5 STEPS TO DIRECTING YOUR FIRST FILM. ”What I learned in 10 years of my filmmaking career.”
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I have been making films or should I say studying storytelling since 2010. I did start professional filmmaking in 2015 as an actor. There are so many things I have come to understand about the hard and soft ways of making myself grow in the industry. If you are an African storyteller I am pretty sure you understand how hard it is to make a movie let alone find distribution platforms to spread your message with revenue income at the end of the day. Anyway, I do not want to lose myself in this story for now, I have gathered some tips and tricks that can help many filmmakers who are either starting or finding it difficult to break through in the industry.
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If you are a first-time filmmaker or have some kind of experience I suggest that you take a closer look at my personal experience journey and see if you can get something useful to add to your life as a storyteller.
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IF YOU ARE A STORYTELLER, PLEASE READ THE SCRIPT VERY WELL.
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Understanding your script as a direct one not only helps you get the knowledge and direction needed but also authority over what is written from page one to the end. What I mean is that confidence and a sense of ownership come from understanding what you are engaging yourself in.
So many production houses across the globe, those who are so serious about making movies want directors who are flexible and who have a sixth sense of understanding what is written as a script even when it is their first time reading the script. The three key areas to first look at when you are hired to direct a project are:
?? How many characters in total make up the entire film?
?? Production budget for the movie (+/-) depending on the flow of the production shoot, I am talking of the number of days allocated for the entire duration of shooting.
?? The importance of the storyline to you as the director and the audience.
These areas will help you develop the desire and courage you need to fully understand what the project needs and how to tackle it every step of the way.
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VISIT LOCATIONS BEFORE SHOOT.
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During the pre-production process of my 2018 movie, MY FATHER IS A DEVIL, I encountered a problem where I was promised a location to shoot. I was in constant communication with the house owners since I had not visited them to see the house personally. A day before our first day of shoot, I went to see the house only to realize how bad the house was. My shooting angles were not in alignment with the house structure. It was a terrible experience because I had close to two weeks of preparation.
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The problem was all blamed on me because I could not find time to visit the house that my location managers had found for the shoot. All I did was reschedule my days of shoot to a further 7 days. If you want to understand your schedule shooting better I suggest you visit your locations weeks and days before the shoot. Be in touch with your location manager all the time to check if there are any changes you might need.
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UNDERSTAND YOUR CAST AND CREW, BUILD A STRONG RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM.
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It is a must to know your cast and crew members very well. As the director, all these people work under you and almost daily they report to you about anything that has to do with the production. If you want to enjoy the best of your role as a leader and develop a strong relationship with each one of your team members, it does not matter the number. Understand them well.
This method has worked for me ever since I started implementing it years ago, although when I started using it I did not know what I was doing. It was just guise work but when I realized how effective it was I adopted it ever since. You can try it and see how easy things will be for you, the project execution, and your team at large.
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UNDERSTAND CONTRACT SIGNINGS WITH PRODUCERS AND PRODUCTION HOUSES.
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Although I was an actor by this time I want to explain, that I learned it the hard way. Close to a decade ago, I signed a contract to feature in one of Zimbabwe′s best films. When I signed the contract, all I wanted was to see myself on television enjoying every episode with my family. That was silly I know but I did it anyway. As the viewership grew and more attention was paid to the production week after week on television, I asked the production house that I was contracted to about my payments and they kept delaying me and other actors until I decided to leave the production. Many other actors followed leading to the sudden end of the series.
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What pained me the most is that when I signed the first contract that was for season 3 from episode 1 till season 5 episode 9, the contract stated that I was “voluntarily” acting. Meaning whether I got paid or not it was never going to change how I worked. Sadly, it was all caused by not understanding my contract in the first place.
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EXPECT FOR THE WORST TO HAPPEN ANY DAY DURING SHOOTING DAYS.
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Again, I must say most of the things I am sharing with you today are a result of the hard way I experienced all of them. Things like actors not showing up on the expected day of the shoot are common. Actors deciding to quit in the middle of a production shoot is one of the things you must expect anytime especially when you do not understand each other. Also what adds to the list is the fact that most things are unexpected, they just pop up from nowhere and you will be faced with the task of finding a solution quickly before you go out of budget.
At one point I paid someone to hire his microphone in 2017 and he promised to bring it on the day of the shoot. But from 2017 to date I have never met him. He disappeared for good. I did the same with one production house where I hired a camera from, with lights to shoot my talk show. They only showed up on the day of the shoot with just the camera.
When things like this happen, you as the director must be in a position to improvise or work on your plan B that is in your hidden pocket. Not all days shall you experience honey and milk. Some days will require you to deal with sleepless nights caused by your cast, crew, or even by yourself.
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That is all I had for you today and hopefully, I have contributed something to your journey as a storyteller. What other points can you add based on what you know or what you passed through? Let me know in the comment section below.