Belli Mary Lou - Directors Tell the Story

Directors Tell the Story

Master the Craft of Television and Film Directing

Directors Tell the Story

Master the Craft of Television and Film Directing

Bethany Rooney and Mary Lou Belli

Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier

225 Wyman Street, Waltham, MA 02451, USA

The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 1GB, UK

2011 Bethany Rooney and Mary Lou Belli. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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Notices

Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.

Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.

To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein.

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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-0-240-81873-3

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Advance Praise for Directors Tell the Story

This is a precise and smart book about directing in general and directing television specifically.

Sally Field

Rooney and Belli, by dint of their considerable and varied directing experiences, have compiled a bible about the technical and emotional aspects of being a director. I wish I would have had this book when I started my directing career!

Mark Tinker

Executive Producer/Director

Private Practice, Deadwood, NYPD Blue

Ive had the pleasure of being directed by both Mary Lou and Bethany on multiple occasions. As clear and precise as they are as directors, Im pleased to say they are even more so as writers describing the craft of directing. Their step-by-step approach includes even the smallest detail and yet is still interestingand informativeto those of us whove been on sets for years. Even better, they manage to convey the subtleties of how a director can alter the mental and emotional state of a set to create the best environment for a cast and crew to create art.

Jason George

Actor

Off the Map, Greys Anatomy, What About Brian, Eve

It assembles information in a way I have never seen before and has a level of subtlety concerning the process of directing that I havent read in any other book. It is great about describing the challenges, the thinking and ultimately the practice of directing for television. There is nothing quite like itit is the best, most grounded explanation for the complex art of directing I have read.

Michael Niederman

Chair, Television Department

Columbia College Chicago

There are quite literally no other books like this one. Most of the other Directing books out there are either interview books or Indie Filmmaker booksbut there are very few How-To and/or Tell it Like it Is books by working professional directors. The authors have very successfully presented both the fundamental concepts of Hollywood Directing, and then walk you through a very robust process by which to succeed at it!

Dave A. Anselmi

Director, Producer, Instructor

PracticalMysticProductions

The writers make you, the reader, feel as if they are simply having a conversation with you. A conversation full of good advice, useful exercises, and instructive concepts. Im gratified to see the words respect for actors as a priority because without them, we have nothing. Mary Lou and Bethany emphasize the truth that its our job, as directors, to tell the story and its the actors job to tell the truth.

Anne Drecktrah

Professor

Virterbo University

Contents

Dedication

In memory of Bruce Paltrow, who got me started;

For Christopher, who inspires me to keep going;

And for Matthew, who tucks me in at night.

Bethany Rooney

For Charlie, who reminds me that

it doesnt get better than this!

Mary Lou Belli

Acknowledgment

Everyone at ABC Studios,Brothers & Sisters, and Castle:

Barry Jossen, Howard Davine, Michelle Kamme, David Marshall Grant, Ken Olin, Sarah Caplan, Michael Cinquemani, Linda Sparky Hawes, Oliver Coke, Allison Weintraub, Margery Kimbrough, Sally Sue Lander, Brian OKelley, Chandler Hayes, Jason Hoffman, Arlene Getman, John Smith, Ben Spek, Nick Infield, Cranston Gobbo, Shauna Duggins, Andrew Marlowe, Rob Bowman, Howard Grigsby, Joe Mason, Brooke Eisenhart, Imelda Betiong, and Noreen OToole.

And especially the actors pictured: Matthew Rhys, Luke McFarlane, Dave Annable, Christopher J. Hanke, Brock Cuchna. As always, we send our love and thanks to Sally Field.

And of course, the dedicated Elinor Actipis, Michele Cronin, and Melinda Rankin at Focal Press.

We thank our families: for Mary Lou, children Maggie and Tim Dougherty, and for Bethany, parents Connie and Jim Rooney.

Our other contributors: Devon DeLapp, Matthew Bohrer, Mark West, Edgar Bennett, Suzanne Welke, Stephen Welke, Regina Render, Marcia Gould, Mark Tinker, Katie Enright, Jason Tomarik, Matthew Collins, Jason George, Anne Drecktrah, and Stephan Smith Collins.

We thank the following reviewers who generously helped us add the finishing touches: Michael Niederman (Columbia College Chicago), Dave A. Anselmi (UC Berkeley Extension), and Warren Bass (Temple University).

And last, but so very important to our book: the generous professionals who contributed to our Insider Info features and How I Got My First Directing Job stories.

About the Authors

BETHANY ROONEY began her directing career on the 1980s iconic television show, St. Elsewhere, where she served as Associate Producer. She has directed more than 150 episodes of prime-time network shows, including Greys Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sisters, Castle, and Private Practice. For cable television, she has directed In Plain Sight