Fulgencio, Jayvee P.

1-18
Praefecus

To be the director of the film means that you must be able to have the creative capacity to
visualize the screenplay in its utmost aesthetic. This also means that you must be able to show
the people what was really intended in the film itself, by managing different aspects of the film
such as the stage design, acting, makeup, script, background music, and even the lighting.
Everything must be overseen as a director in order to fully show the intended message. And
directing is not only in the matter of pre-production, but also it is a role that must be done from
the planning stage, to the shooting, up until the post-processing of the film itself. You must be
able to have the keen eye to be able to give critique on the film that you are currently managing.
Thus, it can be stated that directing a film is not easy, it requires you to have both sides of the
coin, a dreamer yet at the same time a realist, to be manipulative yet free at the same time. This
is the hard role that the director undergoes.

Now, if I were given the opportunity to be the director of my own movie, first I would be
more than glad to be given such a role because it means that people have entrusted themselves to
you, they trust your skills, effort, and the ways that you have done in order to portray the
intended messages and story of the movie. Also, I would see to it as an opportunity and a
challenge for me to improve more and to learn a lot of new things. In the industry of film, you
never run out of new things to learn because every shoot is another opportunity for you to learn.
Setting these things aside, for me to direct a film, I would first and foremost write the story itself.
Following the rule of inverted pyramid, we start with the basic concept and idea of the film, then
it is followed with questions like ‘How?’, ‘Why?’, ‘Where’, and the like. Let us say that I would
like to direct a film that is an indie drama and romance. From those questions, we can slowly
build up the progression of the story to be created in making the film. Now, after creating the
story, provided a foundation, we now choose different actors and actresses that would suffice the
needs of the film in terms of characters. The person must be fitting to the role needed, in
addition, you must also consider how this certain actor would look and relate to another actor or
actress. Would they look good? Would they not? It is also an important matter to discuss the so-
called ‘compatibility’ present between individuals to be able to fit the intended story. Then after
selecting the people who would act, it is now important that you discuss with different people
with different specialty, this includes the production, makeup artists, and the lighting directors.
You must all collaborate in order to discuss how to make all the dreams that is seen by the
director into a reality. This would also be essential if the editor of the film is also included so that
there would be no complications in post-processing. After everything is planned, the actual
shooting must be done. Following certain storyboards, the director must be able to oversee
everything, even the tiniest details of the film, in order to fully accomplish the goal of the film
itself. Lastly, the post-processing, also known as the editing. The director must be able to tell the
editors, or sometimes the directors themselves are the editors, the colors needed to be seen in the
film. Playing with the colors, whether it is warm or cold or matte, would play a big role in the
making of the film. It would make an impact in the emotion being felt by the audience
themselves. Thus, there is a necessity for the color-grading of the clips and scenes in film
making.

Directing and film making can be seen by some people as a job that requires tons of
money but has small earnings. But beyond that, we could see directing rather as a passion and a
desire to be able to show the people the emotions and the message intended by the whole
production. It allows us to see from a different perspective with a different story. It enables us to
shortly live in the life of a person whom we never met, but rather, has an emotional connection
with us. And with that, directing and filming overall can be described simply as the wizards of
illusion, with their own wise skills, gathered through extensive trainings, readings, and fights,
they can put up a spell upon us that let’s us see through different dimensions with different
stories.