Most of you probably know
exactly what a Director does, but how many of you know about an Assistant
Director’s role?
An Assistant Director plays
an Integral Role in the process of Filmmaking.
As a student if you are exploring a Film
Director Course, then it’s important for you
to understand the different areas of Assistant Director’s
contribution.
The key areas where an Assistant
Director (AD) contributes are:
Casting
So many films with great
storylines, scripts and amazing cinematography have been let down by a failure to cast the right people in key
roles: After all would Will Ferrell work as Jack Sparrow, or would Irfaan Khan
work as Krrish? Not really. Casting is pivotal to the believability and hence
the critical and financial success of a film.
As an AD, you are an
important part of the casting process. While the lead actors have often been
cast while the project is being conceived, there are a number of other smaller
roles that need to be filled. Much of this will be the AD’s responsibility.
Breaking down a script
Scripts need to be broken
down into various sections: props, characters, stunts, wardrobe, locations,
sets, etc. Each section often needs to be tackled separately and the breakdown
becomes preeminent. For instance what good is a knight of the realm without his
sword, how believable is a medieval warrior dressed as a US marine?
Make sure you go through
the script more than once and don’t hesitate to use a color or symbol scheme to
separate the various aspects of a scene.
Don’t mess with
continuity
Continuity is key to any
film and preserving it is also one of you responsibilities as AD. You have to
coordinate with all departments, monitor the shoot, and make sure that there
are no errors in continuity, with regards to costume, make-up, and location.
During the pre-production stage, at the time of scheduling and budgeting, you
will have to create a number of lists based on the script, including a one-line
continuity synopsis providing basic information on each scene, such as the time
of day.
Handling adoring fans
Don’t you just hate it
when someone’s constantly disturbing you while you prepare for a big exam? Now
multiply that by a thousand and just imagine what a superstar goes through when
he has to prepare for a scene and deal with hundreds of fans.
Crowd control is
essential on the set, and while you can’t control the popularity of your star
you sure can make sure they’re given the space they need to prepare for a
scene. Most large production hire private security firms to control fans, but
on a small-budget film you might need to wrangle a few mates and do it
yourself.
Handling call sheets
The last thing you need
is your stars cooling their heels in their trailers waiting on their scenes.
This is where the call sheet comes into play. This informs the cast and crew of
a film production where and when they should report for a particular day of
filming. Call sheets include other useful information such as contact
information (e.g. phone numbers of crew members and other contacts), the
schedule for the day, which scenes and script pages are being shot, and the
address of the shoot location. Without call sheets you will not have
communication system or a schedule and without these two there can’t be any
film.
Today, several alumni of Annapurna
College of Film and Media are working as Assistant
Directors in Bollywood and Tollywood. Before students plunge into the world of
Film and Media, they must explore the wide range of filmmaking courses and
fully understand the roles that contribute to the process of filmmaking.