

  Each of those people are responsible for duties that need to be done at this location, and each of them will have questions. Once the group has assembled at the location, the first order of business is for you, the director, to explain how you plan to shoot the scenes. It is critical to be specific and thorough, so your crew can prepare themselves to do their best work. So you will talk them through each of your angles, especially for exterior locations. Everyone needs to know what will be seen and what will not be seen on camera so they can plan ahead.

  The transportation (often shortened to “transpo”) coordinator will want to know where to park the trucks and the generator. The DP will want to know exactly where you plan to put the camera and what the scope is of each shot. If you plan to use a crane, you will discuss where to put its base and how you plan to use the arm’s sweeping motion. Figure 9-1 gives you an idea of the size of a crane on the location of Brothers & Sisters. The DP will also discuss with the best boys and the rigging gaffer how to prerig with lights and their cables ahead of time so that there is more time for actual shooting. The art department will be interested in what needs to be taken out of the location and what needs to be provided in the way of production design. The assistant directors will discuss where to put the people: actors, extras, and caterer. Everyone will base their decisions on what the director has specified, so it is vitally important that the blocking and shot listing has been completed. If you need to return to the location after the initial scout but before the tech scout to walk through the set and finalize your shot list, that can absolutely be arranged.

  FIGURE 9-1 A location with the arm of the technocrane in the center of the photo. (Brothers & Sisters trademarks and copyrighted material have been used with the permission of ABC Studios.)

  If you don’t arrange for this interim scout, the skills of remembering a location become very important. The production designer will make sure that you receive a floor plan of this location, and you can plan your shots based on that. However, many directors feel more confident about their blocking when they have planned it while revisiting the space without a lot of crewmembers in tow.

  Improve Your Visual Memory

  Go to a mall. Visit a small store, a restroom, and a restaurant. Leave. From memory, draw a basic floor plan for each location. Note doors, windows, and larger pieces of furniture and/or appliances. Place a compass next to each drawing to indicate geographical direction.

  SHOOTING AT YOUR LOCATION (A.K.A. PUTTING THE MONEY ON THE SCREEN)

  Once the shooting day arrives, remember to actually shoot the location in a way that shows why you picked it. If it’s a grand location, show it. Shoot a wide shot that encompasses all the location’s qualities. If you picked it for its texture and history, show that too. Make sure that the location’s storytelling contribution is actually on film, because it’s easy to forget that when you are in the midst of a hectic day. We repeat: your location is a character in the story too!

  Going on location is the filming equivalent of the circus coming to town. There are a lot of people, a lot of equipment, and the production company is going to pitch their tent and do a show for a day or two (or more, especially if it’s a feature). And then they’re going to pack up again and move somewhere else—ideally, leaving the location intact, without damage or destruction. It will be noisy and chaotic and will interrupt the usual everyday pattern of the site. But if it’s done well, with adequate preparation and with respect for those whose lives are disrupted, it can be fun, productive, and bring a sense of verisimilitude that only a real place can bring to storytelling.

  Insider Info

  How Do You Work with Directors?

  First off, at the beginning of each new project or episode, I try to find a common visual approach to the story with the director. This common approach can come from sharing a passion for favorite directors, genres, or specific films. I’m a student of cinema, so if I can understand right off where a director is coming from in terms of their approach to the narrative, I find that very helpful before I begin pulling location files. If need be, I try to suggest film references, like the seedy quality of the inner city from The French Connection or Mean Streets or “Are you thinking it’s like that 1980s Spielberg neighborhood from E.T.?” I find it helpful to agree on a starting point on which to base the search.

  To that end, I try to ask as many qualifying questions as possible prior to assembling a location concept meeting based on an initial creative and concept discussion with the director. If possible, I use a website to post a variety of location ideas to try and engage the director so that we are in agreement on a look before spending valuable scouting resources.

