Directing Is Just Controlling Chaos
45sThe analogy of directing as funneling chaos and the emphasis on knowing all departments offers a powerful, concise insight that appeals to aspiring filmmakers.
▶ Play ClipAI Summary
In this video, the creators discuss the role of a director, emphasizing that the core job is knowing what you want and directing chaos into a tight funnel. They highlight the importance of understanding all departments—cinematography, production design, and special effects—to communicate effectively and avoid asking for impossible or poor-quality results. The conversation also covers the collaborative process behind a one-take sequence, where multiple team members work simultaneously with a shared vision, and the ongoing learning required in directing.
Chapters
[00:00]
Director's Core Role
The director's job is to know what they want and direct chaos into a tight funnel aimed at that vision. This is the prerequisite for the role.
[00:16]
Know All Tracks
A director must know what they want from cinematography, production design, and special effects to avoid sounding ignorant and to avoid requesting impossible or subpar outcomes.
[00:40]
One-Take Collaboration
The one-take sequence was a team effort: Freddie worked with John on camera movement, the speaker worked with John on lighting, and another worked on performances. This tag-team approach works when everyone knows the goal.
[01:23]
Shared Vision Through Rehearsal
The team beat out the sequence multiple times, wrote the script multiple times, rehearsed before having a camera, and did walkthroughs with John. This ensured all four were on the same page.
[01:48]
No Perfect Way
There is no right, perfect way to direct. The goal is to talk to as many people as possible—different directors and colleagues—to gain a comprehensive worldview of directing.
[02:28]
Continuous Learning
Directing is about management and constant learning. The creators acknowledge they are still young (under 30) but have learned a lot from three seasons of VGHS and shorts.
Effective directing hinges on a clear vision and deep knowledge of all departments, enabling collaboration and avoiding pitfalls. It is a continuous learning process, best honed through experience and open dialogue with others.
💡 Key Takeaways
⚖️
Director's Core Job
Defines the fundamental prerequisite of directing in a simple, memorable way.
💡
Know All Tracks
Emphasizes the breadth of knowledge required for effective communication with departments.
00:16
🔧
Rehearsal Before Camera
Highlights a practical technique for achieving a shared vision in complex sequences.
01:23Full Transcript
[00:00] Would you say the role of a director is to know what you want? Yes. That's basically what your job is? That should be the prerequisite. You should know what you want. Directing, you're just kind of directing chaos into as tight of a funnel as you can,
[00:16] and hopefully that funnel is pointing towards what you want it to be, because the real key for directing is honestly knowing all the other tracks. Like, if you're a director, you need to know what you want via cinematography, you need to know what you want from the production design, you need to know what you want from special effects,
[00:28] and you need to know all about those things so you don't sound like an idiot when you ask for what you want because you don't want to ask for things that are impossible or things that aren't going to be good. So you really need to know everything.
[00:40] When Freddie throws the hat and she starts leaving, that's when the lights go off. So let's talk a little bit about what went into directing the one take because it was definitely a team effort. Yes. And I remember we were all doing different things simultaneously.
[00:56] Like I know Freddie was working more closely with John on the technical camera movement stuff And when I was working with John on what I wanted the lighting to do And then you were working with me to make sure like my performances were coming across the way I wanted them
[01:09] So there's like a lot of tag-team. Yeah effort and that's totally possible when Everybody knows what it is We want to do like I think the reason there's a lot of time when directors is because it's the one person with a vision They know and they're the only one who knows everything so they're doing it
[01:23] But, you know, me, you and Freddie, we, you know, beat it out this entire sequence multiple times And you wrote the script multiple times And we rehearsed it even before we had a camera and kept going through it and really coming up with it And you know then John comes and you did a walkthrough
[01:36] So all four of us are very much on the same page of knowing what needs to happen and how you would accomplish it so there's no concern with, like, oh, perfect, Lauren's doing that, I know exactly what she's doing, and, like, oh, Matt's doing that, I know exactly what he's doing, and then, you know, it all comes together.
[01:48] Thank you. So a lot of it's going to be talking about working with people and other departments,
[02:01] and there's no right, perfect way to do it. And so we're going to try and talk to as many people as possible, as many different directors and people we look up to and people within our own company, you and Freddie and everybody,
[02:13] and just kind of give you guys the most comprehensive, biggest worldview, I guess, of directing as we can so you guys can kind of apply that to what you're learning as you're becoming directors.
[02:28] Yeah, you constantly are learning, you know, and it is. It's about management, and it's about, you know, you can never stop learning that. It's, you know, and we're not even 30, so I don't even know why you're listening to us, but we'll tell you everything that we know.
[02:40] We're going to try. We're going to try because, you know, we've been doing it for quite a bit, and we learned a lot on three seasons of VGHS and doing these shorts for so long.
[02:52] .
