Collaboration as a director is a critical aspect of filmmaking because it streamlines the production process. When collaborating, the director does not need to be responsible for every aspect of filmmaking. The director is at the top of the pyramid on the production team hierarchy. He has people who report to him, and these people have teams that report to them. The reality is that the director is overseeing all aspects of production, however, he is not doing it in an uninterrupted way. Because the director is not directly responsible for every aspect of the film, it is possible to assume his creativity is being stifled, and in some cases it is. However, directors who forge longstanding collaborations with members of their production team are able to further their creative process. Scott Berkun explains that “for projects of importance, you need divergent skills to succeed. It is not possible to find an individual with all the skill sets needed, nor would you want to” (Berkun).
Long term collaborations can be created between the director and technical members of the production team, screen-writers, or the talent themselves. In the technical realm, there are two very important collaborations to form that can influence a film greatly. The first collaboration is between the director and the editor. Academy Award winner and acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino established a collaboration with editor Sally Menke that lasted 17 years (their collaboration ended in 2010 after Menke passed away in 2010) (Walters). Menke explained that over her years collaborating with Tarantino, they created a relationship where Tarantino was able to “give [Menke] the dailies and [she] put em together and [with] little interference” (Walters). After working with Menke on six films, Tarantino was able to let her cut the film because she has adapted to his style.
Editing is a highly technical and subjective process. It demands precision as well as an insight for style. Cinematography, the aspect of production that most drastically influences the final product’s style, requires a similar meticulousness as editing. Because of this, directors often form working relationships with cinematographers who best interpret their vision. Tarantino and acclaimed filmmaker Wes Anderson both have cinematographers they go to time and time again. Tarantino and Robert Richardson have worked on four films together, and Anderson and Robert Yeoman have worked on seven. These cinematographer – director relationships are crucial. Cinematographer Adam Beckman explains that he “sometimes think[s] of [his] role as similar to that of a midwife” in that he “tr[ies] to get as invested in the project as [he] can…while trying to remember it’s not [his] baby” (Stasukevich). Tarantino and Richardson have worked on both Kill Bill films, Inglorious Basterds, and Django Unchanied. Tarantino typically screens dozens of films for his “key creative” in order to show them what films he is drawing inspiration from (Stasukevich). Tarantino talks about lighting his scenes and states that after working for so long with Richardson, “my input [about the lights] is so miniscule…I love Bob’s look” (Stasukevich).
Anderson has similarly worked with his cinematographer for a long period of time. Anderson and Yeoman have created a working relationship where Yeoman, almost 20 years Anderson’s senior, is in touch with Anderson’s style. This is critical for collaboration purposes. Were Yeoman unable to comprehend Anderson’s meticulous style, Anderson’s creativity would be stifled. However, Yeoman and Anderson are on the same wavelength about style, so, Yeoman explains, he is able to “encourage [Anderson] to keep pushing [his style]” (Heuring).
While Cinematography and editing are both highly technical--but still creative-- aspects of filmmaking, screenwriting is a solely creative element. Collaborations on the writing side are less frequent than other collaborations, but for Anderson, most of his screenplays are collaborative efforts. Anderson has written two films with writer and producer Roman Coppola. Coppola and Anderson wrote The Darjeeling Limited, and Oscar nominee Moonrise Kingdom together (Feld). In an interview, Anderson explains that “the characters and world” of The Darjeeling Limited, “came from [personal] experiences” (Feld). Coppola explains that when writing Moonrise Kingdom, “it flowed rather quickly…one thing lead to the next, and [we] almost [couldn’t] write it fast enough” (Feld).
Finally, collaborating with actors is a common practice among many directors. Tarantino has collaborated twice with actor Christoph Waltz, and Anderson has collaborated seven times with Bill Murray (Lim; Douglas). Murray explains that knowing Anderson’s style is important when collaborating with him because “he’s got a pretty good vision of what he’s doing,” and “he’s obvious and specific about the way he wants things to look and sound” (Douglas). Waltz explains that working with Tarantino is a unique experience because Tarantino “offer[s] an alternative perspective on our world” (Lim). Waltz also coined the term “Quentin Physics” when talking about Tarantino’s style (Lim).
Berkun, Scott . "Leadership In Collaboration: Film Making and Interactive Design." Scott Berkun. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
Douglas, Edward . "Comingsoon.net."Interview: Bill Murray Checks Into the Grand Budapest Hotel. N.p., 14 Feb. 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
Feld, Rob . "Moonrise Kingdom's Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola." Writer's Guild Of America. Writer's Guild of America, 25 Jan. 2013. Web. 6 Mar. 2014.
Heuring, David. "Cinematographer Robert Yeoman Talks Super 16 Style on Moonrise Kingdom." Studio Daily. Studio Daily, 25 May 2012. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
Lim, Dennis. "'Inglourious' Actor Tastes the Glory." The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Aug. 2009. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. 3
Stasukevich, Iain. "Once Upon a Time in the South." The ASC -- American Cinematographer: Once Upon a Time in the South. American Society of Cinematography, n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.
