The Profession of Director. Private Lessons from Great Directors

All great filmmakers have their secret method of shooting films, but their approaches vary widely. Some love to carefully prepare shots in advance. Others, on the contrary, refuse to think about the shot until they start shooting it. Some try to 'see' the shots in their dreams the night before, and if that doesn't work, they wander around the set before the shift starts, imagining scenes before the crew joins them. And some claim that filmmakers should abandon the illusion that they can control the entire creative process of making a film. In this book, Laurent Tirard talks with 39 of the most significant contemporary directors and invites us to learn firsthand what the profession of a film director means to each of them. They also try to explore their vision of cinema and their techniques, shedding light on the process and helping us understand what makes each filmmaker unique.