Film Directing Fundamentals : From Script to Screen

Film Directing Fundamentals gives the novice director a set of specific techniques for developing the fundamental elements of this craft in realizing a screenplay for the screen, along with an introduction to the narrative/dramatic elements of film.


In Part One, Nicholas Proferes provides a short screenplay to take the student step-by-step through the "detective" work necessary to uncover disparate dramatic elements such as character, circumstance, wants, and actions. This initial investigation identifies the dramatic essence of each moment, organizes them into a dramatic unit, and leads to an overall design for rendering the script on the screen. This section includes work with actors, staging, and use of the camera as an active narrator. Students are encouraged to use floor plans and storyboards to aid in the previsualization of the film.

Part Two features a scene-by-scene analysis of three feature films by master directors. These are designed to be used in conjunction with the viewing of the films and allows the student to fully understand how the dramatic and narrative categories of film language are used by master directors. In addition, nine other films are analyzed for their distinctive styles and differing dramatic construction. An appendix contains the grammatical rules of film language, the cinematic categories of time and space, and essential questions directors should ask concerning their screenplays.

Provides a unique methodology for aspiring directors and scriptwriters for realizing a screenplay for the screen
Aimed at learning to engage an audience in the unfolding of a cinematic story
Explains the use of storyboards for previsualization, staging of actors, and the use of the camera as active narrator

Nicholas T. Proferes is Professor of Film at the Film Division, School of the Arts, Columbia University where he has taught directing for eighteen years. He has worked extensively in the film industry as a director, cameraman, editor, and producer in both documentary and dramatic/narrative films.