All language subtitles for MasterClass Ron Howard Teaches Directing - 106 - Developing the Film

as I've identified an idea I felt

inspired by it I've begun thinking about

it dreaming about it pitching it telling

it to people um if that if that

continues to go well and I haven't sort

of you know disconnected from it based

on that um then it gets into the process

of finding those collaborators I have I

have written screenplays I don't think

of myself first and foremost as a

screenwriter um I'm I'm I'm a very good

editor but I'll begin talking to the

executives at imagine for example talk

to Brian graser about it if it keeps

building excitement then it's about

bringing in a

writer in order to get that writer uh

financed you'll have to take it to uh a

studio um those are more conversations

now the project is having to pass uh

these these sort of um these these these

these tests these barriers and you are

deepening your understanding of its

strengths and weaknesses as you have

these

conversations and

the the project you know picks up

momentum if if it's meant to be um and

uh um then you begin the collaboration

with a screenwriter who usually has to

come in um and uh discuss the project

because he or she doesn't want to take

the screenplay in a direction that the

filmmaker doesn't um agree with or the

studio doesn't want or the producers uh

you know don't believe in so that's

another

conversation so you know projects go

through weeks months sometimes years of

this kind of analysis and thought before

people Fally commit the real resources

of paying a writer and a writer you know

uh G given their time to the project and

that that begins a little thing called

development

hell and that's aptly named

because screenplays are not

movies they're blueprints for movies and

yet they're harder to write in many ways

than novels um you know many writers

have said that um and there's there's

something about the

Rhythm um the the the the sort of

lean um

specific uh nature of a movie narrative

that is so

demanding uh that it's very very

difficult to get a screenplay that

everyone agrees is worth investing in um

but it's an important litmus test and

one where

the the director's

belief is going to be

tested because people you know are going

to doubt some of the choices in that

script and the director can either um fi

finds that he or she either can defend

that script and those choices in an

articulate um way um or not and if not

that's a that's a good early signal that

that's an area of the story that's not

fulfilling the possibility of the big

idea the big idea that got everyone

excited enough to want to have the

conversation to want to invest the money

in the development of a screenplay um

development hell is where most most

projects go to die you know I don't know

what the ratio is but it's probably up

worse than 10 to one terms of projects

developed to finally uh made whether the

director is one of the writers or not um

and it's always

heartbreaking um

but uh but sometimes they're just not

meant to happen um and you know

heartbreak what is that it's just part

of the human experience I have found

over the years that you have to

understand one thing about directing

that every project you get involved in

ultimately is just going to find its way

to break your heart at some point no

matter how successful it is there's

going to be something about it that that

just disappoints you it can be you

know that one opinion from that one

person you care about the most doesn't

go your way or you know

you you know you believe in the movie

and test audiences love it but on the

weekend that it comes out it

underperforms and it's never thought of

as the glowing success that you believe

it should have or

you know or uh you know or you you go

along and everything's great and you get

to the Academy Awards and um you know uh

the the person that you're so sure

should win doesn't and a silly as all

that sounds there's so much that's at

stake emotionally that it will for a

moment break your heart no matter how

successful the film's been up to that

point and then uh um but you know almost

everything is worth experiencing in life

has that um you know has that attached

with it uh you know that that you know

there's that chance for profound

disappointment once you get that

screenplay to that point where you know

it's it's been green lit a lot of things

have to happen at once your your

screenplay is Advanced to the point

where there's a there's a studio there's

an investor there there's a network

somebody is saying okay go make it and

um you know at this point you you spring

into action because as soon as you get a

yes you don't want to fool around you

want to go uh that means you begin

bringing on your collaborators you

you're going to you're going to need a

line producer a line producer a

production manager the people who are

going to handle the logist the logistics

of the movie that's not uncreative it's

in fact very creative and the screenplay

never stops evolving because now that

blueprint needs to become something

that's that's practical you know and

it's they they they need to become the

plans for for um you know that something

that can be executed um very often

there's already a um a budget range that

is um sort of projected onto the project

there's already been an estimate as to

what a project like this of cost given

the format that you're producing it on

and your goal then is to begin to

understand the you know the viability of

that number as it relates to this

project it's a logistical hassle but

it's also a very important creative

question that's going to continue to

inform the choices that a director must

make both aesthetic and practical um but

it always comes back to what is that

feeling

that the audience needs so you you have

to start um answering a lot of basic

questions where are you going to

actually shoot this is this going to be

something where you're you're building

sets or do you you know or are you going

to find the location um are you going to

be forced to find a location that looks

like one place but in fact is is closer

to home or in a place that gives you a

great tax break you know these are these

are the kind of things that a director

has to remain involved in because they

really really influence the the the look

the feel of the

story

sometimes this is so interesting

sometimes

those ideas those demands that feel like

compromises can actually wind up

benefiting the project not only because

it frees up more money to do something

else in another sequence but it actually

suggests an approach to a scene or

sequence or a moment um that's different

than what you'd always imagined maybe

what you'd always imagined was kind of

pedestrian and straightforward when we

were working on a beautiful mind we

needed a um a mental institution and um

and it was it was

um it was one where John Nash played by

