5 Skills A Movie Director Should Have by Choice Skinner

[@radb94]

Currently directing my first feature and everything he says is spot on. I’m loving this journey with all its ups and downs.

[@filmcourage]

Congrats! Make sure to get some Behind The Scenes for Film Courage : )

[@sultanaljuhani1571]

How was the movie lol lol ? :)

[@sultanaljuhani1571]

Went into your channel expecting a trailer or something 🤠

[@ahmednader4724]

Yo what's the name of the movie or your IMDB or st

[@Whoa802]

​@@sultanaljuhani1571 Probably pretty fucking shitty. If you go into it with the attitude of looking after your crew first and worrying about getting your shots second, you'll be lucky if you ever come up with anything better than sub-par. Sorry to break it to you but that's the truth.

[@HippySpeedballPodcast]

"Unmet expectations breeds depression". That one hit close to home for sure.

[@Whoa802]

So just be happy with mediocrity then?

[@ethanbrunt7755]

@@Whoa802how the hell did you come to that?

[@omarsmedia]

“Life is like a movie, and when you discover your true self, you’ll naturally become your own director” -The Beglerbegi

[@franjes9999]

This guy has an awesome mindset I love his perspective on the whole industry and his approach to filmmaking and working with people and being a leader

[@Whoa802]

Yeah, shame he hasn't made anything good, though.

[@caroldacat4626]

This was so insightful and gives a great perspective on leadership in directing.

[@moniquevamado]

The first time I listened to this, I was listening from a director's perspective. I've listened to it now from an actor's perspective and am so glad to hear what you guys are talking about. You delve way deeper than most people who talk about filmmaking and I'm grateful to you.

[@Thunderpuddle]

A really honest and encouraging interview

[@dontmindme352]

Love the positive energy encouraged here. If I ever get the chance to direct my own film I want to make everyone feel safe and that they are needed and cared for. Kubrick didn't understand this, pushing more for abuse of the actors to get a great performance. But even the darkest films can benefit from a good workplace environment. Salo, one of the most disturbing films ever made, had a great on set mentality. You'd never know it from the final product, but the actors got along, had fun, and were cared for. Sure there were some issues on set, what set doesn't? But the overall encouragement and care brought great performances from people who weren't even established actors

[@maryamkhodabakhsh8713]

awesome! Thank you for being so kind and having great personality!

[@moniquevamado]

Oh my gosh, I love this guy and resonate so much with all you guys were talking about re: seed planting (that's actually been a theme in my life the past few years). He would be great to work with!

[@Jesterswords]

This is excellent. Thank you, Mr. Skinner!

[@Darkanent]

Cary Patrick Martin you’re most definitely welcome! Keep going!

[@marcbaron1897]

Having been on 100's of sets, and worked with dozens of top directors, I totally agree with everything he states

[@Whoa802]

Tell me, which directors have you worked with?

[@Solaris501]

“I was great, I was amazing, I was talented, but it didn’t work out”. I had to rewind that part.

[@Whoa802]

If you care more about the feelings and well-being of your crew over getting the shots you want and still think it didn't work in spite of your amazing talent, then you, my friend, are delusional. The real reason it didn't work out is because you probably didn't have enough grit and tenacity to make the film as good as it can be. Talent is important, but conviction matters equally as well.

[@poosnweesism]

That was so cool. I feel like I was hot and Choice just brought a cool breeze

[@montecarlomethod-youtube]

Nothing wrong with an energy bro thank u

[@JayneNicoletti]

Starting to direct after acting and this was great advice. I think being a little flexible with your crew is vital.

[@GroundUpProduct00]

This was a gold. Great tips and I like this guy, he seems super cool.