  Second, I work very hard at listening to what the director and production designer are trying to communicate because finding the right location is often about more than just the exterior look. Interiors need to work as well, especially in budget-conscious shows on which additional set decoration or logistics issues (filming on the third floor of an office tower, for instance) could create additional production costs and unwelcome logistics.

  What Would You Like Directors to Know About Location Managing?

  Be patient! Seriously, one of the hardest jobs in film is working directly with the public in the locations department. The public’s sense of time and urgency are often very much at odds with the filmmaking process. Also, certain looks may not exist in the area that your production is based in, so understand that a specific look may not be available or exist exactly how you might have originally envisioned.

  Be curious. Seek to understand the processes of the location manager you are working with. Find a common language. Ask questions about how they present location files: do they show their best choice first or last? Do they hold back files that are not completely qualified? Are they actuall
y scouting locations personally or are they managing a team of location scouts? How many days are required to permit a specific location? What kind of information do they need from you to make the search easier?

  Be prepared. Any “tone boards” or location concept examples that you can provide for a location manager at the beginning can be very helpful in creating a pathway to success.

  What is Your Best Advice for Young Directors?

  Location scouting is a process, so make sure you understand your own process and communicate clearly how you work best with the production designer, AD, and location manager so that they can adjust to your style.

  Don’t get yourself hung up on whether it may be the perfect location based on the location reference photos; sometimes it’s best to get into the van and begin walking through several choices in person. The reality is that “being” in the real location and “looking” at the reference photos are often very different experiences. More often than not, the process of eliminating locations with your production team will jump-start the creative process, allowing you to discover what may actually be the best set of elements necessary to create the right look or what type of practical location may be best suited for the story (which is part of the fun of making a film!).

  Be aware of how the sun is going to interact, either positively or not, with your location choice. If you have an iPhone, invest in Sun Seeker, a $4 app. It really helps pinpoint the exact path of the sun on your scheduled date. Communicate with your DP what kind of lighting choices are going to be most effective for your story and make sure that these conversations influence the kinds of location options you consider as a team.

  Michael Gazetas

  Location Manager

  Hellcats

  Vocabulary

  backlight

  bones

  condor

  crane

  green room

  holding area

  honeywagons

  location manager

  permit

  practical

  scout

  staging area

  standing set

  Teamster

  technical scout

  trailers

  video village

  Section One Review

  Prep

  During the week to ten days of prep, the director does critical work to prepare for the upcoming shoot. You intensely dissect the script, you discuss the tone of the show with the writer or showrunner, and you make creative decisions about how the story you’re telling should be translated to the screen, selecting every element that will appear in the frame. You also interact and share your vision with the team that you are now leading.

  Before you can do anything else, you break down the script for story and character. This is where your good reading skills come into play so that you can understand the structure, beginning with the inciting action and following the plot complications that propel you to the climax and wrap up in the dénouement. You identify the plot and subplots as well as the protagonist and antagonist of the story. You figure out how all these things fit together.

  You break down each character based on what the writer tells you, what the characters say about themselves, and what other characters say about the character. Then you examine what each character wants in each scene and what are the obstacles to that character achieving his intention. By the time you’ve done this, you are ready to cast the guest actors for your episode.

  Casting goes on throughout your prep or even until the very day an actor works. Not only does the actor have to be right for the role, but the casting director must also be able to close the deal. It is a time for you to select and sometimes fight for whom you want in the part. You get the opportunity in a casting session to evaluate talent and expand your knowledge of the character by critically watching the choices that every actor makes.

  Prep is when you work with the three key elements of the production design: style, color, and impact. You meet with your department heads for a concept meeting, which allows them to get the ball rolling in their individual areas of expertise. Most important, you interact with the production designer to create the overall look for the show. You give the costume designer an idea of how the characters are to be dressed, and the prop master starts finding or creating the things those characters will handle. You also discuss with the transportation coordinator any vehicles that you need for an episode, so he can find them. Prep is a time of answering questions and making decisions.

