Film Directing Fundamentals

Part One
INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1
Introduction to Film Language and Grammar
-The Film World
-Film Language
-Shots
-Film Grammar
-The 180-Degree Rule
-The 30-Degree Rule
-Screen Direction
-Film-Time
-Compression
-Elaboration
-Familiar Image

Chapter 2
Introduction to the Dramatic Elements Embedded in the Screenplay
-Spine
-Whose film is it?
-Character
-Circumstance
-Dynamic Relationship
-Wants
-Expectations
-Actions
-Activity
-Acting Beats
-Dramatic Blocks
-Narrative Beats
-Fulcrum

Chapter 3
Organizing Action in a Dramatic Scene
-Dramatic Elements in NOTORIOUS Patio Scene
-NOTORIOUS Patio Scene Annotated

Chapter 4
Staging
-Main Functions
-Patterns of Dramatic Movement
-Changing the Stage within a Scene
-Staging as Part of a Film's Design
-Working with a Location Floor Plan
-Floor Plan and Staging for NOTORIOUS Patio Scene

Chapter 5
Camera
-The Camera as Narrator
-Reveal
-Entrances
-Objective Camera
-Subjective Camera
-Where Do I Put It?
-Visual Design
-Style
-Coverage
-Camera Height
-Lenses
-Composition
-Where To Begin?
-Working Toward Specificity in Visualization
-Looking for Order
-Dramatic Blocks and Camera
-Shot List, Storyboards, and Camera Setups
-The Prose Storyboard

Chapter 6
Camera in NOTORIOUS Patio Scene

Part Two
MAKING YOUR FILM

Chapter 7
Detective Work On Scripts
-Reading Your Screenplay
-The Piece of Apple Pie Screenplay
-Whose Film Is It?
-Character
-Circumstance
-Spines for The Piece Of Apple Pie
-Dynamic Relationships
-Wants
-Actions
-Acting Beats
-Activity
-Tone for The Piece Of Apple Pie
-Breaking The Piece Of Apple Pie Into Actions
-Designing a Scene
-Visualization
-Identifying the Fulcrum and Dramatic Blocks
-Supplying Narrative Beats to The Piece Of Apple Pie
-Director's Notebook

Chapter 8
Staging and Camera For The Piece Of Apple Pie
-Staging The Piece Of Apple Pie
-Camera for The Piece Of Apple Pie

Chapter 9
Marking Shooting Script With Camera Setups

Chapter 10
Work With Actors
-Casting
-First Read-Through
-Directing During Rehearsals
-Directing Actors on the Set

Chapter 11
Managerial Responsibilities of the Director
-Delegating Authority While Accepting Responsibility
-The Producer
-The Assistant Director
-A Realistic Shooting Schedule
-Working with the Crew
-Working with the Director of Photography

Chapter 12
Postproduction
-Editing
-Music and Sound
-Locking Picture, or, How Do You Know When It's Over?

Part Three
ORGANIZING ACTION IN AN ACTION SCENE

Chapter 13
Staging and Camera for Over Easy Action Scene

Part Four
ORGANIZING ACTION IN A NARRATIVE SCENE

Chapter 14
Staging and Camera for Wanda Narrative Scene

Part Five
LEARNING THE CRAFT THROUGH FILM ANALYSIS

Chapter 15
Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious
-Overview of Style and Design
-First Act
-Second Act
-Third Act
-Summary

Chapter 16
Peter Weir's The Truman Show
-Overview of Style and Design
-First Act
-Second Act
-Third Act
-Summary

Chapter 17
Federico Fellini's 8 1/2
-A Masterpiece?
-The Director as Auteur
-Dramatic Construction
-Overview of Style and Design
-What Are We Watching for in This Film?
-Detective Work
-First Act
-Second Act
-Third Act
-Summary

Chapter 18
Styles And Dramatic Structures
-Style
-Narrative, Dramatic, and Poetic Visual Styles
-The Variety of Dramatic Structures
-Tokyo Story, Yasujiro Ozu (1935, Japan)
-Some Like It Hot, Billy Wilder (1959)
-The Battle of Algiers, Gillo Pontecorvo (1965, France)
-Red, Krzysztof Kieslowski (1994, Poland, France, Switzerland)
-sex, lies and videotape, Steven Soderbergh (1989)
-Shall We Dance, Masayuki Suo (1996, Japan)
-The Celebration, Thomas -Vinterberg (1998, Denmark)
-The Insider, Michael Mann (1999)
-The Thin Red Line, Terrence Malick (1998)
-In the Mood for Love, (Kar-wai Wong , 2001, Chinese)
-Little Children (Todd Field, 2006)

Chapter 19
-What's Next?
-Building Directorial Muscles
-Writing For The Director
-Begin Thinking About Your Story
-Concocting Your Feature Screenplay
-"Writing? Scenes With Actors
-Shooting Your Film Before You Finish Writing It
-The Final Script
-Shooting Without A Screenplay?
-Questions Directors Should Ask
-About Their Screenplays
-Building Directorial Muscles
-Conclusion