I’m continuing where I left off last about Steven Spielberg’s TOP 5 TIPS for film directors. Let’s jump right into in.
2. Know Where to Draw the Line
“You can’t dictate creativity to someone else, and if you do, the project fails,” says Robert Zemeckis, director of such hits as Back to the Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. “Steven understands that, which is why we all want to work with him.”
Steven Spielberg is known throughout Hollywood as a man who knows what he wants and that usually means doing things his way.
Well, who could blame him?
With countless blockbuster hits and a few Oscars mounted in his trophy case, doing it the Spielberg way is almost guaranteed money in the bank.
Despite the amount of control that Spielberg likes to have over all aspects of his film, he also knows where to draw the line. When directing actors, he gives the experienced ones the room they need to manoeuver and the freedom to do so, typically only stepping in if he is working with less proven talent.
It takes a strong person to not overuse and abuse their power. Even successful people like Spielberg must know their limits.
3. Find Inspiration Around You
“My mom and dad gave me free reign at expressing myself, up to and including torturing all of my sisters,” he said. “They were my first audience.”
From an early age, Steven Spielberg took every opportunity to turn simple everyday situations into something more fascinating and imaginative for his own amusement.
“It was like, wow, great affirmation, you know, that I had told a story that had somehow succeeded.”
The genius to Spielberg’s work lies deep within himself. He’s a man who never wanted to let go of his childlike imagination and curious nature for telling stories that appeal to the kid in all of us.
“When I grow up, I still want to be a director” – Steven Spielberg.
How many times have you ever had an idea for a movie or flash of creative inspiration? Only to let your inner critic quickly convince you that your hunches were silly and frivolous.
Steven Spielberg claims people don’t daydream enough.
I once saw Steven Spielberg being interviewed on the Oprah Winfrey show (promoting his movie Amistad) and he boldly told the audience that constantly following your intuition is the seed to greatness.
I will finish off this three part article about Spielberg’s tips for becoming a film director, later this week.
As always, your comments are welcome and encouraged. Let me know what you thought about this article by leaving a comment below! Also, I invite you to become a fan of my film “Bend and Break” on Facebook.
#1 written by Clinton Cleetus March 1st, 2010 at 03:29
Thanks a lot
am just gonna be 17
but I wanna be a film director one day
ur tips hav reall been supportive
and encouraging
thanks again
#2 written by admin March 1st, 2010 at 11:43
Clinton,
I’m glad to hear that you plan to one day be a film director. Stay focused, follow your dream and you’ll make it happen!
Thank you for your positive feedback about my blog.
Ian.
#3 written by Bradley March 2nd, 2010 at 11:59
Thanks for the tips. Just like Clinton I too want to be a filmmaker and have taken the above tips on board. It’s quite hard to find great tips like these and learn from them!
I would recommend these tips to any inspiring filmmaker and wish them the best of luck in what is a competetive industry! Do you know any companys or studios that I could send a CV to or gain work experience for?
Thanks again
Bradley
#4 written by admin March 3rd, 2010 at 18:31
Hey Bradley,
Thank you for your comments.
About any companies or studios to send your CV for work experience…the best resource I know is the Hollywood Reporter’s “Hollywood Creative Directory”. This reference book has over 6,000 contact names, addresses, phone numbers to every film studio, TV network, production company,etc in both Hollywood and New York City. Most major city public libraries should have this book. You can also go online to: www.hcdonline.com to get access to the same information via their website, however, there might be a fee to get full access.
Well, I hope this info will be of help to you.
To your success,
Ian.
#5 written by DJ March 18th, 2010 at 13:44
Hey, I would like to know do you have to finish film school to be movie director? I mean I am not from USA so I am not sure how big my chances are. I already have few scripts written but I need a chace to show how much i know and make my own movie! Can you give me some tips? Like what could I do or something? Thanks
#6 written by admin March 19th, 2010 at 20:48
DJ,
First, thank you for commenting on my website.
About your question, do you need to finish film school to be a movie director? My answer to that is definitely no. I had another visitor to my blog ask me a similiar question, “What steps must you take to become a professional film director?”
This is a great question to ask but a little bit difficult to answer because there can be many variables that would determine your course of action (i.e. where you live, your film industry experience, how connected you are to other industry people.)
My best advice for you is to read an article on my website I wrote last month titled “Is it worth going to film school”
http://www.ianagard.com/worth-film-school/
I recommend you read this article and follow the steps mentioned that best fit your situation.
To Your Success!
Ian.
#7 written by scratchth April 1st, 2010 at 11:56
One of my friends already told me about this place and I do not regret that I found this article.
#8 written by Grayfox April 16th, 2010 at 21:18
I am not going to be original this time, so all I am going to say that your blog rocks, sad that I don’t have suck a writing skills
#9 written by Clinton Cleetus June 9th, 2010 at 12:24
thanks a lot for your support guys
but my parents don”t support me in this field
so i have to get a job of my own and try for this
i’ll have to go through many jobs
but ultimately i’ll be a film director.
#10 written by Ajay July 18th, 2010 at 23:01
Hi Ian,
I am so excited to have found this site! I really appreciate you sharing valuable information with the wannabes and inspiring us as well. I also want to thank you for putting in perspectives and advices from influential directors like Spielberg, Tarentino and Sam Raimi. Thanks for being really open and informative about this intriguing industry. I visit this blog almost everyday and words cannot express what I feel when I go through the inspiring articles here. Please do keep up this good work. Thank you once again.
Ajay.
#11 written by admin July 19th, 2010 at 08:49
Ajay,
I’m glad to hear that you were able to find something of value from my site.
Ian.