What does a film director ‘do’, exactly? A lot of people, having seen directors portrayed in films as sitting in chairs, ‘director’s chairs’, shouting “Action”, and “Cut”, think that is all a director does. And that is a small part of what they do, and an indication of the role they play in the making of a film. Now imagine you have about 200 people to direct under unbelievable time and financial constraints, with executives badgering you about the next weeks’ work and budget, while stars have conniptions over the lack of the right smear for their bagels. And still you only have the most obvious Hollywood-contrived image of the director’s job.
Bob would sit with a script in front of him at 5:00 am, making notes along the margins. He often had layouts in blueprint form of the sets for upcoming days’ shoots. He would have been up the previous night, viewing ‘dailies’ - the scenes from the day before - until midnight. He would have slept fitfully, worrying about the dailies and whether he would have to reshoot a particular scene. Reshooting would mean setting up the lights and sound again which can take hours. It also takes the film over budget and time.
The budget is flexible to a point, as is time. But time does mean money in film, and over time is over budget and both lead to a withering chewing out by producers. Producers find the money for the film from studios and private investors alike. Their profit is based on how much the film costs and how much it makes. The less it costs, the more it makes, the more the producer makes. The director, unless he or she is a major talent, i.e.; moneymaker or Oscar winner, works for the producers and the studio. He or she is no more in charge than a teacher is in charge of curriculum.
So there is Bob, the director, trying to keep his time and financial budgets in order while he navigates missed shots, changing weather, artists’ meltdowns, and the nuts and bolts of the shoot. The nuts and bolts – the way a film looks and moves and how that happens technically. And for that Bob suffered, following in the footsteps of his heroes: Bergman, Hitchcock, Truffaut, Kubrick and more. Bob’s style was his trademark, but studios don’t make money on ‘style’. They make money on ‘draw’, and in the '70s, as in now, the draw is always Conflict. Bob was an excellent portrayer of conflict - especially when it came down to fists. But that was only a fraction of what made him interesting. His style and where it came from is the real story.
Bob would sit with a script in front of him at 5:00 am, making notes along the margins. He often had layouts in blueprint form of the sets for upcoming days’ shoots. He would have been up the previous night, viewing ‘dailies’ - the scenes from the day before - until midnight. He would have slept fitfully, worrying about the dailies and whether he would have to reshoot a particular scene. Reshooting would mean setting up the lights and sound again which can take hours. It also takes the film over budget and time.
The budget is flexible to a point, as is time. But time does mean money in film, and over time is over budget and both lead to a withering chewing out by producers. Producers find the money for the film from studios and private investors alike. Their profit is based on how much the film costs and how much it makes. The less it costs, the more it makes, the more the producer makes. The director, unless he or she is a major talent, i.e.; moneymaker or Oscar winner, works for the producers and the studio. He or she is no more in charge than a teacher is in charge of curriculum.
So there is Bob, the director, trying to keep his time and financial budgets in order while he navigates missed shots, changing weather, artists’ meltdowns, and the nuts and bolts of the shoot. The nuts and bolts – the way a film looks and moves and how that happens technically. And for that Bob suffered, following in the footsteps of his heroes: Bergman, Hitchcock, Truffaut, Kubrick and more. Bob’s style was his trademark, but studios don’t make money on ‘style’. They make money on ‘draw’, and in the '70s, as in now, the draw is always Conflict. Bob was an excellent portrayer of conflict - especially when it came down to fists. But that was only a fraction of what made him interesting. His style and where it came from is the real story.
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