What Does a Director Do?

Learn About the Salary, Required Skills, & More

BY 
DAWN ROSENBERG MCKAY
 
Updated August 01, 2019
The Balance / Ran Zheng

Some famous names may come to mind when we think of directors. Most people
have heard of Steven Spielberg, Joss Whedon, Kathryn Bigelow, and Ridley
Scott, who are known for their work directing movies. However, not all directors
are famous and many are not even involved with movies. They instead work in
other parts of the entertainment industry, such as in television shows, theater,
broadcast and cable news programs, and television commercials.

Director Duties & Responsibilities

The job generally requires the ability to perform the following duties:

 Direct the creative aspects of a production.

 Hire talent.
 Select scripts.
 Manage the work of cast and crew.
 Collaborate with producers, to whom they typically report.

Movie, television, stage, and news directors oversee the creative aspects of a

production and make sure those parts run smoothly. Depending on which types
of productions they work on, producers may also oversee the work of set
designers, costume designers, makeup artists, actors, news anchors, broadcast
meteorologists, camera operators, reporters, writers, audio and video equipment
technicians, and film and video editors.

Director Salary
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) combines salary and employment
statistics for directors and producers:

 Median Annual Salary: $71,680  

 Top 10% Annual Salary: $163,540
 Bottom 10% Annual Salary: $34,450 

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018

Education, Training, & Certification

The path to becoming a director can look different for each person and in each
part of the entertainment industry.

 Education: Although it's not required, many directors earn a bachelor's

degree in a discipline related to the area in which they'd like to work such
as cinema and film, television, radio, communication, theater, or
performing arts. Many stage directors complete a degree in theater,
according to the BLS, and some may even go on to earn a Master of Fine
Arts (MFA) degree.
 Experience: Directors may start by working as assistants or interns in
television or film studios or theatrical management offices and work their
way up. Networking is often key to getting work on bigger jobs.

Director Skills & Competencies

To be successful in this role, you’ll generally need the following skills and
qualities: 

 Active Listening: Strong listening skills allow directors to understand what

others are telling them.
 Reading Comprehension: Directors have to read a lot of written material,
including scripts.
  Verbal Communication: They must be able to orally convey
information so people can understand what they need to do.
 Interpersonal Skills: In addition to having strong verbal communication
and listening skills, directors must be able to coordinate their actions with
those of other people. They need the ability to negotiate with and persuade
the cast and crew, as well as empathize and sympathize with them.
 Management: A director must be able to provide instruction, give useful
feedback, and assume responsibility when things don't go well.
 Critical Thinking: To solve problems, they identify and evaluate possible
solutions before choosing the best one.
 Time Management: This skill allows them to complete the multitude of
tasks for which they are responsible as a director.
 Creativity: Directors call upon their creativity to interpret scripts and other
material.

Job Outlook
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment in this field will
grow 12% through 2026, which is faster than the overall employment growth of
7% for all occupations in the country.

Work Environment
Directors must be able to work in high-pressure situations. Even though they're
responsible for the creative process of productions, directors are ultimately driven
by production deadlines and budgets. They also need to be willing to travel,
either to film on location for a movie or TV show or to tour with a theater
production.

Work Schedule
Directors often work on short-term assignments and may be unemployed for
extended periods of time between projects. The number of hours directors work
during a day and week can also vary, but generally, directors' workdays are long.
About one-third of directors work more than 40 hours per week, according to the
BLS. They sometimes work nights, weekends, and holidays to keep a production
on schedule.