Previous Image « » Next Image

Total Directing Covers All Aspects of the Craft

Total Directing

Kingdon, Tom
Silman-James Press, Los Angeles, 2004.
Price: $30.

Summary: This soup-to-nuts textbook covers every directorial task from the earliest pre production through the end of post, focusing on the director's work with the script, the actors, the shoot, and the edit bay.

Opinion: A great resource for learning how much the director's job really involves. It recognizes that the director is a writer, designer, coach, technician, and editor. Its coverage of script preparation, actor management, camera setups and moves, blocking and continuity, and directing to edit provide a thorough survey of these topics. The author draws on his long professional experience and presents his thoughts in clear and amiable language.

Like any such book, it expresses the author's personal experience, working methods and tastes; so one may not agree with some matters of individual opinion. Thoroughly film-oriented (despite "television" in its subtitle) the book doesn't do much with the problems (and opportunities) unique to video; and of course, it is largely focused on narrative fiction programs.

Aside from this, this text is highly recommended. It won't teach you how to direct (no book can), but it will organize and clarify the bewildering variety of tasks a professional director performs (often all at once). It should be especially effective in classrooms. 4