What are the qualitiies of a directwaaa....director?

So I woke up at about 6:30 to catch the bus into TAFE....cough cough* I mean "The Central Institute of Technology"(much better name in my opinion) and I walked into the first class and was happy to hear that it would be a directing class first up.
 
This meant that not only would I be wide awake and interested, but that I had a chance to be creative in the class. I don't want to get beaten up by camera and sound dudes, but I do enjoy the creation of a story with characters and drama a little more then I do trying to figure out how a light metre works (give me five and half F stops!!!) Don't get me wrong I am very interested in the technical aspects of film, but I think the core, the thing that holds everything in a movie together, is the characters we all can related to and, also not relate to. The human drama we all associate with....because we're human (elementary Watson).

So what is the director's job? It's been made clear many times throughout certificate III & IV by various lectures (namely Charlie Gurbiel) that the director is not the BOSS. No, the director has a boss and that’s the producer. So if the director isn't the boss, what does he actually do on a set? It's simple, he/she has creative input in all the aspects of the film, working with the actors, the DP and his buddy of all buddies the first AD to help him achieve his vision of the screenplay he is shooting. On the budget afforded to them by the studio of course!

So Mr. Richards-Scully, our lecturer has told us all to think of a list of ten attributes and qualities a director should have. Here is my list.

1. Has creativity (don't want some boarding dude who used to be an accountant directing my movie)
2. Has a vision
3. Has good communication skills
4. Can work well under pressure.
5. Has trust for the crew he is working with
6. Wants the best out of every shot
7. Will tell the crew when something is not right and work to make it better (and wont just go cry in a corner or chuck a fit at the crew).
8. Is easy going and doesn’t put the crew under stress (maybe a little pressure is okay, but stress is bad, people take medication for that!!)
9. Knows exactly when a take is perfect
10. Has a sense of the bigger picture

So that's it for this one! See you soon! But not before you see me!

Cheers filmies

Blake Lockett