First Time Director. Gil Bettman

       Summary Points

       Chapter 2. Content Is Everything

       Casting and Scripting

       A Few Examples from the World According to Bob

       Perfecting Your Script – Getting the Audience into the Movie

       The Hero

       The Heroic Quest

       Attaining Perfection in Casting

       How Do You Define Perfection? Casting Your Leads

       Casting Your Supporting Roles

       Content and the Producer – Sometimes They Come from Different Planets

       How to Be Almost Producer-Proof: Write the Script

       How to Be Producer-Proof: Write the Script and Raise the Money

       Summary Points

       PART TWO – VISUAL DESIGN

       Chapter 3. Camera Blocking

       Why Move Your Camera?

       When Do You Move Your Camera?

       Externally and Internally Generated Camera Moves

       Moving Establishing Shots

       Those Who Break Bob's Rule and Why They Do It

       Now That You Know the Rules, It Gets Really Complicated

       Summary Points

       Chapter 4. The Good Moving Master

       The Four Tasks of a Good Moving Master

       Task 1 – Shows the Audience Everything It Needs to See in a Scene

       Task 4 – Picks Up Some Coverage

       Task 3 – Generates Eye Candy

       Task 2 – Concentrates the Audience's Attention on the Center of the Drama

       How Zemeckis Shoots a Moving Master Following the Dictates of the Four Tasks

       Summary Points

       Chapter 5. Lenses – Why Force Perspective?

       Lens Selection As a Joint Responsibility between Director and Cinematographer

       The Basics of Perspective

       Extreme Telephoto and Extreme Wide-Angle versus Normal Perspective

       Lenses – Field of Vision and Depth of Field

       General Applications of Different Lenses

       Forced Perspective Made Easy

       How Lenses Affect Movement

       Summary Points

       PART THREE – PERFORMANCE

       Chapter 6. Directing Actors – It Takes Erudition and Intuition

       Breaking Down the Script

       The Spine of the Film – The Spine of the Characters

       The Actor's Objective – An Overview

       How Objectives Work – Get-from or Do-to Objectives + Conflict = Reality

       Physicalization of the Objective

       Identifying the Most-Playable Objective

       Ultraplayable Objectives

       Adjustments

       “The More Adjustments, the Better” – How Come?

       All Adjustments Are Gerunds or Adverbs

       Improvisation

       Script Breakdown – Layout

       Summary Points

       Chapter 7. Rehearsal

       Preparation

       Credibility versus Interpretation

       Objectives and Adjustments in Rehearsal

       Physicalization As a Rehearsal Tool

       Improvisation As a Rehearsal Tool

       Making Weak Actors Believable and Good Actors Great – Improv As a Versatile Tool for Rehearsal

       Preparation Is Everything

       Summary Points

       PART FOUR – SET POLITICS

       Chapter 8. On the Set

       Getting Ahead by Getting Along

       Successful Collaboration

       Collaborating with the 1st AD

       The First Walk-Through for Camera

       Collaborating with the Cinematographer

       Making Your Stars Shine during Production – Off the Set

       During Production – On the Set

       On the Set in Front of the Camera and Crew

       Collaborating with Your Lead Actors During the First Walk-Through for Camera

       Taming the Actors Who Chew the Scenery

       Collaborating with Yourself

       Summary Points