Follow a director as he films a motion picture adaption of Eugène Ionesco's The New Tenant

NARRATOR: This is the script for a movie. It tells the story in words. It's the director's job to take these words and make them come alive on the screen.

DIRECTOR: "How dare you say that to me, a mother with kids. You can't make a fool out of me. I . . ."

NARRATOR: If there's dialogue, read it aloud.

DIRECTOR: "You just get here, and what do ya do. You make me come up to your room . . ."

NARRATOR: You don't have to be an actor to tell whether or not it sounds real, like real people talking.

DIRECTOR: "Go back downstairs please. There may be some mail."
"What d'ya want with a vase anyhow?"
"What d'ya want a vase for anyhow?"
"What d'ya want a vase for anyhow?"

NARRATOR: If it doesn't sound real, change it.

DIRECTOR: "What d'ya want a vase for--what d'ya want a vase for anyhow?" Yeah, that's better. "A mother with kids, you can't push me around. I'll go see the cop."

This room looks too clean. Wish there was wallpaper. Ceiling isn't high enough.

NARRATOR: If you're shooting on location, check the locations out yourself. Is the look right? Can you get the camera angles you want? Is there too much noise to record sound?

DIRECTOR: Ok, Izzy, what d'ya think? I can make do with the windows and doors.

NARRATOR: Take your cameraman along, if you can, and get his opinions.

CAMERAMAN: You have to leave me at least one or two walls for equipment, and it'd leave me a very limited amount of room . . .

DIRECTOR: . . . I guess we're better off on the stage with this thing.

CAMERAMAN: Much.

NARRATOR: If you're going to shoot on the set, make the first sketches of it yourself. It doesn't matter how rough they are. But it's up to you to decide where the walls need to be and the doors and the windows.

DIRECTOR: I have to see both the doors in a wide shot. I'd better angle the walls some way.

NARRATOR: Then make certain that your set designer is giving you what you've asked for and what you need.

DIRECTOR: The other thing is the doors. I know, I--I told you in my sketches, I always had an opening out of the room like that. And I need to have men. I want this effect of the furniture coming through, and pushing the doors open.

SET DESIGNER: That won't create any problems of furniture on the interior?

DIRECTOR: Yeah, it will, but there's going to be problems on either side. It's gonna be--we're gonna be tight for space either way. And I think the effect of the doors bursting open is something I need. So, is that a problem for you?

SET DESIGNER: No, not at all.

DIRECTOR: Scene 1 is the sound shot and a wide shot. Scene 2 is shot through the window, sound, and a close-up of the super.

NARRATOR: Break down the script. Group similar shots together--those shot in the same set or location, shots of the same actors, shots using the same props or special equipment. The shots should be grouped together in the way that makes the shooting easiest, fastest, and most economical.

WOMAN: "Sorry, the hiccups."

NARRATOR: Be as demanding as possible in the casting of your actors. Insist that each actor you're seriously considering read for you.

WOMAN: ". . . somebody was down in the back. They got to go see Mr. Clarence."

NARRATOR: Don't kid yourself. Forget about makeup and costumes and the difficulty of cold readings. If you don't see and hear in the actor at least the beginnings of the character you have in mind, it's very unlikely you'll get what you want from him on the screen.

DIRECTOR: "Well, we've got a little problem, sir."

MAN: "What is it?"

NARRATOR: And finally, before you cast an actor, find out how he takes your direction.

MAN: "What kind of furniture is it?"

DIRECTOR: Ok, Paul, I wonder if you could do that with more of the sense of--a little sense of nervous concern like everything has been fine, all the furniture is gotten into place, everything's working to plan, but now they're saying there's a problem.

NARRATOR: Make sure that you're able to communicate with him, that he understands what you're saying.

DIRECTOR: "What are we gonna do?"

MAN: "Is there very much left? You're not finished are you?"

DIRECTOR: Yeah, but see if you can do it without, you don't need the voice, it's just a sense of nervousness.

"What are we gonna do?"

MAN: "Is there very much left? You're not finished are you?"

DIRECTOR: Can you do the "oks" without any break at all? You're breaking after the first one. It's boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

WOMAN: "Ok, ok, ok, ok!"

DIRECTOR: That's it. That's it.

The camera's in front for a wide shot. The super comes in the door to the center of the room and then to the window.