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

This is a great video with a great wealth of informative perspective! It's entirely possible to prattle on forever on the various skills a director should have (probably?)... BUT before going into any detail, let's first understand some of that "unspoken truth" from this video... In all those skills, not once did Choice mention much of anything technical. Did you notice that? The closest to a "technical skill" was about the list of great shots, which was immediately followed by "flexibility"... so not all the great shots on the list are necessarily going to get shot... let alone make it past editing to the final product. This "sub-text"(?) tells me that the first part of a director's skill-set is based on the understanding that one guy can't run the whole show. The director can't possibly do everything, a theme that crops up throughout this interview segment... and is worth note. Sure, it's great to have the technical understandings for the equipment, cameras, lenses, shot choices, editing, effects, and make up... etc... BUT People skills are the important skills for the director. He/she is a Leader, first, worst, foremost... AND leaders enjoy that flexibility requirement that they do NOT have to know how to do everything. They only need to know how to get other people to do everything, and that's not the easiest thing to do... Again, like Choice pointed out, arguing is wasteful. Why carry on for twenty minutes over something you want someone to do, because human nature makes them far LESS likely to do it after twenty minutes of gratuitous verbal abuse...? Coach and coax, instead. Haggling is probably a top listed skill... the ability to bargain with someone who "has to have it his or her way". SO reach a bargain... the invariable, "You can give me this, and have that..." sequence. Someone shows up and their life is upside down, or they're just falling apart, and they don't need a "BOSS" as much as a "Therapist"... Well, if you need work, then you're stuck... Being able to listen to other people's problems and reach the catharsis they desperately need over rushing the job and watching the whole operation fall apart is probably highly useful... WORK ON IT! (add therapist or even half-assed bartender to the list)... After that, from what I understand of larger-than-life projects, organization and scheduling skills will probably fall into the mix somewhere. As a director, it's plausible to suggest you can find someone to handle that part, or those parts (as the case may be) BUT it's still probably highly advisable to get some work in on your own to be able to adequately organize people and operations through the schedule so you're not trying to shoot rainy-day scenes in the middle of the hottest driest heatwave in history when you were just shooting the sunny-day scenes through the monsoon season... Let's see about a relatively conclusive conclusion... (meaning, I think we're at five, by now?) 1. Coach to urge and coax the best out of people as close to demand as possible... 2. Haggler to bargain, barter, and trade with those you can't exactly coach or coax... and get results. 3. Therapist/bar-tender... a listening ear to help those psychological hiccups that get everyone at some point or other... even just to discern being able to coach or bargain, or let it go and take the damn day off... tomorrow might be better. 4. Organization... You can't get a large group of people together in one direction without it. 5. Scheduling... You'd think this falls into organization, but time is always ticking and only ever goes away... scheduling borrows from organization and compliments it... AND if you can't manage it at all... you're probably going to have a hell of a time doing anything. Okay, I think I've got a comprehensive. Now, this isn't to say Choice hasn't hit it squarely. I think he's been in the business of movies a whole lot longer than me, and frankly, screwing up at being a GM (Game Mastering is my thing... lolz) holds a WHOLE LOT LESS in consequences than screwing up a movie production. SO maybe this is just my... er... "for whatever it's worth" observation. ;o)

[@BodhiGeraci]

Thank you for this comment! Really enjoyed your two cents expanding on what Choice has said in this video =)

[@gus5stingraybass]

This guy is the man

[@stephenhbartu2557]

Tnx

[@ZahraSadati13]

Thank you so much for this useful video and helping younger videographer.

[@jackizoza6121]

Love what he said about the production faze. A director sets the tone for the story... As he said the director is a leader and sometimes he's there to prevent mistakes more than fix them. That would be the editors job.

[@amirleon996]

Love this interview.

[@ActiveBrothers]

great interview. !

[@artlessdiamondmedia]

Thank you for this. I'm new and wanting to be a director

[@Seanboogiefilms]

It sounds crazy but after completing my first feature I was happy for the struggles and wouldn't have any other way. I'm realizing that maybe the blessing is in the struggle itself. About to jump in this river again for the 3rd time. But getting better. Happy struggling.

[@MindNow]

With great power comes great responsibility :) Winny out...for now ;)

[@ValHill-or3fg]

Well Said

[@Cinefilms_708]

very informative. thank you

[@TheDadVlog]

4/5 ain't bad.

[@JCPFILMS]

So many indie film maker have piss poor listening and communication skills.

[@Whoa802]

Sometimes, but from personal experience, what I see more often are overly timid, overly generous directors who don't ever seem to want to push their actors or crew to achieve anything beyond mediocrity. The problem is that most of them are worried about having their reputations ruined before their career's even started if they are too demanding, but there is a way of pushing people to do better work than what they usually do without being an asshole about it. What these filmmakers need to remember (including the guy in this video), is that what separates a great director from a mediocre one is not just talent, but also grit and tenacity (Hitchcock, Kubrick, Kurosawa etc). They shouldn't be abusive, but a director cannot be great if they care more about how their actors and crew feel, over how the audience feels.

