A RAINDANCE E-BOOK

DIRECTING
HANDBOOK
THE RAINDANCE GUIDE TO ALL
YOUR DIRECTING NEEDS

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
03
Introduction - Editor's Notes

04
Crossing the line

07
Directors checklist

10
What A Film Director Does After They Say CUT

13
10 Expenses Most First Time Film Directors Forget

18
About Raindance

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 EDITOR'S NOTE
So, you want to direct your first film. You've
been trying to break into the industry for a
while now and have a strong passion for
filmmaking, but you're not sure where to
start. Or, you've been working on your
craft for a while, but just can't seem to
crack it.

This E-Book will guide you through both

the basics and complicated aspects for
all levels of directors. You will find a
step by step to teach you or refresh
your brain on the beginning middle and
end of how to read a script and golden
rules on directing.

Making a film can be exiting and also

nerve-racking, wether you want to create
a short film or a feature films music videos
or anything in between some of the best
tips and information that you need get THE RAINDANCE TEAM
going with directing is right here in this E-
Book. Good Luck!

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 CHAPTER 1
CROSSING
THE LINE
By Patrick Tucker

You don’t always have to speak grammatically – we all understand

what they mean when a public figure says something like “If it ain’t
broke, don’t fix it.” However, we do raise an eyebrow (or at least
some of us do) if we hear “Please give the information to John or to I.”
The incorrect grammar jars, is not meant as a joke but is a mistake,
and for a short time our brains are taken up with working out what they
should have said, and so we sometimes miss what they are actually
saying now.

The same goes for film grammar.

There is a tendency for new film makers to say (or be taught at their
film academies) that there is too much fuss over “crossing the line”, that
you don’t have to obey the rules if you don’t want to. Well, of course
you don’t, but you run the risk that the audience will be so taken up
with working out what you should have done, or even worse, be trying
to work out where the actors actually are in relation to each other,
that they will miss your next bit of narrative as they deal with the
distraction of your bad film grammar.

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 The Golden Rules on Crossing the Line

1. General Rules on Crossing the Line

Do not cross the line – if you do then in the editing suite
your editor will be cutting to avoid your errors, rather
than cutting to maximise your drama.

Crossing the line is a slight (sometimes great) shock to the audience, so

only use it when this is your aim.

The hardest thing to plan is a 3-handed scene; once you see this in a
script, realise it is going to take a number of planning hours to sort it out.

There are two sorts of line – the line of movement, and the line of looking.
When you have both in a scene, you must choose one of these, and stick
with it

2. Specific Trouble Spots When Shooting

Doorways – be particularly careful with cross shooting over a doorway,

since the door gets in the way, and it is easy to get the camera on the
wrong side of the line, because you will be tempted to put it where you can,
rather than where it ought to be.

Framed shots – when you have one person framed by two others in the
foreground, be aware that the direction they are looking (to the person on
the left or the person on the right) will determine where you shoot the
reverse shot from. Once you have set up this shot, let alarm bells ring!

Third person – if when cutting between two people you suddenly cut to a
third person, the audience will be confused, because they expected to see
the ones you are cutting between. Introducing the third person needs care
and thought, so the audience can follow and understand the geography of
the scene.

Cut-ins – be careful when doing a close up of what someone is looking at

not to cross the line – remember, the line will now be between their eyes
and the object they are looking at.

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 The Golden Rules on Crossing the Line

3. Preparation for the Shoot

Once you have prepared your camera plans (you will prepare them, won’t
you?) go through them all checking that you have not crossed the line.

Make sure that if a character is walking, you maintain the direction of

movement (say to yourself: “He/she is moving left to right, the next shot must
have him/her moving left to right”). Not maintaining the direction of travel
between shots implies to the audience that some time has passed – so do it if
this is your aim.

Recite to yourself “She is on the left, he is on the right” when working out if
two shots will cut together, and maintain the order of characters going from
left to right in your sequence of shots until you choose to change the line you
are cutting across, or the actors move.

4. Solutions

You can change the line by tracking the camera, so you move the audience
over the line, and they now understand that people’s positions would have
changed.

