Total Directing: Integrating Camera and Performance in Film and Television [Paperback]

Tom Kingdon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2004

This is the first book to fully integrate the technical aspects of screen directing with practical methods for directing actors, deeply and carefully exploring how these two primary aspects of the director's craft work together. Viewed from a perspective that seeks a balance successful work with actors and technically high-level production values, the complete directing process is discussed in detail from the start of script development through the delivery of a finished project covering every aspect of preparation and decision-making with solid background information, practical suggestions, and clear illustrations. Topics include: Project development; Screenplay analysis; Choosing and working with a production team; Auditioning and casting; Script preparation; Using the language of acting; Working with a set; Understanding screen acting styles; Conducting a rehearsal; Blocking camera and actor moves; Using improvisation; Working with storyboards; The Hollywood continuity style; Choosing camera shots and lighting; Multi-camera directing; Preparing for each day's shoot; Editing and working with editors and much more.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tom Kingdom, a freelance director from 1982 through 1996, has worked on several Masterpiece Theatre productions, numerous documentaries and children's programs, and more than two hundred episodic dramas (including Eastenders). He has also worked as First Assistant/Production Manager for John Schlesinger, Roland Jaffe, Alan Clark, and many other distinguished directors. He has lectured at schools and universities in England and American and is currently an Associate Professor at Emerson College, Boston.

Product Details

• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: Silman-James Press (June 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1879505711
• ISBN-13: 978-1879505711
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #616,325 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a director needs to know besides "attitude" and how to yell, "Action!", September 6, 2006

By 

Marc Fields "Producer/Director/Teacher" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Total Directing: Integrating Camera and Performance in Film and Television (Paperback)

There's nothing wrong with reading interviews with master film directors, but they rarely give you the practical, hands-on information you need for becoming a professional director. Tom Kingdon's book is one of the only books that guides you through the steps and skills a director needs to know to take a script through to the final cut. I'm a professional documentary filmmaker, script writer and production teacher in a major media arts college, and in over twenty years of teaching, this is the first time I've assigned a directing text.

So by all means, study the words and works of Hitchcock, Kazan, Scorcese et al, but don't expect them to teach you how to break down a script or rehearse actors or many of the myriad tasks and procedures essential to being a real director.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars tota directing, January 9, 2007

By 

Cambria Federico Maria V - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Total Directing: Integrating Camera and Performance in Film and Television (Paperback)

very effective, simple, but interesting the book gives a complete insight in directing. It is really difficult to find such a complete book, I found it a great book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars good mix of technical details with the culture of directing, January 11, 2008

By 

M. Niss - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Total Directing: Integrating Camera and Performance in Film and Television (Paperback)

Total Directing is a very thorough book on directing narrative (for both film and television) which will leave you with a sense of awe at how complex a task film-making is, but at the same time give you enough concrete, technical advice to make you feel you could actually become a director yourself.

The book covers the directing process from first idea through to post-production, with particular attention placed on reading and marking up a script in order to block (plan actors' movements) and plan shots. The chapters covering blocking and camera placement are very detailed, with specific advice on how to shoot scenes with 2, 3, and 4 actors. There is also good coverage of other technical issues such as post-production (editing, sound effects, music).

The other aspect of directing covered in this text is the human aspect. Here, Kingdon illustrates his points with sidebars describing his own experience on various productions, and with references to well-known films and quotes from directors, famous and unfamous. There is a good discussion about how to work with actors to make the best use of their skills, as well as some material on the culture and politics of TV and Hollywood production.

There is a supplemental chapter at the end with some interviews with directors describing their different paths towards becoming directors and giving advice to the aspiring director.

To summarize, this is a great book to read if you are serious about wanting to be a director and are looking for specific technical instruction rather than (or in addition to) "inspiration" and grand ideas. This is a book you will be able to use to solve concrete production problems when you make your first film that involves working with real actors in a professional or academic setting.

The book is also well-suited for a course in film school or media studies, although if used in a hands-on course where students are expected to produce films, it will need to be supplemented with material that covers the details of using a particular camera and editing platform. (The book does a good job of covering both film and video and not choosing an editing device or program, but as a result, certain details are necessarily missing. This is not a fault in the book. One can't expect a single book to cover the entire process of film-making, and this is a book focused on directing actors, even though it touches on other aspects of production.)