Director's Foundation Certificate

The director is ultimately responsible for every image and sound that appears on the screen. Many new directors chase the dream of directing without the technical and creative skills needed to succeed.

You will learn the key skills  of working with the screenplay, directing camera, cast and crew, and gain an overview of each area of the director’s responsibilities. The course will cover how directors work with and interpret the Screenplay , how to Work with Actors in Rehearsal and On Set, the technical aspects and ‘Grammar’ of Directing and finally what the director actually does On the Day of the Shoot and how to best Work with Editor.

If you want to get into directing, this is the course for you. Covering a variety of basic and advanced techniques and processes, this course is for directors starting out on their creative path, those interested in finding out more about directing, or those seeking a quick refresher course.

By the end of the 5 weeks, students will have covered:

The script is the blueprint for a movie. The director's job is to read and interpret the screenplay. Discover how a good director translates the written word into the visual elements on the screen.

• Analysing and reading the script
• Discovering the true story
• Identifying key moments
• Finding additional visual elements
• Written assignment

Directors use a variety of shots and lenses to compose their scenes and create a vocabulary of cinematic techniques and processes. Directors must learn the do's and don'ts of film grammar.

• Camera placement and technique
• Framing and composition
• Storyboarding and Pre-Vis as directing tools
• Written assignment

The director's challenge is to communicate his/her vision to the cast. Learn to run a rehearsal and create mood and tension by inspiring the actors and using the tool of staging.

• How actors work
• Creating characters for the screen
• Tools for communicating with actors
• Rehearsal process and staging
• Written assignment

In this session we will look at how a director prepares and operates in the production phased on set or location. Using professional camera lighting and sound equipment and the scene we rehearsed with the actors in week 3, we will shoot with a plan to having enough material to produce and edit for week 5.

• Shot Lists and Scheduling.
• The Director's focus on set.
• Preparing to shoot.
• Good communication under pressure.
• Making decisions and staying flexible.
• Shooting for the edit.

In the edit, the audiovisual material collected during the shoot is reorganised to tell the story in the best way.  The director must thoroughly understand the editing process.

• Time scale and project management explained
• Viewing rushes and making decisions
• Working with sound and music
• View edit from last week's rushes
• Written assignment