Directing With Steve Finn | Workshop

Steve Finn, a director well known for his work on EastEnders came and gave us a workshop on what it's like to be a director, and how to do the job well. He gave us a hand out with the title 'The Role of the Director' and on this hand out it gives us everything we need to know to be a good director.

Pre-preparation:
You need to have a clear understanding of the script, and you need to have developed a creative vision. If there are any problems you need to solve them with the Producer and the script editor and you must have some ideas prepared for when it comes to rehearsing with the cast.

Rehearsals:
You need to work with the cast members in order to achieve a vision everyone can agree on of how the scene looks like and how it is staged.

After rehearsals:
Floor plans need to be created as well as camera plans and shot lists from the rehearsals.

At the start of the shoot:
You must inform the crew of the shooting plans and create a good working atmosphere that the crew would want to work in.

During the shoot:
You need to be in charge, while also letting the cast and crew to have some creative input. The time you have must be managed. If you finish too early then you haven't used all your resources, if you finish too late then you haven't prepared properly and you haven't left enough time to solve any problems that may occur.

After the shoot:
You need to brief the editor on what your overall vision is to make sure they know what you want the outcome to look like. You must ensure that the best material is being used and you need step back and take a look at your work and see what you have produced.

The one thing you MUST throughout all of these steps is taking a responsible attitude towards the safety of those around you.
Another important thing to remember is 'Character is Action'. You must give the actors something to do, rather than tell them how to act to make it look more realistic. You also need to make sure the story is being shown in the shots and not rely on the actors as much.

Having Steve Finn around to teach us and tell us about his experiences in being a director has been very useful and I will be using the information he has told us within my own work.