NARRATOR: Block the action on paper. Where will your actors be? How will they move? Where will your camera be? When will the camera move? Make diagrams on your shooting script.

DIRECTOR: We cut to a shot through the window, a close-up of the super leaning out.

NARRATOR: Always block the show and select your shots with the audience in mind. What does the audience most need to see in each moment of the story? That's what should be on the screen.

DIRECTOR: The man and the super are at the door on the two shot. The man crosses, and the camera pans with him, and the super crosses over into the shot.

NARRATOR: Make shot lists for each day's shooting. Block your shots together so that you minimize the number of major changes of camera position and major lighting changes. Be realistic, don't schedule more than you can shoot in a day. There's nothing worse on a set for you and your crew and your cast than the feeling that you're constantly falling behind schedule. Schedule realistically and then feel good if you go faster than expected.

DIRECTOR: "He's sorry, he's sorry, he's sorry. He's making fun of me, that's what he's doing. Oh, I don't like that. People making fun of me, they're all the same."

NARRATOR: Recheck your blocking on the set or location before your cast and crew arrive.

WOMAN: "Shut up!"

DIRECTOR: ". . . I can't hear myself think . . . I ain't gonna open your window . . ."

NARRATOR: It's easier to think things out when you're alone. You can make changes or corrections without having to discuss them with anybody or argue about them.

WOMAN: "I never should've listened to you."

DIRECTOR: We're going to shoot off set. We'll have to move the camera over.

WOMAN: "You'll see, he's a liar. He won't even pay ya."

NARRATOR: As much as you can, direct your show before the shooting begins.

MAN: "One there, please."

DIRECTOR: "And one there."

NARRATOR: Don't be rigid. Be ready to change when a better camera angle or blocking becomes evident in the course of shooting.

WOMAN: ". . . you're killing yourself for nothing."

DIRECTOR: "That's what life's all about."

NARRATOR: But at least have something in your head and on paper to change from.

DIRECTOR: The way this is gonna work gentlemen . . . Carl.

CARL: Yes.

DIRECTOR: We're gonna find you coming down your ladder. You've hung the picture. In fact, for action, it would probably be good to . . .

NARRATOR: There's nothing that keeps the show happier than the director who at least appears to know what he wants without having to stop and think things out on the set while everyone else waits for him and gets paid for the waiting.

DIRECTOR: You're looking at him. You look to him, see? They give you a line, "Are they alright." "They look alright to me." Back to you. "They're alright."

NARRATOR: The director is the one person on the set who is responsible for keeping the film as a whole in his mind at all times. It's your responsibility to make sure that the particular scene you're shooting will fit into its place in the finished film. And so you have to have all the answers for everybody.

MAN: Where am I? Where am I coming from?

DIRECTOR: You're coming from your close-up turn, remember?

MAN: Yes.

DIRECTOR: "Yes, you can, if you try."

NARRATOR: You tell the actor where they are . . .

DIRECTOR: You look over at him and you see that he's got his painting up there.

NARRATOR: . . . and what they're doing and why?

DIRECTOR: Maybe a little more voice in the singing.

WOMAN: Alright.

DIRECTOR: I'm just thinking of getting it through this barrage of noise.

WOMAN: The sound. I know.

NARRATOR: You remind them how noisy the room is supposed to be.

WOMAN: "They're all alike, making ya waste your time. I got other things to do, ya know? He asked me to come up here."

DIRECTOR: What I'm saying is that you have possibly had occasions like this. . .

NARRATOR: You explain how they should react to a small vase, which apparently weighs 300 pounds.

DIRECTOR: . . . things weigh more than they should. And, in other words, you're not surprised that the vase is heavy. Your only concern is that it is heavy.

MOVER 1: "What about this one, where's it going?"

MAN: "Put it there, please."

DIRECTOR: What goes through your head is this stupid idiot is standing there like a statue facing the wall.

NARRATOR: You tell them what they're thinking.

DIRECTOR: I'll try the personal approach, and off you go.

WOMAN: Yeah. Right. Yeah. Ok.

DIRECTOR: Once you decide to do it, you come right up.

WOMAN: "What about you? In business for yourself? Got a job?"

DIRECTOR: The nice thing that happens with those stools, you see one of them in front of her . . .

NARRATOR: You explain how to hold a pair of stools.

DIRECTOR: . . . be held up high enough so we catch some of the red on the other side there . . .

MOVER 1: "This is the first stuff."