[@naverich4603]

How can I get better at my communication skills? How can I make everyone on set to be happy with our work?

[@Whoa802]

I believe the key to good communication is to know what you want beforehand and know how to describe it in a way that is understandable even to a complete simpleton. Before you arrive to set, try to think as much as you can about EXACTLY what you want out of each and every department, and once you have that sorted out, try to think about how you're gonna explain it (say it in the most simple, easy to understand way imaginable, no fancy metaphors or needlessly flowery language). As for making everyone happy on set, though, sorry, but that's not always doable. When you make films (and when I say films, I mean films that run for at least 20 mins), there will be days where your cast and crew will begin to dislike you for making them work harder and longer than what they'd prefer. When you're making movies, you'll quickly learn that not everyone on set cares as much about the final product as you (a lot of them just want quick, easy money) and that it's your job to fight against the pressure to give in to demands based on other people's laziness. That isn't to say you should bully or abuse them, but you do need to have a bit of a fight in you to become a director in the first place. I know it's easy to lose faith in oneself when there's twenty of them and one of you, but remember, at the end of the day, it's the audience that matters most, not whether the lead actress wants to blow you. If you don't, what you'd get in return is a great relationship with your cast and crew, but a product that ultimately suffered at least in part due to your inability to fight for your vision. Actors/crew members may not like to admit this, but nearly all the great directors out there (Hitchcock, Kubrick, Kurosawa etc) are fueled at least in part by their tenacity and stubbornness. Without that, they'd just be like any other director out there. If you can, try to make them work long and hard for you through kindness and compassion. If you can't, then you may occasionally have to resort to good, old-fashioned, blunt force trauma (figuratively, that is). Those are my two cents.

[@christina6584]

what's his name? he's just wonderful!

[@filmcourage]

Choice Skinner

[@christina6584]

@@filmcourage thank you

[@RioBroski]

👍👍

[@mattdawzonyosores6005]

What is the first step someone should do if they really want to pursue it?

[@CallumBlacoe]

Keep to the the film path, start at the bottom as a runner and work your way up. Experince is key and getting contacts of peop;e who work in the industry

[@mattdawzonyosores6005]

@@CallumBlacoe thanks and honestly it is true to make filming a career is hard but as long as you film and try to do something you can label your self one as long as you love it at the end of the day.

[@GroundUpProduct00]

Joss Whedon should listen to this

[@Darkanent]

LOL!!! Facts!!!

[@QualityVideoService]

Title of the film: All By Myself, here are the links: vimeo.com/ondemand/155553?fbclid=IwAR00uWTUTrDMXL4QkzjGpFZO_eTc9R18kCOJuJ00C2pvxzwd1PawO3Bu6Ak Imdb.com link: www.imdb.com/title/tt6599180/reference

[@Matt_Mosley1983]

2) The shot isn't important. 🤨 (I'd guess he's just a director and not a writer)

[@Whoa802]

Yeah, I don't like this mentality of "Yeah, it'd be great to get that shot, but my crew's tired so let's just do this instead." I'm sure it's fun working on his movies, but this overly caring, overly generous style of directing is the exact reason why there are so many mediocre movies out there. What unites most of the great directors, aside from talent, is tenacity and stubbornness (Hitchcock, Kubrick, Kurosawa etc), two traits that seem to be fading more and more in the ever increasing pussification of the modern film industry ("Oh no, he made me do more than five takes! He's abusing me! Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!").

[@MatthewStark235]

Lol learning this cause I am making a Zombie movie with my cousins and sisters. Ngl its pretty good haha

[@Whoa802]

He seems like a nice guy, but his philosophy of looking after your crew and your actors first and worrying about getting your shots second is the exact reason why there are so many mediocre movies out there (as is the case with this dude's filmography). A director shouldn't be abusive or unethical, per say, but they should all have a certain level of grit and commitment to their vision. Most of the great directors are fueled at least in part by their stubbornness and tenacity (Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Akira Kurosawa etc). Without that, they'd just be like any other normal director. We need to stop advocating for mediocrity in the name of niceness and instead, promote discipline, hard work, stamina, and positive mental attitudes.