Charlie McDowell’s life has been building to this year. As the American Film Institute’s youngest graduate, the 30-year-old writer and director has spent years learning the ins and outs of movie making, first as a production assistant on the set of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and then as the director of his own short films. It doesn’t hurt that McDowell has been surrounded by actors his entire life: he grew up the son of actors Malcolm McDowell and Mary Steenburgen, and his girlfriend of several years is Rooney Mara. Finally, he debuted his first feature, The One I Love, at this year's Sundance Film Festival. The movie stars Mark Duplass and newly-crowned Golden Globe winner Elisabeth Moss as a married couple struggling to hold their crumbling relationship together over the course of weekend. If that sounds like a dour weeper in the vein of Blue Valentine, it’s not. McDowell has a comedic voice and he likes to use it, as evidenced by his popular twitter where he writes letters to the annoying girls who live upstairs, which has been made into a book. We recently asked McDowell to let all you aspiring filmmakers out there on a little secret: if you’re going to make a movie, here’s how not to fuck it up.
By Charlie McDowell (As Posted On Bullett)
Disclaimer: This list assumes that I did not, in fact, screw up my movie. So read what I have to say and if you see my movie and it sucks, then do the opposite of everything I suggested you should do!
STORYBOARD YOUR ENTIRE MOVIE
I know it’s annoying and time consuming, but it’s very worth it. For The One I Love, my DP, Doug Emmett, and I used a storyboard app called Artemis that was very helpful, especially if you’re like me and can barely draw a stick figure. With Artemis you can choose the type of camera, aspect ratio, and the lens size, among many other features. We spent five or six days shooting storyboards for the entire movie, so we had a visual plan of what we wanted to do with each scene. This made production run much more smoothly and got everyone on the same page.
HIRE ACTORS WHO ARE BETTER AT ACTING THAN YOU ARE AT DIRECTING
Actors are what we watch, they are who speak our lines, and they are who we emotionally connect to while watching a film. In my opinion, getting great performances out of your actors is 70% of your movie. That means that you only have 30% of your movie to totally screw up. I personally like those odds.
TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS… IF YOU HAVE GOOD INSTINCTS
There will be times that you are thinking something or want something and you don’t say anything. Don’t do that! Get what you want. At the end of the day you, the director, have to live with it more than anyone else has to. Trust that little voice inside you that knows what you want. Especially if that voice is narrated by James Earl Jones.
PLAY CATCH PHRASE AT THE END OF EVERYDAY
Before everyone crawls into their beds after a long shooting day, rally the cast and crew and play at least one round of Catch Phrase. It’ll bond your lead actor with your camera intern. Your gaffer will come up to you and say, “I can’t believe I didn’t guess Steve Guttenberg!” Catch Phrase is the secret weapon.
NICE DIRECTORS ALWAYS FINISH FIRST
This shouldn’t just be for directing, this should be for life. The older I get the more I feel that drama and friction is boring. Of course this stuff will come up naturally with making a movie, but why seek it out? Everyone should be treated with kindness and respect. From my experience, people will bust their ass for you and give you what you want if you are nice to them.
CARRY SANDBAGS AND LEARN HOW TO SET UP C-STANDS
Yes, sandbags can be heavy and sandy. Yes, C-stands make absolutely no sense. But you’ll gain the respect of your crew if you pitch in and help out. Just make sure not to open a C-stand upside down and lose your balance and fall into a heavy light that ends up smashing into a million itsy bitsy pieces and costing lots of money. They won’t respect you if you do that. So I’m told.
INVEST IN A COMFORTABLE PAIR OF SHOES
If you’re making a low budget movie like I did, then chances are a director’s chair did not make it into the budget. Get ready for lots and lots of standing. It sounds silly but sore legs and blisters on your feet will ruin your mood and put your attention onto something that you shouldn’t be thinking about. I suggest New Balance sneakers. They won’t get you laid but your feet will be satisfied.
YOU DON’T NEED A MILLION PRODUCERS, YOU NEED A COUPLE GREAT ONES
A lot of times while watching the end credits of an independent movie you see about 20 producers attached to the film. I understand it’s a long grueling operation to get a movie off the ground and many people are involved in that process, but my advice is find a great line producer who will actually know how to physically make the movie you want to make. You don’t want to give away loads of money and backend points to someone who gave your script to someone else, who left it at their cousin’s house, who wrote down one creative note while on the toilet, which his godmother saw while washing her hands, who then suggested to her neighbor, Gerard Depardieu, that he would make a perfect alcoholic gym coach. That’s like five producers right there! That’s what the ‘Thank You’ section in the end credits is for. Get creative notes from smart friends and mentors. Not everyone needs to be a producer.
IF YOU’RE SHOOTING DIGITAL THEN USE OLD LENSES
Regardless if you’re a RED person or an ALEXA person, test out some of the older lenses from the ’60s and ’70s. Almost all newer lenses are coated, which reduces flaring and increases contrast, and therefore improves apparent sharpness. But if you’re shooting digital and want a more “imperfect” look that allows lens flaring, then some of the older lenses are the way to go. Super Baltars and Cooke’s are my favorite.
SHOW A ROUGH CUT OF YOUR MOVIE TO PEOPLE WHO SCARE YOU
There’s nothing more humbling than showing an unfinished cut of your movie to someone who is more seasoned than you are. It’s terrifying and your ego will crumble, but if you have access to any great filmmakers, writers, or creative types, get their notes! Even if only a couple good notes come out of it, your movie will benefit greatly.
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