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  1. Dartmouth Libraries
  2. Research Guides
  3. FILM 37 - Directing for the Camera
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FILM 37 - Directing for the Camera

This is a course guide for FILM 37.
  • Home
    • Course description
    • In the Library's collections
    • Introductory reading(s)
    • Selected book title(s)
    • Other library resource(s)
    • Finding scholarly articles & journal title(s)
    • Internet resource(s)
    • Citing and Tracking Your Bibliographic References
    • Keeping up with Film Studies journal literature

Subject Librarian

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Lucinda M. Hall
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Subjects: Film and Media Studies, Geography, Polar Studies

Course description

Course description

Directing for the Camera investigates the directorial process of translating the written script to the screen. Students analyze, rehearse, shoot and edit narrative scenes from existing or original screenplays. The exercises are critiqued and comparisons are then made between the existing works and the exercises. Students work in crews rotating between the roles of director, camera, and sound. Special attention is also given to lighting, cinematography, and audio recording.

[Source: ORC/Catalog, 03/27/2023]; Dist:ART

Defining direction

1. The task of steering a film through its various stages of pre-production, production, and post-production.

2. The specific work of supervising and controlling actors and other personnel during the pre-production and production of a film. The work of direction usually begins in pre-production, with the director undertaking a number of key tasks, including liaising with the producer to ensure that what is being planned can be achieved within the available budget. From there, the director will work on the script, the production design, and cinematography in order to prepare the film for shooting. Script preparation may involve the director working collaboratively with a writer, or the direction may be planned from a completed script with little or no revision or rewriting. The creative elements of script preparation are: clarification of story, planning for the visual style and design of the film, and planning for lighting, blocking, and cinematography. On larger-scale productions, a first assistant director liaises with the director and takes charge of the day-to-day planning and organizing of the film crew. Additionally, a line manager/production manager will deal with other practical matters necessary for production such as travel, catering, and accommodation. On the film set, direction consists of two main tasks. The first is to support the actors in terms of performance (see acting). Here the script preparation (conveying the director’s preferred characterization for each role) will underpin an actor’s approach to the role they are asked to play (see beats). When the camera runs the director’s task is to assess the success of the acting, calling for further takes if necessary. The second task on set is to film the action and dialogue of the script in a way that’s appropriate to the creative design of the film as a whole; for instance, if using the rules of continuity and blocking, the director ensures that material is shot in a way that allows for successful editing in post-production. In order to maintain budgetary control, direction must work to an agreed pace: this is usually indicated by the numbers of script pages to be filmed per day or the number of setups allowed for each day’s shooting. During the studio era very few directors were involved in the post-production editing of a film, as their role was completed when the film was shot (see studio system). In contemporary filmmaking this has changed and the director may also oversee the editing of a film, sometimes having decisive control over the final cut of the picture (see also director’s cut). Direction may even extend to the application of special effects, the dubbing of the film, and the preparation of musical score and soundtrack (see sound; sound design). The directing role is mainly conceived in relation to commercial feature film production, but its principles are also applicable to a broad range of filmmaking practice, including documentary, avant-garde, and experimental film, as well as practice as research.  ...

Kuhn, A., & Westwell, G. (2020). Direction. In A Dictionary of Film Studies. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 27 Mar. 2023

In the Library's collections

You can use one of these subject headings to start your research in the library's online catalog:

  • motion pictures production and direction
    Insert the name of a country if you like. Most resources are in the call number range PN 1995.9 .P7 on Baker Stack Level 4.
  • television production and direction
    Most resources are in the call number range PN 1992.75 on Baker Stack Level 4.
  • motion picture producers and directors
    Insert the name of a country, if you like. Most resources are in the call number range PN 1995.9 .P7 on Baker Stack Level 4.
  • television producers and directors
    Most resources are in the call number range PN 1992.4 on Baker Stack Level 4.

