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Sunrise, sunset…swiftly fly the days. It seems like it was only yesterday I was stomping through Grant Park with a megaphone smashed against my face yelling, “Grad’s Rule!” at the hungover Emo guy. Those innocent days are gone. No more childish games. Gone are the Roboxes and the “Bang Bangs.” It’s time to act like a veteran of the Columbia Film & Video – Screen Directing MFA program, because I’ve got a big project coming up…and it ain’t easy.

This semester I’m getting prepared to shoot a film called “Casual Encounters.” I’d tell you what it’s about, but there’s this whole non disclosure thing…I’m kidding. But I’m not spilling the beans yet.  This project is on a grander scale than last semester. Not only do we have a Director of Photography and his crew, we work with a sound team on set and a production designer.

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But when working on such a project, you have to learn to pick your battles. Interestingly enough this came up in an editing class. Our professor explained that when you give producers your projects, sometimes they like your work, sometimes they don’t, and sometimes they give you bad feedback. When you are faced with these conflicts, you have to pick your battles carefully. That’s essential in creating art. And you’ll face the same issues when you work with a group of people on your shoot.

One of the challenges a director faces on set is being an effective leader with a singular voice. Let me reiterate, narrative film making is a collaborative art form but (there’s always a “but,”) it all falls on the director’s shoulders. So you have to be prepared to stand up for your vision. You can’t let your project get high-jacked. In film school, as in many independent productions, the Director usually has the sole financial stake in the film. Therefore, with your vision and money on the line, you have to careful.

Listen to suggestions, weigh options, and choose what serves YOUR vision. For example, having a producer in film school is great. They usually have great story suggestions to help streamline your project. However, if they aren’t putting up cash, they don’t get the final word. Listen and see if they are servicing you.

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You may have a brilliant Director of Photography who knows more about lenses than you ever will, but don’t let them storyboard your production. Even if you are a terrible artist, get them done. In case you didn’t know, storyboarding is the process of sketching the proposed shots as they will appear on screen to get an idea of what the project will look like. If the DP pushes an idea that does not compliment your vision, then it becomes their vision. You’ve lost. Yes, you’ve lost. So be strong and know what battles to pick.

It’s hard when we’re not talking about something that’s objective. We can’t say, “One plus one equals two,” to solve a creative problem. We deal with the subjective, with the unproven, with belief. We believe in a radical project knowing we’ll face opposition and naysayers and “haters.” (I hate the term “haters” but it fits.) Yet still we create. Still we battle. That radical vision may by perceived as madness by one person or genius by another. So goes the life of an artist. Now that I’m moving forward with my project, “Casual Encounters,” what battle am I going to pick? Check my next post to find out.