You can use an actor’s head turn to establish a new line, as long as the
camera sees this, and you use it in the edit.

You can “wipe the slate clean” by going to a wide shot – this allows you to
cut back on any line you choose.

You can get the same effect by going to a cut-in; after the cut-in, the
camera can tilt up to whatever line you wish.

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 CHAPTER 2
DIRECTOR’S
CHECK LIST
By Patrick Tucker

How often should you read your script? 9 times, as the books recommend?
Actually, most of us just read the script ONCE.

1. Read the script

Take notes as you go, and at the end of the reading, write out your instant
phrase that sums up what the script/episode is about in your Notebook of
Ideas. (You can – and should – do this for each scene as well.)

2. Add tabs to the edge of the pages

Go through the script, adding a tab to each scene, so you can easily and
quickly get to any scene you want when studying the script. If really keen,
you can also colour each tab according to the location (such as all the
scenes in the Pub could be yellow, making it easy for you to check all the
Pub scenes for a particular reason).

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 Directors Checklist

3. Prepare the Location Chart

Read through the script to prepare the chart, noting down how many
locations there are, how long each scene will be in that location, and any
problems that the location may pose. This allows you to see where the weight
of the filming will be.

4. Prepare the Actor Chart

Go through the script noting down where each character appears, so you
can create an overall pattern for the entire script. This is useful to see who
interacts with whom, and where. This also helps when an actor asks “Where
do I next appear?”

5. Make the Prop list

Go through the script carefully, noting down what particular properties you
may require for each scene. Note down any that may take time or money to
obtain.

6. Do your Costume and Make-up Notes

Go through each scene, making any notes that occur to you about costumes
and make-up. In particular, note down anything that may add time to the
shoot – such as the use of a prosthetic, blood, or someone washing their hair
on camera (and so taking 1½ hours in the make-up chair for their hair to get
back to “normal”).

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 Directors Checklist

7. Start planning the Extras List

Go through the script to note down where your extras will appear, and start
to note down what type of extra you would like: what age, characterisation,
costume, or activity that would contrast or echo the action going on in the
scene.

8. Make the Shot Complication List.

Go through the script carefully to note down which scenes may attract a
particularly difficult shot, with extra complexity such as a track or a crane or
Steadicam – anything at all that would add texture, complication (and time)
to your shoot. Note down anything out of the ordinary, such as wanting to
pull focus, the use of a very long zoon lens, filming in/on a moving car etc.

9. Read the script through once again

Read it simply, with all the knowledge you have got from creating your lists,
noting down any new thoughts in your Notebook of Ideas.
Wait a minute – you have just read the script 9 times!

Wait a minute – you have just read the script 9 times

And that is why it is best for you to make all your lists, and not delegate the job to
an assistant. As you scour the script for these different reasons, all sorts of
other good ideas will come into your head, and end up in your Notebook of
Ideas – and you will know your script so much better.

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 CHAPTER 3
WHAT A FILM
DIRECTOR DOES
AFTER THEY SAY CUT
By Patrick Tucker

1. Did you like the take?

On balance, were all the major elements in place? (framing; camera movement;
lighting; design; properties; costumes; make-up; script; editing – will it cut to and
from the surrounding shots; and DON’T FORGET TO THINK ABOUT THE ACTING.)

2. If you are not happy, go for a re-take.

Always give notes as to why you are going again (perhaps pretending it is for
sound when you want a better performance from an actor).

3. If on balance you are happy, what about your crew?

Is you crew happy? Camera; sound; script – and, yes, the actors.

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 What a Film Director Does After They Say CUT

4. Weigh up the pros and cons of going again

Balance the wishes of the crew/actor requests on one side, and your knowledge of
how much must be done today (and what is coming up) on the other. Is it better to
correct something now, or wait to fix it in post-production?

5. You either go again or move on to the next phase.

6. The 10 Second Rule

Oh – all the above decisions, from #1 to #5, should be done in less than 10
seconds after you shouted “Cut!”. Longer than that, and you and your crew will
lose momentum.