Introductory reading(s)

  • Cover artStudio television production and directing: concepts, equipment, and procedures by Andrew Utterback
    • Book
    Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1992.75 .U88 2016
    ISBN: 9780415743501
    Publication Date: 2nd ed.
    Master the fundamentals of studio production procedure and become an effective leader on set. Gain fluency in essential studio terms and technology and acquire the skills you need to make it in the industry.
  • Cover artDirectors tell the story: master the craft of television and film directing by Bethany Rooney; Mary Lou Belli
    • On Campus or VPN
    • E-Book
    Call Number: eBook
    ISBN: 9781138948471
    Publication Date: 2nd ed.
    Move over, movies: the freshest storytelling today is on television, where the multi-episodic format is used for rich character development and innovative story arcs. Directors Tell the Story, Second Edition, offers rare insight and advice straight from two A-list television directors whose credits include NCIS, NCIS New Orleans, Nashville, Criminal Minds and many more. Here, in one volume, learn everything you need to know to become an excellent director, not merely a good one. ...
  • Cover artFilm directing fundamentals: see your film before shooting by Nicholas T. Proferes
    • On Campus or VPN
    • E-Book
    Call Number: eBook
    ISBN: 9781351683111
    Publication Date: 4th ed.
    Film Directing Fundamentals gives the novice director an organic methodology for realizing on-screen the full dramatic possibility of a screenplay. Unique among directing books, Nicholas Proferes provides clear-cut ways to translate a script to the screen. Using the script as a blueprint, he leads the reader through specific techniques to analyze and translate its components into a visual story. ...

Selected book title(s)

  • Cover artCreated by--: inside the minds of TV's top show creators by Steven Prigge
    • Book
    Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1992.7 .P75 2005
    ISBN: 9781879505827
    As entertaining as it is enlightening, Created By presents a stellar cast of 21 show creators who candidly talk about writing and selling hit television series: J.J. Abrams (Alias, Lost); Alan Ball (Six Feet Under); Yvette Lee Bowser (Living Single, Half & Half); Mark Brazill (That '70s Show); Ilene Chaiken (The L Word); Larry David (Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm); Tom Fontana (Oz); Tracy Gamble (8 Simple Rules); Dave Hackel (Becker); Barbara Hall (Joan of Arcadia); Brenda Hampton (7th Heaven, Fat Actress); ... They discuss influences: writing spec scripts; first jobs in TV; getting an agent; mentors; being staffed as a writer; the pitch; writing a pilot; putting yourself in the characters you create; rewriting; producing a pilot; marketing; hiring a writing staff; making a show last; TV writing vs. film writing; drama vs. sitcom; cable vs. network TV; what show creators look for in a writer; writers block; luck and much more. ...
  • Cover artDirecting for television: conversations with American TV directors by Brian G. Rose
    • Book
    Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1992.75 .R59 1999
    ISBN: 9780810835917
    Though not as celebrated or as widely-known as film directors, TV directors face tremendous creative challenges in their work. Putting on a new episode of situation comedy every four days or directing the Super Bowl or a live news event requires great skill and discipline. Directing for Television looks at the work of more than two dozen directors and examines their role in the complex process of TV production.
  • Cover artMaking your first feature film: lessons I learned the hard way by Dominick Bagnato
    • Book
    Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1995.9 .P7 B275 2017
    ISBN: 9781476670348
    The tools for independent film-making are more accessible today than ever. Yet there is much more to successfully creating a film than access to equipment and software. Chronicling the making of his debut feature film, A Convenient Truth (2015), the author describes the practical pre-production steps needed to take a project from early concept to the first day of photography--details most film-making guides don't include. ...
  • Cover artOrson Welles's last movie: the making of The Other Side of the Wind by Josh Karp
    • Book
    Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1997 .O755 K37 2015
    ISBN: 9781250007087
    In the summer of 1970 legendary but self-destructive director Orson Welles returned to Hollywood from years of self-imposed exile in Europe and decided it was time to make a comeback movie. Coincidentally it was the story of a legendary self-destructive director who returns to Hollywood from years of self-imposed exile in Europe. Welles swore it wasn't autobiographical. The Other Side of the Wind was supposed to take place during a single day, and Welles planned to shoot it in eight weeks. It took twelve years and remains unreleased and largely unseen.
  • Cover artSlow movies: countering the cinema of action by Ira Jaffe
    • On Campus or VPN
    • E-Book
    Call Number: eBook
    ISBN: 9780231169783
    But to capture the reality of human experience, cinema must fasten on stillness and inaction as much as motion. Slow Movies investigates movies by acclaimed international directors who in the past three decades have challenged mainstream cinema's reliance on motion and action.

