by Benjamin Wright.

Filmmakers lending their cinematic sensibilities to ad campaigns are nothing new. “Alien” and “Black Hawk Down” director Ridley Scott created a frenzy with his “1984” ad for Apple Computers, which aired just after halftime of Super Bowl XVIII on Jan. 22, 1984.

Infusing the sort of dystopian landscape found in his sci-fi masterpiece “Blade Runner” with George’s Orwell’s landmark novel, the commercial showed a group of humanoid beings obeying Big Brother, just as athlete Anya Major comes to set them free with her large sledgehammer and the power of Apple Computers at her side.

For his American Express commercial, filmmaker Wes Anderson made acommercial that matched his movies such as “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “The Darjeeling Limited,” from actors Jason Schwartzman and Waris Ahluwalia, to quirky humor and costuming, to even the font used.

Yet these are far from the only feature-length filmmakers helming commercials. The Oracle notes directors who have turned their lenses on brief commercials that are funny, superfluous, insightful and even empowering.

Read the rest of this article from The Oracle.

Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get the first 30 pages of my 238 page Film Directing Multi-Media Online course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar.”

Bobby Roth has come up with a seminar on directing for network TV and independent film that is beneficial for aspiring directors and actors alike.

He takes his students through the process from the first day of prep through through post production, with a strong emphasis on casting and directing actors, as well as his technique of envisioning the scene so one can make a complete and detailed shot list necessary for both artistic excellence and efficiency.

Check out Bobby’s Demo Reel.

Saturday, April 16, 2011
Working Stage Theater
1516 N. Gardner St.
West Hollywood, CA 90046
bobbyrothdirectingseminar@gmail.com

From Miami Vice to Prison Break and Lost, Bobby Roth has directed over 50 US television series in his 30-year career, also serving as Executive Producer and Producer on the 1985 ABC series The Insiders and the 2005 CBS series Numb3rs.

In addition, Roth has directed 20 movies for television, including the award-winning 2005 CBS Elizabeth Smart Story. Roth also has 13 feature films to his credit, from the celebrated 1984 Heartbreakers to his recent release, the award-winning Berkeley.

This article was written for Get Film Crew.

“I am a film major and am being given the option to focus on directing or screenwriting although I am not sure on what to do. What would you guys do?

The issue is not if you’re a people person or a loner. There are plenty of Directors I know who are very much not the life of the party and they could care less about your feelings. They care about getting the job done and everybody around them doing their jobs. So that the story can be told. Everything else is secondary.”

Read the rest of this article from Get Film Crew.

This article was written by Lynden Barber.

“There is no official, sanctified path into film directing, as former video-store clerk Quentin Tarantino reminded everyone within earshot for years. For every film-school graduate sitting in the big canvas chair there’s someone who has honed their skills in music clips, television and cinema commercials or, for that matter, theatre, photography, writing or art.

A background in another art form is certainly no impediment to success in film. Since cinema is a medium combining many practices – sound, visual design, storytelling, costumes, photography, drama, acting – artists with visual and story sense and strong leadership qualities have a better than average chance of rising to the directorial occasion.”

Read the rest of this article from The Australian.

“Remember how hard it used to be to get famous or get your foot in the door in Hollywood? It used to be that you had to either know someone in the industry (usually a relative… see “The Baldwin Brothers” or “Casey Affleck”) or you had to have an impressive resume of directing music videos and television commercials (see Spike Jonze or Michael Bay).

These days, though, the Internet is the great equalizer. Aspiring singers, writers, and yes… even filmmakers, can carve out a career path all on their own.

Today we have further evidence of this trend, with the Hollywood Reporter story on the director of “Panic Attack.”

“Panic Attack” is a short film on YouTube that was made for a few hundred dollars by a filmmaker from Uruguay named Fede Alvarez. The film, which runs 4 minutes and 48 seconds, is about a fleet of robots attacking the city of Montevideo, and the public panic that ensues. It has been viewed over half a million times.”

Read rest of this article from Real SEO.

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Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get: (1) Day One of my 201 page mutli-media Online film directing audio course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar” and (2) the first 24 pages (plus mp3 audio) of my 137 page “Script Breakdown and Film Scheduling Online Course For Independent Filmmakers.”

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“The person, who shapes a program’s message through the manipulation of the artistic and technical elements, seeking to maximize their effect up on audience,. “directing is the sum total of artistic and technical operations which enables the play as conceived by the author to pass from the abstract, talent state, that of the written script, to concrete and actual life on the style”. Jaques Lopeau, encyclopedia Franaise, December 1935.”

Read rest of article from Binoj.

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Sign up now for your own FREE monthly subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine and get: (1) Day One of my 201 page mutli-media Online film directing audio course, “The Art and Craft of the Director Audio Seminar” and (2) the first 24 pages (plus mp3 audio) of my 137 page “Script Breakdown and Film Scheduling Online Course For Independent Filmmakers.”

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“Film and TV directors are notorious for not speaking the actor’s language. Actors fresh out of drama school or with a stage background or with very little acting experience can be baffled by the directions they’re getting. Worse, they can be led astray — into indicating and/or result-oriented work.”

Read this article from Backstage.com

This article is from Moviemaker Magazine.

“Many of us have made films (short films, long films) and we take great pride in saying, “I made that.” But did we really? We say we’re “directors.” We say we “make films.” We may even call ourselves “moviemakers.” But what do we really do?” Read rest of aticle.

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THE DIRECTOR’S CHAIR: Sign up for your own FREE subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine, packed with hundreds of film making articles, tips, tools and techniques. This FREE monthly Film Directing ezine is read by over 3200 filmmakers in 100 countries around the world. http://www.actioncutprint.com/ezine.html

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This article is from IndieWire.

“Film Independent, announced the lineup for the ninth annual Directors Close-Up: Conversations on the Art of Filmmaking, formerly known as the Director Series. Series panelists this year include Elliot Davis (cinematographer, “Twilight,” “Lords of Dogtown”), Rodrigo Garcia (“In Treatment,” “Nine Lives”), Lance Hammer (“Ballast”), Catherine Hardwicke (“Twilight,” “Lords of Dogtown”), Oscar nominee Courtney Hunt (“Frozen River”), Jonathan Levine (“The Wackness”), Nancy Richardson (editor, “Twilight,” “Lords of Dogtown”), Howard Rodman (screenwriter, “Savage Grace”), with additional names to be announced. The events will be held February 4 – March 11, 2009 at The Landmark – West Los Angeles.” Read rest of article.

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Sign up for your own FREE subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine, packed with hundreds of film making articles, tips, tools and techniques. This FREE monthly Film Directing ezine is read by over 3100 filmmakers in 100 countries around the world. http://www.actioncutprint.com/ezine.html

Leena Pendharkar is a filmmaker living in Los Angeles. She just finished shooting her first feature film, “Raspberry Magic.”

“The past eight weeks of my life have been more insane than I could ever have imagined, but we did it! After two years of raising money, we finally made it all happen and shot the film! Directing a feature film is an entirely different experience than making a short film–it was hard, it was challenging, the days were long, but I really enjoyed directing. Of course, there are many things I’ll do differently next time, but there were so many things I didn’t anticipate, some of which include:” Read rest of article here.

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Sign up for your own FREE subscription to “The Director’s Chair” filmmaking ezine, packed with hundreds of film making articles, tips, tools and techniques. This FREE monthly Film Directing ezine is read by over 3000 filmmakers in 100 countries around the world. http://www.actioncutprint.com/ezine.html
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