WOMAN: "Hey, buster, don't you believe him."

NARRATOR: The closer the relationship between the director and his cameraman, the better. Ideally, you should both be seeing with the same eyes. Explain in detail what you want to see on the screen. And make sure that he understands you.

DIRECTOR: . . . I think it can be a pan but its gotta be partly a dolly, because you'll need this cut-in angle, you see, to have him appear. . .

CAMERAMAN: Ok.

DIRECTOR: . . . and then you got to pull back to show his side then you can pan. . . is it possible to . . . I could have used more movement in the thing at the end while she's still talking.

CAMERAMAN: I can keep going.

DIRECTOR: Is it possible that she could end up more across him to her.

CAMERAMAN: Sure. Let's make a new forward mark.

NARRATOR: Be sure you're getting what you want.

CAMERAMAN: You're still going in this direction, that's it.

NARRATOR: Don't take chances and be disappointed when you see it on screen.

CAMERAMAN: Right to there. Now, I think that I have to boom up a little bit to do this. Maybe not, maybe her having that kind of a look is ok.

DIRECTOR: That's fine. Yeah.

CAMERAMAN: Is this far enough around there?

DIRECTOR: Yeah. And that'll give you a little extra time to keep moving.

CAMERAMAN: Come down. Doesn't look menacing. It should be probably down, shooting up at 'em. That help?

DIRECTOR: It helps. Actually, it's not a bad frame. Let's see what's that white of the window in there . . .

CAMERAMAN: Yeah, now it is. The other position was terrible.

NARRATOR: Be ready to listen to your cameraman's suggestions. And accept them if they're useful.

DIRECTOR: What?

CAMERAMAN: You start on your closer shot and go back to a wide one it might work.

DIRECTOR: No. I think I'm gonna break it in a couple of places instead.

NARRATOR: But don't depend on the cameraman to set your shots or block your action.

DIRECTOR: This is gonna have to be broken up a little bit. "It's alright. Are they alright?" Beep, for me to get the camera over. Then look to him. Ok, let's take that much. Action.

NARRATOR: A movie is a story told in pictures. And it's the director's job to compose those pictures so that they tell the story in the best possible way.

DIRECTOR: Now, you still gotta be close to the picture.

MOVER 2: "They look alright to me."

MAN: "They're alright."

VOICE: Mark it 2. Take 1.

DIRECTOR: Action.

NARRATOR: During a take, the director's place is as close to the camera lens as possible.

WOMAN: "Gus! Gus! Yoo-hoo, George!"

NARRATOR: See what the camera sees.

DIRECTOR: Watch out! Cut it.

WOMAN: "You don't have anything to sleep on tonight, do ya?"

NARRATOR: You're the only live audience the actors will have.

WOMAN: "I'm gonna help ya."

NARRATOR: Make sure that you're an observant and perceptive audience.

WOMAN: "Take off your hat."

NARRATOR: In a sense, you're the representative for all the audiences that will ever see the film. If something doesn't play right for you, it won't play right for them.

DIRECTOR: Cut. Don't . . .

NARRATOR: So make corrections.

DIRECTOR: Not quite so quick coming out, Paul. "You're at home now."

WOMAN: "You're at home now."

DIRECTOR: It's a sense, not so much of pushing her, just that you don't know she's there.

WOMAN: "You're at home now."

DIRECTOR: Yeah.

WOMAN: "Take off your hat. That's right, don't take it off if you don't want to. You're at home now."

DIRECTOR: Cut it. That's a print. Thank you.

NARRATOR: Be prepared to wait. And schedule time for it. Just because you're ready doesn't mean everybody else is. Give your electrician time to adjust his lights. Let the dolly grip set his marks. Let the camera assistant measure focus.

DIRECTOR: Makeup please, sponge.

NARRATOR: And make certain that everybody is getting ready at the same time. Don't let the makeup man wait until after the lights are set to touch up makeup. Make certain that the boom man is rehearsing his moves at the same time the camera crew's rehearsing theirs.

WOMAN: "It's no good bringing in strangers. I don't know him!"

NARRATOR: And don't waste the time yourself.

DIRECTOR: . . . I need her to cross the opening to the apartment or to him. . . . The clap, you turn away for the clap. You not only turn away, but you gotta back out of the way.

CAMERAMAN: Ok, now pull it out. Half the stuff I can live with it to save us a half hour of . . .