Other library resource(s)

  • Cover artThe art direction handbook for film and television by Michael Rizzo
    • Book
    Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1995.9 .A74 R583 2015
    ISBN: 9780415842792
    This comprehensive, professional manual details the set-up of the art department and the day-to-day job duties: scouting for locations, research, executing the design concept, supervising scenery construction, and surviving production.
  • Resource logoDirectors from Oxford Bibliographies Online by Virginia Wright Wexman
    • On Campus or VPN
    Call Number: Electronic resource
    ISBN: 9780199791286
    Most cinema scholarship is about directors. The study of directors began in earnest with the advent of the auteur theory. Advanced during the early 1950s in the pages of the French journal Cahiers du cinéma and later in the United States through the writings of Andrew Sarris, the theory cast directors as the authors of the films they helmed and elevated Hollywood directors to the status of artists.
  • Resource logoDirectors from the Archive of American Television by Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation
    • Video
    Call Number: Electronic resource
    The Archive of American Television has been conducting video-recorded interviews with well-established television professionals since 1997. The majority of these 900-plus interviews are now available for viewing online. In addition to many well-known actors, interview subjects include people in behind-the-scenes positions such as directors, executives, designers, stylists, location managers, and more. The link goes directly to the director interviews.
  • Great directors by Angela Ismailos
    • Video
    • On Campus or VPN
    Call Number: Streaming video
    Ten of the greatest filmmakers in the world passionately discuss their craft in Angela Ismailos' hugely entertaining documentary.
  • Cover artHomicide--life on the street. The complete season 6
    • DVD
    Call Number: Jones Media DVD #6359
    ISBN: 9780767075961
    Day to day, the officers of the Baltimore Police Department Homicide Division face one of the United States worst crime rates, not to mention the pressures of their own personal lives. Some days, justice isn't just blind, it flat-out just doesn't exist. This season includes "Subway" guest starring Vincent D'Onofrio. It also includes the Frontline episode "Anatomy of a Homicide" where they discuss all the elements that make up the "Subway" episode.
  • Cover artTake 100: the future of film: 100 new directors by [10 curators: Cameron Bailey ... et al.]
    • Book
    Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1994 .T255 2010
    ISBN: 9780714849553
    Take 100 presents an emerging generation of the most talented filmmakers around the world. ...

Finding scholarly articles & journal title(s)

Articles and other writings about directing can be found in many publications. You can use Film & Television Literature Index to find articles or use the box at the top of the page.

  • Resource logoFilm & television literature index by EBSCO Publishing
    • On Campus or VPN
    • Database
    Call Number: Electronic resource
    Covers over 300 journal and magazine titles for film and television reviews, scholarly and critical analysis of cinema and television, and articles of popular interest about film and television.
  • Resource logoWeb of science citation databases by Clarivate
    • On Campus or VPN
    • Database
    Call Number: Electronic resource
    The online version of 3 separate ISI indexes: Arts & Humanities Citation Index, Science Citation Index and, Social Sciences Citation Index.

Internet resource(s)

  • Television Academy Foundation logo
    Archive of American television
    • Link
    The Archive of American Television has been conducting video-recorded interviews with well-established television professionals since 1997. The majority of these interviews are now available online. In addition to actors, interview subjects include people in behind-the-scenes positions such as directors, executives, designers, stylists, location managers, and more.

Citing and Tracking Your Bibliographic References

Use this guide to help you learn how to correctly cite and keep track of the references you find for your research.

  • Citation Resources
    • Link
    Resources to help you cite and manage references.

Keeping up with Film Studies journal literature

Want an easy way to keep up with the journal literature for all facets of Film Studies? And you use a mobile device? You can install the BrowZine app and create a custom Bookshelf of your favorite journal titles. Then you will get the Table of Contents (ToCs) of your favorite journals automatically delivered to you when they become available. Once you have the ToC's, you can download and read the articles you want from the journals for which we have subscriptions.

You can get the app from the App Store or Google Play.

Don't own or use a mobile device? You can still use BrowZine! It's also available in a web version. You can get to it here. The web version works the same way as the app version. Find the journals you like, create a custom Bookshelf, get ToCs and read the articles you want.

  • Last Updated: Jan 22, 2025 2:05 PM
  • URL: https://researchguides.dartmouth.edu/film37courseguide
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