Film Directing Shot by Shot – Visualizing from Concept to Screen

by Steven D. Katz

Michael Wiese Productions, 1991

7" x 10", 366 pages

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This book is a classic. I had this book on my shelves for several years and referenced it as needed but this time I decided to read it from cover to cover.

This book, as the title implies, is about visualization, or about pre-visualization. And a big emphasis is put on storyboarding and art direction related artworks such as continuity sketches. The book covers the process of storyboarding quite well and there are several storyboard examples from famous films. All the storyboarding techniques are explained along with the conventional graphic communication of usual directing requirements such as how to storyboard zooms and pans, transitions, etc. How to use arrows, and different drawing styles.

Since "From Word to Image" by Marcie Begleiter, is also about storyboarding, a comparison is in order. Begleiter book covers the process and usage of storyboarding in a film production pipeline in a general way. What is it used for, when is it used, etc. but does not touch on the cinematic language. Film Directing Shot by Shot uses the storyboard as a communication tool. The main subject of the book is really the cinematic language. But because the storyboard is the main tool used during the development and pre-production of a film, it is reviewed extensively. Almost 100 pages are dedicated to the storyboarding process.

Then there is a small section of the book dedicated to the production cycle. In this section, Katz reviews the whole production process from receiving the script to script analysis and the different visualization methods that will bring the script to a set of shots. For this section, a comparison with "Film Directing Fundamentals" by Nicolas Proferes is in order. Proferes book goes much deeper into explaining a script analysis method. Proferes method is very systematic while Katz coverage of the same material is more ganaral and he proceeds in a more trial and error way. That is good since it shows very well how the storyboarding process can be a very usefull tool for refining the visualization of a shot. The two books are really complementary. Although they are both about film directing, they don't cover the same thought process.

Then the book starts on Part II "Elements of the Continuity Style". The continuity style is a form of narrative cinema that was developped in the early days of the craft and which is the favored style for hollywood cinema. It is a set of conventions on how to link scenes and shots together. This is the part of the book where the author explains the basic such as composition, shot scales and the line of action. He explains not only the technical side of this vocabulary but he also comments on the conventions for their use. When Katz explains something, he rarely leave any aspect in the dark. For example, when he explains the principle of "line of action", what is commonly known as "the 180° rule", he also shows, almost exhaustively, all the different ways the line of action can be modified with choreographies involving the camera and the actors. Where other authors would spend one page, maybe two to explain the 180° rule, Kats uses 13 pages with numerous examples in different situations.

In this part of the book, the section about editing is also insightfull. The concept of Q&A patterns is very interestingly explained where the author takes a simple script scene and develops it progressively into a more and more interesting edit by just changing the sequencing of the cuts using storyboard frames. Q&A is a the narrative process of provoquing a question in the viewer's mind and supplying the answer later. This is all about capturing the viewer's attention and keeping it. Kats shows that this can be done with clever selection and temporally sequencing of shots.

Part III is called "The Workshop". This part is about staging. All aspect of staging are covered, again, in an exhaustive manner with different versions of each techniques and the explanation of each example particular narrative goal and achievements. Chapters in this part cover dialog sequences with two or three subjects or a group of subjects, mobile staging, staging with depth of frame, camera angles, open and closed framing and point of view. For all of these staging challenges, Katz uses a "Staging System" based on letter patterns "A", "I" and "L" which represent the position of the characters on the floor. Then the camera is positioned inside this arrangement and then the characters will orient themselves relative to one another and relative to the canmera. Katz examines all the usefull combinations, which are, of course, numerous. This is very extensive and very enlightening too.

Most of the stagings are static in the sense that the camera and the characters are statically positioned for the whole shot. Then the shots are cut and assembled in the editing room. The chapter about mobile staging covers the technique of editing with the camera. That is advanced technique of choreographing the actors and camera movements so the editing is shot by one long sequence. This technique requires a lot of cinematography experience to get right but the technique is very well explained with good examples.

Then the next chapter covers the moving camera. Pan, tilt, crane are extensively covered. The pan and tilt is also examined from a narrative device point of view where the camera scans a scene is such a way that the end result is a long sequence shot that would replace editing and cuts. The tacking shot is examined iwith particular details from a lot of different situations.

There is an interesting chapters at the end of the book for storyboard artists that explains a technique for drawing perspective frames that emulates different lenses focal length. Quite technical though.

In addition to the book being a very good reference and a sort of compendium on staging techniques, Katz takes time to explain the motivations behind the different covered techniques. In an edited film, the director's motivation must be translated into a camera motivation. There is no preaching in this book but there is always emphasis on the motivation of each shot. In this ocean of staging possibilities, one staging must be chosen for each shot. The one that must be chosen is the one that serves the storytelling the best. Not the one that looks cool or the most esthetic for sake of coolness or esthetic. This is one aspect I really enjoyed about this book. There are so many techniques and approaches explained in this book that giving recipees is impossible. Instead, the author offers us an insight into the director's thought process. He teaches us how to go fishing.