John Badham On Directing - 2nd edition. John Badham

Too many directors just explain intellectually what a scene is about.

      Don’t stuff their ears with palaver about what happened in a past life, how this is an allegory for the evolution of the universe, how their mother had ingrown toenails that made her grouchy. Remind them what they’re playing and get out of their way.

      Sports coaches have this down to a science. We can learn from their manual. They are very specific with their directions. The tennis pro working on your serve doesn’t go into the physics of the ball and racket or the history of the game. They keep it simple. You want to hit the ball into the opposite court? Their direction: Toss the ball more to your left. Simple. Direct.

      Always remember the KISS principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid.

      James Woods: It’s like in golf. Never tell somebody what not to do in the swing. “Don’t look up.” Well, you can’t do a negative. Tell them what to do. “Get over to the left side with the club.” That’ll take care of the other problem. So always find something positive. If an actor’s stuck, don’t dwell on the problem. Give them something else to do.

      Here’s a little example. I was doing a scene once, and a coffee table was in front of me. Somebody said, “Oh, you’re having a little trouble getting up around that coffee table. We’ll just move it.” I said, “No. The coffee table is a real obstacle in a scene. If it’s a real obstacle, something interesting will happen in my explosive moment with him.” We rolled on the scene, and when we got to that blowup part, the coffee table was in my way. I kicked the stupid thing over and went and throttled the guy. All of a sudden, that became a captivating, explosive moment because there’s nothing worse on film than tedium, and nothing better on film than excitement.

      SUMMARY

      1. Directors talk too much. Don’t overexplain, or the actor may drown in your “helpful” words.

      2. Give an actor behaviors and actions for their character, not intellectual ideas.

      3. Ask the actor:

      What does their character want in the scene?

      How does the character feel about what they want?

      4. Encourage the actors to figure things out by themselves. When they make discoveries themselves, they will possess those ideas totally — more so than if you had given them the very same idea yourself.

      5. Never tell someone what not to do. Give the actor an action to do.

      6. Above all, KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid.

      ¹ Young, Kazan, 134.