DIRECTOR: Let's do it.

WOMAN: "There you are, I closed your window, just like you wanted. Closes real easy, too. It looks out on the alley, of course, but . . ."

DIRECTOR: Ok, that's it. Cut.

NARRATOR: Don't kid yourself that a take is good, when you know it isn't. A small bit of action that isn't just right is easy to pass over in the rush of shooting. There will always be people on the set to assure you that you won't even notice it on the screen. But you will notice it. And it will look worse each time you do. So fix it while you have the chance.

DIRECTOR: Your crossover to him can be faster still. Let's see . . .

WOMAN: Which one?

DIRECTOR: When he knocks on the wall.

WOMAN: Oh!

DIRECTOR: Here's this man's knocking on the walls. If he does it too much, they're likely to fall down. You're not going to let him do that.

WOMAN: Yeah, that's right! Yeah.

WOMAN: "Don't you worry. Them walls is sturdy. This place wasn't built yesterday. They don't make 'em like this anymore."

DIRECTOR: Action.

WOMAN: "I ain't gonna open the window! Me, I'm an honest woman."

DIRECTOR: Cut. Excuse me. That--that should be "I ain't gonna open your window" and it's his, he's paid for it.
Quiet please and roll sound.

VOICE: Mark 29. Take 4.

DIRECTOR: Ok, Izzy?

CAMERAMAN: Yeah.

DIRECTOR: Action.

WOMAN: "I ain't gonna open your window! Me, I'm an honest woman, nobody ever said I wasn't . . ."

DIRECTOR: "It's prettier that way." Quicker in that line . . .

MAN: "It's prettier. More discreet."

MOVER 2: "It's prettier, more discreet."

NARRATOR: Be sure that you have enough coverage; a scene may play well in one long take.

MAN: "That way, you don't see anything at all."

MOVER 1: "That's for sure."

NARRATOR: But you may discover in editing that you want to speed it up or slow it down. For that you'll need cutaways, shots that you can cut to, to slow or increase the tempo of the scene.

MOVER 2: "Everybody'll be happier."

MAN: "Everybody happy."

DIRECTOR: Ionesco says to play the whole thing with the characters' backs to the camera. I may do it, I don't know. But I want to have this sort of coverage.

MAN: "That's better."

MOVER 1: "It's prettier."

MAN: "It's prettier. More discreet."

NARRATOR: Don't over cover a scene. Have a confidence in the shots you've chosen. But give yourself a little leeway in editing if you can.

MAN: "That way, you can't see anything at all."

DIRECTOR: Ok, that's a print. Camera out in front. . . . dress the set as far as we've had it before.

Well, do you want to do one more now, Izzy, or is it . . . What's easier for you, Eve?

WOMAN: It doesn't matter as long as . . .

DIRECTOR: Let's--let's go again.

CAMERAMAN: One more, please. Yes. You can have the camera in position one.

MAN: "Please don't."

DIRECTOR: Fine. That--that works.

NARRATOR: Don't get hung up on a scene trying to get something that won't come if it simply isn't there. But don't say print and move on to the next scene until you're sure you've got the best on film that you can get given the time and money available, the skill of your cast and crew, and your own skill as a director.

DIRECTOR: "Knock, knock."

MAN: "It's the furniture."

WOMAN: "I'll get it. It's my place to wait on you. I'm your maid."

MAN: "Please don't."

DIRECTOR: Save that "don't" until you're all away around and we can see you.

MAN: Ok.

"It's the furniture."

WOMAN: "Don't bother, I'll open it for ya. It's my place, I'm your maid."

MAN: "Please, don't."

DIRECTOR: Cut. Yeah, that's a print.

NARRATOR: Then when you're sure it's the best you can get call print and waste no time getting on to the next scene.

DIRECTOR: Ok. That was very nice. Same spot, Izzy, scene 2 8--2 8.

WOMAN: "Shut up!"

DIRECTOR: You will have been coming--you're down with him here. "I don't like that." "I don't like people."

WOMAN: "I don't like that. . . . They're all alike. . . . making ya waste your time. I got other things to do, you know? He asked me to come up here."

DIRECTOR: Actually, all we need are these lines.

WOMAN: Yeah, I know.

DIRECTOR: "Shut up," then back to him. "I'm not gonna open your window" business. And then . . .

WOMAN: "Shut up, won't ya! I can't hear myself think!"