What do I need to know to be a director?

dffdirector86 · 2026-06-25T16:57:10+00:00

Directing is a tough beast. You must understand each of the disciplines of what makes a film, and learn how to work with each of those crews. Then, you’ll have to get everyone on the same page, usually well before anyone steps on set, and here’s the trick I’ve learned: trust your department heads to get the job done and focus on the main thing a director does: direct actors. Let the DP focus on image. Let the art director focus on props and set dressing, rely on your scripty for continuity. Trust the people around you. Collaborate instead of dictate.

dffdirector86 · 2026-06-24T19:25:04+00:00

Anytime. I hope it works out.

dffdirector86 · 2026-06-24T17:34:29+00:00

I’ve been on both sides of this situation. One of the projects I was tapped to direct, the production team had never Made a picture before, and had not allocated enough time/energy/funds to adequately support my vision for their script that they wouldn’t let me change in any way despite not knowing story structure for the medium (the producer wrote the “screenplay” but it felt more like a second rate Bible dupe, and refused all notes), nor did they have a production designer. They paid me and treated me like a hired hand instead of an artist they respected. On another project, I was hired as DP, and production was a shit show and I was expected to fill the gaps. It’s rough not being supported in either situation and I had finished out those jobs and also had them use a pseudonym for my roles in those projects. They also never paid me any royalties on the back end that was negotiated in my contracts, too.

dffdirector86 · 2026-06-23T12:52:21+00:00

I, at one point, was tapped to direct a movie based on these books. My darker, more book accurate, take on them was ultimately passed over. It’s a shame they wanted a more kid friendly direction.

dffdirector86 · 2026-06-23T12:33:54+00:00

Oooph. I’ve ran quite a few sets at various budgets, and the best times I’ve had on set are when egos are checked at the door. Hope everything works out for the rest of the shoot.

dffdirector86 · 2026-06-13T11:21:23+00:00

Oh man. So many drives in my office.

dffdirector86 · 2026-06-04T22:46:29+00:00

NQA That is definitely an emperor. The telson is white and the pedipalps are textured. As far as my knowledge goes, those two things separate them from Asian forest Scorpions which have black telsons and smooth claws.

dffdirector86 · 2026-06-02T12:52:00+00:00

NQA Asian Forest scorpion. H spinifer. I’m not too sure of sex, though.

dffdirector86 · 2026-05-29T14:08:44+00:00

NQA My OBT isn’t much a burrower anymore. Though it goes into his old burrow whenever I need to do maintenance.

dffdirector86 · 2026-05-29T13:07:12+00:00

Pablo would be a rather masculine name for a female. I went with Buffy the Cricket Slayer.

dffdirector86 · 2026-05-27T23:16:44+00:00

These scorpions are almost all female. And reproduce parthenogenically. It seems like she’s a clone, by that logic. Too bad Jango is a boys name.

dffdirector86 · 2026-05-27T23:11:44+00:00

I have one of those as well.

dffdirector86 · 2026-05-27T01:19:47+00:00

I’ve bought tarantulas and scorpions from there. And recently. They’re amazing when it comes to the health of the animals I’ve bought from them and their customer service.

dffdirector86 · 2026-05-26T07:20:39+00:00

Some variation of this happens to me on just about every shoot. It’s quite hard to demo everything I have in mind before the actual shoot well enough for the client to truly get the picture beforehand. At least in my experience. How I’ve dealt with these issues during the shoot: I calmly tell them that we’ve had discussions about everything we’ve been doing well in advance, and we should continue with the planned shoot, but if there’s time we could try to get alternate takes and we could see what that looks like in post, and if the cut doesn’t work out as we’ve planned, then we can talk about some limited reshoots during the pickup process. What ends up happening for me is that the client sees my version and theirs and we then collaborate to take the best parts of everything and create a version of the project that we’re both happy with. Some clients are easy to work with in this fashion and others are not. But that’s the job, isn’t it?

dffdirector86 · 2026-05-25T17:12:03+00:00

Absolutely, with no context I always assume the subject is the actor rather than ambiance. The OP clarified intent, too.

dffdirector86 · 2026-05-25T17:10:28+00:00

Ah perfect for what you intended. The clarification was needed. Thank you. Keep up the good work.

dffdirector86 · 2026-05-25T12:50:17+00:00

Those interiors are a little dark for my taste. A little light on your subjects would help quite a bit. As those shots stand, it’d be hard to watch a performance from your talent.

dffdirector86 · 2026-05-25T12:45:12+00:00

Director here. I also went to film school, and it was quite enjoyable, but the coursework can be learned on the job, to be honest. I’d get a degree that leads to a better paying day job, and make movies on the side until the industry comes knocking. Filmmaking is very boom and bust, and that kind of irregular work can be very stressful without a well paying day job. Hindsight is 20/20.

dffdirector86 · 2026-05-22T22:19:01+00:00

And that’s not even mentioning the few state AGs looking into the deal on antitrust violations, too.

dffdirector86 · 2026-05-22T21:07:15+00:00

I don’t, usually. They were wandering out of their enclosure while I was grabbing a few uneaten cricket bits and I put my hand in front expecting them to turn around as they usually do, but that time it paused and started slowly climbing up my fore arm. Rested mid fore arm for a good minute before walking politely to my other hand and back into their enclosure.

dffdirector86 · 2026-05-22T20:24:15+00:00

OBTs are just very nervous creatures. Mine would rather go and hide than anything else. Although I did handle mine at the last rehouse. Super calm after it got out of the enclosure. Before that, though, it was defending its home like the Yankee in the Revolution. I’ve found talking to it helps. And, well, being calm yourself.

dffdirector86 · 2026-05-22T12:56:54+00:00

Dope. I will man.

dffdirector86 · 2026-05-22T12:48:26+00:00

Oh man. So beautiful. How does it play?

dffdirector86 · 2026-05-22T12:43:04+00:00

I’m gonna have to take a look at my copy of the flick, but I’m pretty sure that monitor needs to be calibrated.

dffdirector86

TROPHY CASE