Basically, the director is the artistic head of a movie.
There are three main phases to the job of directing a movie:
1. Pre-production
In many ways, this is the most important part of the process. It’s where the ideas of a film are translated into a kind of game plan, both from an artistic angle (casting, shot selection, style, color schemes, etc.) and a practical (scheduling, locations, etc). In many ways a movie is made or broken in pre-production.
2. Production
This is probably the phase most people associate with directing. Being on set, calling “action” and giving notes on performance and shots. This phase often feels like trying to paint a picture with a hundred people standing behind you screaming, “hurry up!” It’s very stressful and very exciting. Some days are truly soul crushing and some days you just feel electric.
3.Post-production
Often the longest phase of making a movie, and in many ways the most gratifying. This is where you assemble all the parts into something that feels like a movie. The director sits with the editor as the movie is put together and finessed to hide all the ridiculous mistakes the director made on set. Then sound effects are added and mixed, the color is corrected and visual effects are laid in. The director oversees all of this.
