The Collaborative Director
A Department-by-Department Guide to Filmmaking, 1st Edition
By Greg Takoudes

Publisher: Routledge
178 pages
Paperback; ISBN: 9781138618053



The Collaborative Director: A Department-by-Department Guide to Filmmaking explores the directorial process in a way that allows the director to gather the best ideas from the departments that make up a film crew, while making sure that it is the director’s vision being shown on screen. It goes beyond the core concepts of vision, aesthetic taste, and storytelling to teach how to effectively collaborate with each team and fully tap into their creative potential.

The structure of the book follows a budget top sheet, with each chapter describing the workflow and responsibilities of a different department and giving insights into the methods and techniques a director can use to understand the roles and dynamics. Each chapter is divided into four sections. Section one provides an overview of the department, section two focuses on directors who have used that department in notably effective ways, section three looks at collaboration from the reverse perspective with interviews from department members, and section four concludes each chapter with a set of tasks directors can use to prepare.

Ideal for beginner and intermediate filmmaking students, as well as aspiring filmmakers and early career professionals, this book provides invaluable insight into the different departments, and how a director can utilize the skills and experience of a crew to lead with knowledge and confidence.

Reviews

‘Takoudes has written a refreshing and insightful text that dispels the myth that films are made by a single auteur and expertly showcases with clear and concise case studies that the greatest cinema of the last twenty years has been a collaborative effort. Something aspiring directors need to read.’

-Ted Wilkes, Lecturer in Screenwriting, Regent’s University, London

‘Collaboration is at the heart of filmmaking. A great film is the product of the director’s vision and how they execute it working with a multitude of creative and technical professionals. This book assuredly navigates both the student and the practiced filmmaker through the labyrinth of film departments. A must-read for any director who needs to collaborate with others to make their film. In other words, ALL directors must read this book!’

-Ron Schildknecht, Filmmaker and Professor, Spalding University, Kentucky

Table of Contents

Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: The director and story department
Chapter Three: The director and camera department
Chapter Four: The director and producers department
Chapter Five: The director and talent department
Chapter Six: The director and assistant director department
Chapter Seven: The director and locations department
Chapter Eight: The director and art department
Chapter Nine: The director and production sound department
Chapter Ten: The director and wardrobe, hair, and makeup departments
Chapter Eleven: The director and editorial department
Chapter Twelve: The director and post-production sound department
Chapter Thirteen: Conclusion

About the Author:

Greg Takoudes is a Director, Producer, Writer, and Adjunct Professor of Film Studies at The New School, New York. His feature film Up With Me, distributed by IFC Films, premiered at South by Southwest, where it won the Special Jury Award, and has played at film festivals in America and Europe. His debut novel When We Wuz Famous was published in 2013, and he previously worked for Ron Howard and Brian Grazer as a member of the creative team at Imagine Entertainment. For more information, visit www.takoudes.com.