  It is also a time for creating a bond with your assistant director (AD) because this relationship is key when you are shooting. During prep, your 1st AD will walk you through the sets, board the script, and create a shooting schedule. He will also arrange all your meetings, including your location and technical scout (at which you will be determining what will happen when you come back to shoot, which you later communicate to the crew).

  The single most important thing you do during prep is block and shot list or storyboard. You visualize each scene and create motivated movement for the actors. Then you decide how you will shoot the script, paying specific attention to the beginning and ending of scenes and acts. This preparation work is fundamental to the next part of your directing job: the shoot.

  Section Two

  Shoot

  Overview

  What is the shoot? The shoot is the critical length of time it takes to complete principal photography. A primetime network episode usually shoots for somewhere between seven to ten days. It is also known as the production period.

  What does a director do during the shoot? The director shapes the actors’ performances and runs the set while those performances are being recorded on tape, film, or some other digital medium.

  Specifically, during the shoot, the director works closely with the actors in an atmosphere of trust and respect so that the actors’ performances tell the story as interpreted by the director. In addition, the director oversees all aspects of telling the story with the camera and sound recording equipment on the sets or within the locations selected so that the filming of the script is done in an orderly and efficient way in order to stay on time and within budget.

  It is a critical time for the director to lead. It is a magic time when everyone works together to create the director’s vision.

  Chapter 10

  Directing the Actor

  Volumes have been written about acting. Mary Lou coauthored one of them with actress and author Dinah Lenney, Acting for Young Actors (Back Stage Books). Bethany and Mary Lou believe that the more you know about the actor’s process, the better director you’ll be. So where do we start when talking about directing actors? Let’s begin with the 5 Ws: who, what, where, when, and why. These are the same words a journalist explores when writing the lead to a story to ensure that all the essential information is addressed in the first paragraph of a news article. An actor begins with those same words when finding out all the information about a character he is beginning to explore.

  THE ACTOR’S HOMEWORK: THE 5 Ws

  In acting, each word is the beginning of a question actors ask themselves about the characters they are playing, in order to provide the character with a point of view, or a way of being, within the world created by the script. Those questions are:

  Who am I?

  What do I want?

  Where am I?

  When is it?

  Why do I want what I want?

  Remember the COW chart from Chapter 2 when we talked about breaking down the script for character? This is the same work an actor hopefully does when approaching a character and asking him the first question: “Who am I?” (What does the Character say about herself, what do Others say about the character, and what does the Writer say?) The difference between the actor and director is what they do with the raw data. The information helps directors interpret the script. For the actor, the information is the first of many clues in a complex quest toward building a character. (By the way, those last three words are the
title of another acting volume Building a Character by the famous Russian director and actor, Konstantin Stanislavski. In one of its American inceptions, the book is the jumping-off point for the Method style of acting as explored by director Elia Kazan and members of the Group Theatre. We could go on and on about the history of modern acting, but suffice it to say that the more you know, the better director you’ll be.) The actor takes the information from the script or COW chart and will, at the very least, learn the lines of dialog written for his character. Going from the basic to the sublime, at the point of artistry, he will embody or become that character to its fullest.

  The actor takes the information from the script or COW chart and will, at the very least, learn the lines of dialog written for his character. Going from the basic to the sublime, at the point of artistry, he will embody or become that character to its fullest.

  The heart of playing the character is in the art of answering the next question: “What do I want?” It is essentially what the character needs and is what you explored when you looked at the character’s intention in Chapter 2. The actor looks at this question in a way similar to that of the director. The actor, as the character, has to know what he wants or needs from another character. The actor can phrase this in the form of an action verb: to beg, to seduce, to demolish. And not only does the actor want to “do” something, but he also needs the other character to “do” something, too. “My character intends to seduce the other character, so the other character will do what? Leave, give me money, fall in love with me, hate me?” Intention is always a verb that provokes another action. An actor’s preparation should always include the answer to the question: “What do I need to do in this scene that will cause the other character to do something in return?” When the actor plays his intention, he becomes active and doesn’t play a mood. The actor’s work is specific. The character gets a spine.