Michael Rabiger has directed or edited over 35 films, was a founding faculty member and then Chair of the Film/Video Department at Columbia College Chicago, and has given workshops in over 23 countries. He is an Honorary Professor at Buenos Aires University, and a Fulbright Specialist. Rabiger is also the author of Developing Story Ideas and the enormously successful Directing the Documentary, both for Routledge/Focal Press.

Mick Hurbis-Cherrier teaches filmmaking at Hunter College in New York City. Professionally, he has worked as a screenwriter, director, cinematographer, and editor, and his films have garnered prizes at numerous festivals. He is the author of Voice & Vision: A Creative Approach to Filmmaking (Routledge/Focal Press), in its third edition.

CONTENTS

Introduction

PART 1: THE DIRECTOR AND ARTISTIC IDENTITY

1 THE WORLD OF THE FILM DIRECTOR

2 DEVELOPING AS A DIRECTOR

PART 2: THE STORY AND ITS DEVELOPMENT

3 ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF DRAMA

4 SHAPING THE STORY INTO DRAMA

5 PLOT, TIME, AND STRUCTURE

PART 3: THE DIRECTOR AND THE SCRIPT

6 SCREENPLAY GROUND RULES

7 RECOGNIZING THE SUPERIOR SCREENPLAY

8 SCRIPT ANALYSIS AND DEVELOPMENT

PART 4: AUTHORSHIP AND AESTHETICS

9 CINEMATIC POINT OF VIEW

10 FORM AND STYLE

11 TONE, STYLE AND GENRE

PART 5: A DIRECTOR'S SCREEN GRAMMAR

12 FILM LANGUAGE

13 THE FRAME AND THE SHOT

14 THE MOVING CAMERA

15 LANGUAGE OF THE EDIT

16 THE HUMAN VANTAGE OF CINEMATIC LANGUAGE

PART 6: PREPRODUCTION

17 EXPLORING THE SCRIPT

18 CASTING

19 ACTING FUNDAMENTALS 227

20 DIRECTING ACTORS

21 REHEARSALS

22 ACTING EXERCISE

23 PLANNING THE VISUAL DESIGN

24 DEVELOPING THE SHOOTING SCRIPT

25 LINE PRODUCING AND LOGISTICS

PART 7: PRODUCTION

26 DEVELOPING A PRODUCTION CREW

27 THE DIRECTOR AND PRODUCTION TECH

28 ON SET: PRODUCTION BEGINS

29 DIRECTING ON THE SET

30 MONITORING CONTINUITY AND PROGRESS

PART 8: POSTPRODUCTION

31 POSTPRODUCTION OVERVIEW

32 EDITING BEGINS: GETTING TO KNOW THE FOOTAGE

33 THE ROUGH CUT

34 GETTING TO FINE CUT AND PICTURE LOCK

35 WORKING WITH MUSIC

36 THE FINISHING TOUCHES

37 GETTING IT OUT THERE

Filmography

Photograph and Illustration Acknowledgements

Index