Top 3 Directing Tips
1. Nurture your actor’s superpowers
I consider it a big compliment and big responsibility that people expect me to be “an actor’s director.” I’ve had the chance to work with such wonderful directors, teachers, and mentors over the years, and one of my greatest joys as an actor is learning from the director all the different ways to get this job done — the job of being a storyteller, project manager or leader, and team coach. I also heard Tom Hanks in an interview speak to the value of his director being “a fan.”
Whether you become your actor’s fan, encouraging coach, or a completely different role, I love this idea that the job of a director is figuring out and nurturing an actor’s superpower (like improvisational skills, methodology for getting into character, physicality instincts, etc.) and creating a space on set in which that superpower can thrive. This is not to say an actor dictates the process on set, their role is to ultimately service the director’s overall vision, but like any relationship, both individuals should strive to understand, support, and champion one another.
2. It’s essential to include your actors in the process
The actor is often put in the least trust-worthy position; they’re typically brought in at the end of a process, once all the decisions have been made, and are expected to execute without question — but that doesn’t always have to be the case.
When a director includes actors early in the process by having rehearsals or creative check-ins, it builds a space for ideas to be challenged or elevated, ultimately making them stronger, and allows actors to contribute as collaborators, which leads to a more connected and layered performance. This is why I think it’s an essential practice for directors to share their visual/ tonal/ music references and shotlist with the cast; it’s a way of communicating and further shaping the collective vision before going to set.
3. Directing for film is like directing for theatre, just with one extra collaborator: the camera
As drama majors, the students in the Nine Muses Lab sometimes worry about making the switch to what seems like a whole other process, set of skills, and language. I always encourage them (and will encourage you) to not let go of your theatrical collaboration instincts when transitioning to a filmmaking setting.
To start, think about the camera as another collaborator rather than a tool. Consider how the camera has a perspective and how that influences its placement in the environment and in relation to its fellow actors. You can also think about the camera’s “objective” — what it wants the audience to experience and therefore what it should direct the viewer to look at on screen. And in the same way you learn and support the actor’s superpowers (see Directing Tip #1), learn the camera’s superpowers and support those with choices for framing, lens, camera movement, etc.
