MAKING THE MAGIC HAPPEN (eBook)

Peter D. Marshall is a filmmaker and film-directing coach from Vancouver, Canada. He has worked in the film-and-television industry for over 40 years — as a film director, television producer, first assistant director, and TV-series creative consultant. Peter has directed over 30 episodes of television drama, including John Woo’s Once a Thief, Wiseguy, 21 Jump Street, The Black Stallion, and Largo Winch. As a first assistant director, Peter has worked on 12 feature films (including Dawn of the Dead, The Butterfly Effect, and Happy Gil-more), 17 television movies, 4 television pilots, and 7 television series. He has written, directed, or produced over 50 hours of documentary and educational programs, and his documentaries and dramas have won or been nominated for 14 international film awards. Peter has worked for directors such as John Woo, Zack Snyder, Phillip Noyce, Ed Zwick, John Badham, and Bobby Roth, and has worked with actors including Peter O’Toole, Kevin Spacey, Mor-gan Freeman, Halle Berry, Mel Gibson, Kathy Bates, and Michelle Pfeiffer. Peter has been a directing instructor and film mentor for Raindance Canada, the Vancouver Film School, and the Shanghai Vancouver Film School, and continues to teach his own directing work-shops worldwide.

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Demystifying the Film Directing Process

My Mission

A Definition of “Filmmaking”

Story, Performance, Cinematics

The 3 R’s of Filmmaking

Chapter 1 — The Ten Commandments of Filmmaking

Chapter 2 — The Director as Visual Storyteller

Chapter 3 — Director Survival Skills

Chapter 4 — Directing the Preproduction

Chapter 5 — Directing the Shooting Schedule

Chapter 6 — Why We Do What We Do

Chapter 7 — Understanding Story Structure

Chapter 8 — Story and Scene Analysis

Chapter 9 — Character Analysis

Chapter 10 — The 15-Step Scene Breakdown

Chapter 11 — Directing the Visual Concept

Chapter 12 — The Director–Actor Relationship

Chapter 13 — Preparing for the Casting Session

Chapter 14 — Directing Actors in Casting

Chapter 15 — Blocking and Rehearsing Actors on Set

Chapter 16 — Directing the Camera

Chapter 17 — Directing the Postproduction

Conclusion

Last Words

Filmography

Bibliography

About Peter D. Marshall

Index