7. Stop before you move

Before moving the camera (and so needing changes in lighting, dressings

and design), make sure there is no other shot needed for this scene that
could be done from here. Also, see if there is any other shot you can
squeeze from this set-up for only a few extra seconds of shooting.

8. Walk to the spot

If you are moving on, where possible you should march to where the
new position of the camera will be, and quickly announce what the
shot will be, and which bits of the set will be seen, and roughly what
the dialogue will be.

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 What a Film Director Does After They Say CUT

9. Look ahead

As the crew start to prepare for the next shot, check what is left to shoot for that
location or day, and if necessary start to change the shots in scenes coming up to
reflect how much time you have left (adding or removing fancy time-consuming
shots).

10. Reality Check

Remember, as far as your Producer is concerned, it is always better for you to

finish on schedule and so not need overtime or pick-ups, than for you to get a
better shot or a better performance. You won’t want to believe this, but your
future employment may well depend on it.

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 CHAPTER 4
10 EXPENSES MOST
FIRST TIME FILM
DIRECTORS FORGET
By Elliot Grove

We meet many first time film directors here at Raindance Film Festival HQ.
Directing your first movie is always a fantastically challenging experience.
The process of getting your first movie onto the big screen can end in tears
if you fall foul of the producer or the budget and schedule.
A budget is a simple list of all the stuff and people you need and the amount
of money required to pay for it. A schedule is a list of the dates and times
you need the stuff. Both are incredibly tedious to produce, but without a
budget and schedule, it’s very difficult to make your film.
Even with a no-budget film, you will still need a list of the stuff and people
you need, and a schedule of when and where you need everything to show
up.
Messing up the budget really impacts on the film.
Here is a handy list of items that cost money, and can easily spiral out of
control if you aren’t careful. Most of these pitfalls are from lack of forward
planning.

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 10 Expenses Most First Time Film Directors Forget

1. The Development Budget

When a film gets into production, the story rights need to be acquired and paid
for. At this point, the producer controlling the script rights totals up all the money
spent to date and presents an invoice so the production team can recoup the
money they have paid, plus a profit.
Expenses include travel, accommodation and entertainment at places like Cannes
Film Festival, location scouting, casting agents fees and that weird one: “Office
Overhead.” Plus of course option fees paid the writer to date, insurance, banking
and legal fees.
This can easily get out of hand, and when the final production budget is in the
bank minus the development costs, directors can have a nasty surprise. Directors
may have no alternative other than cutting pages out of the script.
I know two different writer/directors who found that over 10% of their production
budget was gobbled up by extras added to the development budget.
Make sure you keep on top of the development budget.

2. The DoP

Choosing the right Director of Photography (or not) will really impact on your
budget.
Some DoPs will literally take over the directing for you, blocking out the
scenes in the rush to get the shots completed before wrap. This can lead to
a war between the DoP and the director. Such conflict can ruin the morale
on the set and make the shoot next to unbearable. But at least the film will
get shot in this scenario.
Other DoPs are so eager to please they fall over backwards at each of the
director’s whims without the benefit of courteous but professional criticism.
The resulting shoot meanders and can quickly fall day after expensive day
behind schedule. (see #10 below)

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 10 Expenses Most First Time Film Directors Forget

3. Location Location Location

Every time you move from one location to the next the cost rockets. Hence the
typically low-to-no budget shoots in a single location movie like Paranormal
Activity. If you desperately need a second location look out for the two-for-one,
i.e. the front of a house can pose as one location and the rear garden as a
completely different one.

4. Casting Agent

There are two factors here:

Firstly, a skilled casting agent can save you a fortune, which is good.
Secondly, too often directors fantasise about cast until it’s too late, and
then hire a casting agent to get them out of jail to no avail. Money is
flushed down the drain.

5. Let’s Fix It In Post

Every time I hear a director say, “We’ll fix that shot in post,” I cringe. I’ve worked
on 68 features and over 700 commercials. Every time the director made that
choice on a set, heads would roll a few days into post-production where the
budget would start to rocket.
A director who thinks some sort of post-production miracle can save sloppy
location shooting is lazy and ultimately a very expensive director.

