How do some actors direct their own movies? i.e. they play and direct the film at the same time.

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One examples i can think of rn are Shaolin Soccer. Always wondered aren’t they already trying to memorize their own lines? Let alone direct others, about how to do this and and that.

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Anonymous 0 Comments

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ a lot more work and a lot less free time

Anonymous 0 Comments

They delegate. Even when the director *isn’t* also playing a part, they delegate work to other members of the production. The Director of Photography directs the camera, someone else is directing stunts or effects, etc

Anonymous 0 Comments

I’ve acted in and directed some of my own stuff, and I’ve helped a friend who was directing a musical he was in (Mamma mia, the director was also Sam, I was Harry, and also the lighting director and camera operator. Also the choreographer was tanya – it was a small production).

He’d do the practice from the normal director position except when it was a scene with him in, where he’d try and keep control on stage, but we’d also run a camera or two so he’d have an audience perspective to look at that night (like a director looks at the ‘rushes’) and makes notes for the next day. on rare occasions, the stage manager or the sound manager would block out the directors place in practice and read from the script.

So on stage its easier in a way, because you only have ‘one take’ (its live!), on film, you trust your camera operator(s) to know the shots look good, and you pass a lot off to your assistant director(s) to ahndle the nuts+bolts, while you check the footage now and then to ensure you have the shots you want for your editor. But thats the main thing – the director is responsible for the look of the shots, and the feeling of them. you can get the feel of that (how the dialogue is said etc) just as much from in front of the camera as behind.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Acting is a lot more than memorizing lines. If an actor is also directing the movie they’re acting in, chances are they have a very deep understanding of both their character and the entire movie, and don’t need to spend as much time working to develop their character according to another person’s vision.

Directing and acting sounds like more work, and it probably is, but in some senses a director who acts in their own movies technically has one less actor to direct, because they can immediately adjust their performance to their own needs/expectations. They might also hire a coach for their own performance, or for another actor to reduce their own workload.