Like what are their exact roles and responsibilities in the pre/post or even during production?
In: 2
Think of a movie production like a business. The Director is the CEO who has an overall vision and direction he wants to take the company/movie. He hires and delegates responsibility to a bunch of different people like DP, sound, set design, costume design, casting, etc.
Each department has tasks that move the film forward, much like different departments in a company play a role in moving the company forward. They are all working towards a singular goal, with the director/CEO over seeing everything.
For example, a director of photography (DP) or cinematographer is in charge of actually setting up the cameras and the filming process. He sets up shots according to what the directors is looking for. So the director can say, I want this scene to have a gritty and cold feel to it. The DP knows what types of angles, film and lenses to prepare to get that tone. He will also work with the lighting director to make sure the lighting plays a part in getting the tone on film.
Sometimes directors will act as their own DP in order to get their exact vision on film. Tarantino is one of the more well known directors who acts as their own cinematographer.
Almost all directors have a signature style or feature that make their movies very distinguishable. Directors have such an influence over how a movie is made that they are sometimes more important than the actors. Movies would turn out to be completely different depending on who directed them. A really fantastic example, we have now had 4 different modern Batman directors. Think about how much variation we have had from Burton to Schumacher to Nolan and Reeves. Even the contrast between Burton and Schumacher shows how much influence a director has over the final product.
Some more examples of signature styles:
John Woo always has a slow motion scene involving doves flying away. He also has a tendency to create drama in action sequences with a Mexican standoff types setup where the protagonist and antagonist hold each other at gunpoint and dialogue back and forth. Slow motion diving shots are also a staple signature.
Edgar Wright likes to use quick cut shots of insignificant action to transition between scenes and create humor. He also loves to synchronize on screen action with the soundtrack.
This is something that I have really gotten into in the last 10 years or so, trying to identify the impact a director had on a movie.
For more on this, check out this article and Google more like it:
https://collider.com/great-visual-trademarks-of-accomplished-directors/?newsletter_popup=1#edgar-wright-fast-cuts
Latest Answers