Broadcast/Video Production II
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Objectives
◦ Identify the director’s responsibilities in each
phase of production
◦ List qualities common to good directors
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Important Terms
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Audition
Cast Breakdown by Scene
Dry Run
Scene Breakdown by Cast
Script Breakdown
Slate
Take
Take Log
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The Director’s Role in Pre-Production
◦ Script breakdowns
◦ Auditions
◦ Pre-production meetings
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The Director’s Role in Pre-Production
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Organization is key
Director must make things happen
Teamwork is crucial
Taking on too much leads to mediocrity
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Script Breakdown: the process of analyzing
the script from many different perspectives
◦ End result is a well organized and efficient
production
◦ Allows the director to answer production
questions and develop a realistic production
schedule
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Script Breakdown
◦ Cast Breakdown by Scene: a listing of the
program’s cast members that indicates the
scene numbers in which they appear
◦ Scene Breakdown by Cast: a listing of each
scene number in a program with all the cast
members needed for each scene
Cast Breakdown by Scene
John: 2, 5, 6, 7, 12, 14
Mary: 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10
Eric: 1, 3, 15
Mike: 1, 3, 15
Susan: 4, 8, 10, 11
Extras: 13, 15
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Scene Breakdown by Cast
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Eric, Mike
John, Mary
Eric, Mike
Mary, Susan
John, Mary
John, Mary
John
Susan
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Scene Breakdown by Cast
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Mary
Mary, Susan
Susan
John
Extras
John
Eric, Mike, Extras
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Script Breakdown
◦ Cast Breakdown by Scene
 Tells cast where they need to be
◦ Scene Breakdown by Cast
 Tells production staff if all necessary cast is
present when shooting each scene
 Used by the production assistant to remind
performers when and where to be for the next
day’s shoot
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Audition: the process by which a director
makes casting decisions for a program by
watching and listening to prospective
performers
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In an audition, the Director
◦ Decides if a performer is capable of portraying
the role he is casting
◦ Must be objective
◦ Listens to talent’s voice quality
◦ Tests talent’s ability to follow stage directions
◦ Should be in another room watching talent on a
monitor because this is how the audience will
see him or her
◦ Should never cast a good friend
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Auditions
◦ Directors are stuck with their casting decisions
◦ After shooting starts, an actor can be fired, but
each scene that actor was in must be re-shot
with the replacement performer
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Rehearsals
◦ Director holds rehearsals with cast
◦ As cast becomes proficient with the script, the
cast attends rehearsals
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The Director Coordinates:
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Schedules
Equipment
Rehearsals
Cast
Crew
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The Director’s Role in Production
◦ Dry Run, or Camera Rehearsal: a practice
session of scenes in a program that includes
the talent, technical director, audio
engineer, camera operators, and director
 Costumes and makeup are not worn
 Tape is not run
 Studio lights are not turned on
 TD practices camera switching
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The Director’s Role in Production
◦ When satisfied with the Dry Run, the Director
calls for the actual shoot to begin
◦ Performers get into costume and makeup
◦ Crew readies the lights and other equipment
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The Director’s Role in Production
◦ During the actual shoot, the director
 Always uses correct terminology in order to
gain respect and to communicate efficiently
 Uses a memorized start-up sequence of
commands to start the program to combat
nervousness or stress that lead to crucial
mistakes
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The Director’s Role in Production
◦ During the actual shoot, the director
 Always uses correct terminology in order to
gain respect and to communicate efficiently
 Uses a memorized start-up sequence of
commands to start the program to combat
nervousness or stress that lead to crucial
mistakes
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The Director’s Role in Production
◦ Multiple Takes
 Take: a term that identifies each time an
individual scene is shot
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The Director’s Role in Production
◦ Multiple Takes
 Planned to capture different angles
 May be necessary due to a mistake made
by the talent or crew, which causes the
director to yell “Cut!”
