WHO IS WHO IN THE MOVIE WORLD

We are about to look at who is involved in making a film. Think about what roles interest you most!

Director A director is the BOSS on the set of a film. They monitor production of the film based on their own artistic vision. They hire cast and crew members and give them instructions every day. And… the director’s most famous job...

They get to yell: Here is advice from two famous directors, Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick.

Actors Anyone who appears onscreen is an actor. Some movies only need a few actors. The Lord of the Rings films had about 20,000 actors each. It all depends on what type of movie you want to make! What makes the difference between good acting and bad acting?

Screen- writer A screenwriter writes the screenplay! A screenwriter maps out the vision for the movie which the director then brings to the screen-- usually with a couple of changes, hehe. A screenplay is a combination of many elements, including dialogue, scene descriptions, and technical instructions. Here are some tips from the pros on screenwriting

Cinematographer, or Cameraman This person is in charge of shooting the footage which is used for the film. Here are some things to keep in mind as a cinematographer

The editor pieces together the whole film. An editor will compile footage into scenes that capture the right atmosphere of the setting... …. and then compile finish scenes together in a way that tells a coherent story.

It’s HARD to be an editor! Look at how many different cuts must be placed together in these two scenes.

Sound Editor A sound editor compiles the audio of the film, both from the shoot and recreated sound effects. Each layer of sound is called a division, and the process of putting them together is called sound mixing. The three main divisions are effects, dialogue, and music. Watch and listen to this scene from Black Swan. How many audio divisions can you recognize?

I count five (at least)! Music: The Swan Lake music Dialogue: “Wow!” At least three sound effects: The doors opening The “voices” The applause It’s the sound editor’s job to make sure all of these divisions are blended in seamlessly into the finished film. Sounds like fun, right?!

Composer The composer makes the music for the movie, usually after the rest of the movie has been completed. What movies can you think of with really good music? What does this music bring to the movie?

And many more! Here is a list of the many, many roles that are involved in making a film! Unfortunately, we don’t have enough students in this class to fill in every one of these roles. But with enough TEAMWORK, you guys are certain to succeed! Think about which roles of filmmaking interest you the most and which you may wish to take on as we make a film together in this class.