Movie Director Job Description & Career Opportunities

If you love watching movies or have been fond of creating short clips, you might want to venture to the world of directing. The movie director is the one who interprets a written script and translates it into a full length movie. He has the artistic control of every activity from pre-production to post-production.

By using vision and creativity, along with technical skills, the movie director translates the script into a motion picture. It is a high-pressure job that deals with strict deadlines, assigning roles to personalities, and budgeting.
Duties and Responsibilities

Directing movies may sound fun and exciting to most people. But the truth is, being a movie director is a stressful job. There are a lot of responsibilities and a great deal of pressure. A movie director could be considered the “main man” in film making. They are in charge of making numerous artistic decisions.

Duties of a movie director include casting, shot planning and storyboarding, scheduling, script and story development, and production design. Together with the producer, he hires actors and the production staff. He oversees the whole production from day to day. Therefore, a director should be familiar with the technicalities in making a film.

The movie director is also in charge of choosing the best location to shoot. The place should match the script or screenplay in order to effectively deliver the story. Once accepted by the producer, he creates a shooting script. A shooting script dictates the directions on filming every scene. The director divides the shooting script according to the targeted length of the film, budget limitations, and capabilities of the cast and crew.

In the actual filming process, the movie director gives instructions to the camera operator and other crew members. He also coaches the actors and gives a brief introduction of their characters as well as how he wants them to portray it.

The movie director also helps in editing the film. At the end of a day’s shoot, he does a quick scan of the film and points out errors and weak scenes. If he’s not satisfied, he can decide whether or not to redo the scene.
Skills and Education

There is no specific educational requirement for a movie director. However, a related course in writing or acting might help aspiring directors. Some schools offer certificate programs in directing, film making and film theory, cinematography, editing, lighting, and other related tasks.

A movie director should be very familiar and engaged in different aspects of film making. Those with technical skills have an advantage over those without. Nevertheless, the key to becoming a successful movie director is talent and creativity.
Work Conditions

Obviously, movie directors do not have a fixed work schedule. The environment and working hours depend on the requirements of the film. They can start working very early in the morning or end late at night. They can also move from one location to another.

There is also no fixed salary for a movie director. Their compensation depends on how much the movie earned when they are screened.