 Each scene should be retaken until three
“good” takes are recorded
 It is better to have a choice than to come
up short in the editing room
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The Director’s Role in Production
◦ Multiple Takes
 Never move on to another scene until the
takes of the current scene are acceptable
 When shooting of the scene is complete,
rewind the tape and view the shots and takes
of the scene
 This additional time is justified and will
prevent having to gather all the crew, talent,
sets, props, and equipment to re-shoot weeks
later
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The Director’s Role in Production
◦ Multiple Takes
 The slate is very important
 Slate: a board or page that is held in front of
the camera noting the scene number, the take
number, and several other pieces information
about the scene being shot
 For example, if mistakes made 5 times in
Scene 5, the sixth take is slated as “Scene 5,
Take 6.”
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The Director’s Role in Production
◦ Multiple Takes
 Hold the slate in front of the camera for at
least 10 seconds, but not more than 15
seconds
 Then the countdown begins to initiate action
on the set and to cue the performers
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The Director’s Role in Production
◦ Multiple Takes
 Take Log: a written list of each scene and take
number that have been shot and recorded on
a particular tape – also called a shot log
 When the performance of a scene is
acceptable to the director, the take is circled
on the log
 Later, the director can scan directly to the
beginning of the good take; instead of
viewing all of the bad takes
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The Director’s Role in Post-Production
◦ Editing, adding music, scene transitions, sound
effects, special effects, titles – referred to as
“post”
◦ Trying to fix substandard shots in postproduction is a terrible mistake because it can
become so time-consuming that the cost is not
within the budget
◦ The best solution is to plan and shoot the
scenes correctly during production
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Start Something You Can Actually Finish
◦ Keep the program short; a dynamic 5-7 minute
minutes vs. boring 30 minutes
◦ Keep it simple to reduce the chance for
mechanical or human failure
◦ A small crew reduces complications; more
people equals higher probability for failure
◦ Have a realistic budget proportional to the
budget and scale the production for success,
not disappointment
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Start Something You Can Actually Finish
◦ Be a professional; treat people with respect,
provide plenty of reminders of scheduling, have
maps and phone numbers available for
everyone
◦ Be organized and do not waste anyone’s time
◦ Keep contact information for clients and cast
members in order to communicate quickly and
efficiently – to include address, home number,
business phone, cell phone, pager number, and
email addresses
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Start Something You Can Actually Finish
◦ Keep an eye on the big picture; do not spend
excessive time getting one small scene perfect,
while sacrificing the time necessary to complete
the entire show
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Being an Effective Director
◦ A good director:
 Is not the dictator of the production
 Takes the initiative to do whatever it takes to
successfully complete the program
 Knows the capabilities of the equipment and
makes the most of available resources,
instead of complaining about what is not
available
 Maintains an even temper in front of the cast
and crew
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Being an Effective Director
◦ A good director:
 Gives only constructive criticism when
instructing the talent or crew
 Is part artist and part technician
 Knows the responsibilities of each crew
member
 Uses knowledge and experience to develop
effective interpersonal relationships with the
production staff
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Being an Effective Director
◦ A good director:
 Delegates tasks, rather than trying to do
everything personally
 Is well-organized, almost to a fault
 Realizes that making final decisions is his
responsibility
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Wrapping Up
◦ The best directors have come up through the
ranks and have held almost every production
staff job along the way
◦ All of that experience is called upon throughout
the production process
◦ A director can influence attitudes, emotions,
and actions of the audience using visual media
◦ A good sense of ethics helps the director to be
unbiased when presenting information
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Wrapping Up
◦ Having a well-rounded education in geography,
history, and political science is beneficial for a
director
◦ Always watch television programs and film
productions to see what the professional do
and how they do it
◦ Notice how a director makes a particular scene
exciting
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Wrapping Up
◦ As you direct more programs, you will begin to
develop your own style
◦ Meanwhile, work as often as possible in all of
the technical positions
◦ Experience in each position will lead to success
in future projects and responsibilities
The
End!!!