Russell Crow is just beginning we're

beginning to understand that it's it's

um um it's very it's a nightmare for for

him and and it's uh and it's

real um and um our production designer

very experienced production designer

named W Thomas uh found this practical

location in New York well he was trying

to find a place that was it was going to

be very expensive to build so we all

looked at this and thought this was a

real compromise and you know and here we

are trying to save money but it's such

an important

scene and W said I don't think it has to

be a compromise I think it's going to

help us present to the audience just how

frightening this place can be because

it's not conventional it's not exactly

what you imagine but it we can make it

be logical and he began to present a way

of using these kind of tunnels and and

and shafts of light and so forth in ways

that were that that if if you see the

movie you feel it's a th% authentic but

we were all being too literal about it

um our production designer

wasn't well we saved some money and we

elevated our story in a in a very Artful

way you need a production designer that

production designer is very important

that's a key collaborator because um you

know the look The aesthetic is um is

going to be dictated in large part by

the places you shoot I've come to

understand that even the greatest

cinematographers need good locations and

they're always the first ones to tell

you it's sure it's about lighting but

it's about lighting a

space and if that space is not

supporting the potential of the scene

then it's not the right space and

there's very little a cinematographer

can do about it um and so that begins a

collaboration that the director is right

in the middle of and that is you know

the

photography and the you know the the

physical locations or the sets that are

going to be built the next big question

of course is going to be the schedule

how much time do we have to shoot with

liveaction production there's never

enough time I I don't care if you're

talking about you know David lean and

doing Lawrence of Arabia in the late 50s

you know it's it's uh he you know I'm

sure he felt like he was rushed even

though it took two years to shoot the

movie um you know there's always

something else you could try something

else you could explore so this begins

another collaboration which is yes

logistical but still creative because

it's going to inform the approach to the

you know this this each scene this is

where a director's early preparation

comes in very handy because they start

ask asking a lot of

questions like do you think we can get

these two scenes shot in a single day

and the director's understanding of what

the goals are for that scene becomes so

important if the director doesn't have a

ready

answer it doesn't take long in a

conversation with the cinematographer

and the first assistant director to

begin to understand what the goals are

um aesthetically dramatically

emotionally

atically and they can begin working with

you to um develop a you know a visual

approach um sometimes the director knows

what he or she wants visually and then

it's about talking to your collaborators

and saying this is what I really need

for this scene um and uh uh what do you

think that's going to mean to the

production and then it's about perhaps

compromising another scene to make room

for you know for what the director

wanted or saying oh that's you want to

do it all in one shot okay well that's

you know that's not going to be 6 hours

of work that's going to be three hours

of work that actually frees up some time

to do something else in a different way

and so these aesthetic choices these

these questions of taste have a huge

influence on the production and

sometimes out of necessity you have to

modify your creative instincts um in

order to um you know satisfy by the

demands of the production so you don't

go over

budget that's not a terrible thing

always

because there are lots and lots and lots

of ways to present an idea and a feeling

if you know what that feeling is

supposed to be what that that net result

of that sequence scene or moment is

supposed to be and that's the sort of

excitement of building out from the

screenplay and preparing for you know

those days of shooting where there's

going to be tremendous pressure um you

know money being spent at a ridiculous

rate um and and a kind of Moment of

Truth for the director the actors the

cinematographer and all the people who

are kind of on the front line of

actually trying to stage and shoot those

scenes of course you always feel like

that's the Beall end all the reality is

the the editing room is really where the

film is made but you can't think about

that at that

point I always feel that I approach

every project in in three big phases

there's that development and prep period

where you know you're you're thinking

ahead you're dreaming the big dream it's

always sometimes it's my favorite period

because it sort of seems like

everything's possible then you begin to

come to terms with what you can really

attempt to do and you're and you're you

know you you're you're sharpening your

Ambitions uh and your focus and your

appetite and beginning to build the team

that's going to actually executed the

middle part is the production you're

actually shooting now when you're in

production you know you can hearken back

to the days when you were planning and

prepping but it doesn't really matter

what matters is now this is the day you

have to shoot this scene yes that was

the

plan but you can't be rigid about it I

always assume that I you know that some

other knucklehead was the director who

made this

plan you know and now I'm stuck with it

and we have to try to do

it of course it's not quite that simple

but I try to separate myself from that

you go through the production you've

done everything you can to try to

capture every moment that you could

elevating that script uh either uh

realizing its potential or maybe taking

it Beyond you know that's exciting using

the elements that come to you whether

it's rain or snow or sun or um you know

a great idea that an actor has or U you

know or a um you know a a sudden um you

know a sudden problem that seems like

it's you know should destroy the scene

but maybe there's another solution that

actually takes you in a whole other

direction you you do everything you can

to get the idea is that living your mind

and on on on those script Pages inside

those frames as frame lines that's

what's

important well now you think you've done

it you've got a you know you have your

rap party you feel pretty pretty darn

good about yourself and yet the real

work is just beginning you might be dog

tired you might have the flu but it's

time to go to the editing room and in

the editing room you are going to take

this raw material and it's the final

rewrite and it's the actual making of

the movie