Film-making wisdom and a fascinating mine of film lore make this a priceless resource for students, aspiring film professionals, and film fans.

Unique book written by well-known and best-selling Focal author!

In this book, nine leading international theatre directors discuss their work and careers, providing fascinating insight into their approaches and creative relationships with actors. Each conversation is framed by an introduction to the work of the director, a detailed chronology of productions and an indicative bibliography to inspire further reading and research.

An accessible edition of a classic guide to film and theater directing offers insight into the craft's unique challenges from managing personalities and anticipating problems to working with a script and the key elements of staging, in a primer that also features life lessons gleaned by the co-authors throughout their careers. Reprint. 30,000 first printing.

Elia Kazan was the twentieth century’s most celebrated director of both stage and screen, and this monumental, revelatory book shows us the master at work. Kazan’s list of Broadway and Hollywood successes—A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, On the Waterfront, to name a few—is a testament to his profound impact on the art of directing. This remarkable book, drawn from his notebooks, letters, interviews, and autobiography, reveals Kazan’s method: how he uncovered the “spine,” or core, of each script; how he analyzed each piece in terms of his own experience; and how he determined the specifics of his production. And in the final section, “The Pleasures of Directing”—written during Kazan’s final years—he becomes a wise old pro offering advice and insight for budding artists, writers, actors, and directors.

Originally published: New York: Collier Books, 1972.

Exploring Movie Construction & Production contains eight chapters of the major areas of film construction and production. The discussion covers theme, genre, narrative structure, character portrayal, story, plot, directing style, cinematography, and editing. Important terminology is defined and types of analysis are discussed and demonstrated. An extended example of how a movie description reflects the setting, narrative structure, or directing style is used throughout the book to illustrate building blocks of each theme. This approach to film instruction and analysis has proved beneficial to increasing students¿ learning, while enhancing the creativity and critical thinking of the student.

The profession of directing is barely a century old. On Directing considers the position of the director in theater and performance today. What is a director? How do they begin work on a play or performance? What methods are used in rehearsal? Is the director an enabler, a collaborator or dictator? As we enter the new millennium, is the very concept of directing under increasing threat from changes in thinking and practice? The full diversity of today's approaches to directing are explored through a series of interviews with leading contemporary practitioners. On Directing is a landmark book about the director's craft.

On motion picture and television sets today the director spends 90% of his time directing the camera. Professional actors come to set prepared to direct themselves. In spite of this recent change, 90% of all books on directing do not teach specifically how to direct the camera. Gil Bettman's 'Directing the Camera' fills that void by teaching the elements of craft that contemporary directors use to give their films the visually dynamic look preferred by audiences today.