On Directing Film

This is a fast read, if a rather dry one. I picked it up on a recommendation from a friend who's much more in tune with film than I am, as one of a number of books recommended to help me start thinking about screenwriting. I do think that, in that specific aim, this book is useful for someone in the beginning stages of thinking about how to translate story onto film, and even from a more generic writing perspective, there are pearls of wisdom here worth real consideration. Is it something I'd recommend to any writer? No, probably not. But I am glad I read it and took the time to digest it in preparation for a first foray into screenwriting.

Mamet makes full use of Socratic Dialog in this short work. The to-the-point title might scare off those who are not deeply into film, but Mamet's easy to read yet highly interesting style is accessible to all.

With his lectures on how to direct a scene, Mamet speaks as much to the writers in his audience as he does to his film students.

I'd love to use this in an intro to creative writing workshop the next time I teach.

Pretty basic, written after directing his first movie.

Amazon: According to David Mamet, a film director must, above all things, think visually. Most of this instructive and funny book is written in dialogue form and based on film classes Mamet taught at Columbia University. He encourages his students to tell their stories not with words, but through the juxtaposition of uninflected images. The best films, Mamet argues, are composed of simple shots. The great filmmaker understands that the burden of cinematic storytelling lies less in the individual shot than in the collective meaning that shots convey when they are edited together..
This book is really short. Secondly, Mamet says more in these hundred or so pages than most textbooks on the same subject. All that matters is that every scene show more serves a purpose and drives the story forward. True, there are exceptions to this rule but hearing Mamet tell it like it is with very little fat around his words is a refreshing alternative to long winded suggestions. show less

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