6. Music

Including uncleared music in a movie is probably the single most costly mistake a
filmmaker can make. Over the past 20 years I have had so many bad experiences
with festival films. They’ve had to be pulled last minute because the filmmaker lied
about whether the music was cleared or not. We even had one case where sales
agents and distributors were nosing around a movie. Sadly it had an expensive
song “The Girl from Ipanema” in it (uncleared). Needless to say that movie didn’t
sell.

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 10 Expenses Most First Time Film Directors Forget

7. Catering

This is such a no-brainer you probably are wondering why it’s even on this list.
Problem is, no one ever considers the cost of the chilli and beans Aunt Emma is
going to cook. Nor the cost of cutlery and plates. Before long you have blown a
good chunk of your budget. Now you have to decide whether or not your entire
cast and crew can survive the next 3 weeks on nothing but white rice. Or do have
to cut a special effects shot to save the catering budget?
By the way, I once spent eleven days on nothing but white rice and I can tell you
– it was a thoroughly unpleasant experience.

8. Insurance

If I had a buck for every time we get late afternoon panic calls form filmmakers
desperate for a magic insurance telephone number I could retire to the south of
France.
No one ever thinks about insurance in time to budget for it properly. And you
almost always need it at some point in the process.

9. Transport

I am sure your producer has allocated for car and van rental with the necessary
fuel charges, taxes and tolls. But what of the petrol or taxi charges added to
invoices of cast and crew? I had such a situation last week where I agreed to the
fee but when the invoice arrived it included a whopper taxi bill. When queried, I
was asked how else the equipment was going to get there. Recently I have
discovered that we can also use discount vouchers to cut down the car rental
cost. Many online portals such as VoucherBin offer a variety of voucher codes
and rental car deals from Carrentals.Co.Uk, Argus Car Hire, Budget Rent A Car
etc, that can become saviour for last minute business and movie trips. To say
nothing about Uber, Lyft and the like.

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 10 Expenses Most First Time Film Directors Forget

10. Shooting Ratio

In the good old days of celluloid was all about the shooting ratio. Because film
stock and processing was so expensive, producers, directors and DoPs kept an
eagle eye on the ratio between consumed footage and the final film. Most indie
films were shot on a ration between 5:1 and 10:1. Ie: 5:1 ratio means that 5 minutes
worth of film stock was used to cover each minute of screen time.
In the digital age, image capture and storage is so cheap that some directors
shoot over and over – as much as 100:1. Can you imagine the challenges of editing
100 hours of footage into a completed one hour film?
High shooting ratios aren’t clever, necessarily. But they sure are expensive.

Are you having trouble shooting on a budget? Would you like to learn
how to get your script onto screen with a limited budget?

Why not come to the Lo To No Budget Filmmaking weekend class. I

will show you how to take your screenplay and put value for money
onto the screen with dozens of low-budget shooting tips. On the
second day I will show you how to raise the cash, and how to use
free PR to turn your movie into this year’s cult classic.

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 ABOUT RAINDANCE
Founded in 1992, Raindance has discovered the new generations of creative and
innovative filmmakers. Raindance offers a unique plethora in the film industry: from film
training with Raindance Global Education, including short courses and higher education
(HND, MA/MSc), to the annual Raindance Film Festival and the prestigious British
Independent Film Awards.

The organisation was founded by Elliot Grove as a thought experiment: can you make a
film with no money, no training and no experience?

Operating for nearly 30 years, Raindance offers a wide range of evening and weekend
film training courses in cities around the world, including London, Toronto, LA, Berlin,
Brussels, Beijing and Dubai as well as online — all taught by experienced film
professionals.

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 CONTACT DETAILS
info@raindance.co.uk

www.raindance.org
+44 (0)20 7930 3412

OFFICE ADDRESS
Raindance Film Centre
10a Craven Street
WC2N 5PE, London UK

© RAINDANCE FILM PARTNERSHIP

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