Walters, Ben. "Sally Menke: the quiet heroine of the Quentin Tarantino success story." theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 29 Sept. 2010. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
Long term collaborations can be created between the director and technical members of the production team, screen-writers, or the talent themselves. In the technical realm, there are two very important collaborations to form that can influence a film greatly. The first collaboration is between the director and the editor. Academy Award winner and acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino established a collaboration with editor Sally Menke that lasted 17 years (their collaboration ended in 2010 after Menke passed away in 2010) (Walters). Menke explained that over her years collaborating with Tarantino, they created a relationship where Tarantino was able to “give [Menke] the dailies and [she] put em together and [with] little interference” (Walters). After working with Menke on six films, Tarantino was able to let her cut the film because she has adapted to his style.
Editing is a highly technical and subjective process. It demands precision as well as an insight for style. Cinematography, the aspect of production that most drastically influences the final product’s style, requires a similar meticulousness as editing. Because of this, directors often form working relationships with cinematographers who best interpret their vision. Tarantino and acclaimed filmmaker Wes Anderson both have cinematographers they go to time and time again. Tarantino and Robert Richardson have worked on four films together, and Anderson and Robert Yeoman have worked on seven. These cinematographer – director relationships are crucial. Cinematographer Adam Beckman explains that he “sometimes think[s] of [his] role as similar to that of a midwife” in that he “tr[ies] to get as invested in the project as [he] can…while trying to remember it’s not [his] baby” (Stasukevich). Tarantino and Richardson have worked on both Kill Bill films, Inglorious Basterds, and Django Unchanied. Tarantino typically screens dozens of films for his “key creative” in order to show them what films he is drawing inspiration from (Stasukevich). Tarantino talks about lighting his scenes and states that after working for so long with Richardson, “my input [about the lights] is so miniscule…I love Bob’s look” (Stasukevich).
Anderson has similarly worked with his cinematographer for a long period of time. Anderson and Yeoman have created a working relationship where Yeoman, almost 20 years Anderson’s senior, is in touch with Anderson’s style. This is critical for collaboration purposes. Were Yeoman unable to comprehend Anderson’s meticulous style, Anderson’s creativity would be stifled. However, Yeoman and Anderson are on the same wavelength about style, so, Yeoman explains, he is able to “encourage [Anderson] to keep pushing [his style]” (Heuring).
While Cinematography and editing are both highly technical--but still creative-- aspects of filmmaking, screenwriting is a solely creative element. Collaborations on the writing side are less frequent than other collaborations, but for Anderson, most of his screenplays are collaborative efforts. Anderson has written two films with writer and producer Roman Coppola. Coppola and Anderson wrote The Darjeeling Limited, and Oscar nominee Moonrise Kingdom together (Feld). In an interview, Anderson explains that “the characters and world” of The Darjeeling Limited, “came from [personal] experiences” (Feld). Coppola explains that when writing Moonrise Kingdom, “it flowed rather quickly…one thing lead to the next, and [we] almost [couldn’t] write it fast enough” (Feld).
Finally, collaborating with actors is a common practice among many directors. Tarantino has collaborated twice with actor Christoph Waltz, and Anderson has collaborated seven times with Bill Murray (Lim; Douglas). Murray explains that knowing Anderson’s style is important when collaborating with him because “he’s got a pretty good vision of what he’s doing,” and “he’s obvious and specific about the way he wants things to look and sound” (Douglas). Waltz explains that working with Tarantino is a unique experience because Tarantino “offer[s] an alternative perspective on our world” (Lim). Waltz also coined the term “Quentin Physics” when talking about Tarantino’s style (Lim).
Berkun, Scott . "Leadership In Collaboration: Film Making and Interactive Design." Scott Berkun. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
Douglas, Edward . "Comingsoon.net."Interview: Bill Murray Checks Into the Grand Budapest Hotel. N.p., 14 Feb. 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
Feld, Rob . "Moonrise Kingdom's Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola." Writer's Guild Of America. Writer's Guild of America, 25 Jan. 2013. Web. 6 Mar. 2014.
Heuring, David. "Cinematographer Robert Yeoman Talks Super 16 Style on Moonrise Kingdom." Studio Daily. Studio Daily, 25 May 2012. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
Lim, Dennis. "'Inglourious' Actor Tastes the Glory." The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Aug. 2009. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. 3
Stasukevich, Iain. "Once Upon a Time in the South." The ASC -- American Cinematographer: Once Upon a Time in the South. American Society of Cinematography, n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.
Walters, Ben. "Sally Menke: the quiet heroine of the Quentin Tarantino success story." theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 29 Sept. 2010. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.