Ed Zwick is a well-known director with movie credits including About Last Night, Glory, Legends of the Fall, and Courage Under Fire. Zwick is also a writer perhaps most notably known as the co-creator of the ABC TV series thirtysomething.
Indiewire ran an article yesterday in which TV director Matt Shakman asked advice from Zwick upon directing his [Shakman's] first movie. Here is the list:
1. Remember to Breathe.
2. The Camera is a Buddha.
3. No Plan Survives Contact with the Enemy.
4. A Good Idea Can Come From Anywhere.
5. No Movie Can Be Funny Enough.
6. On Every Production…
7. An Audience’s Attention Span is Even Shorter Than Yours.
8. The Actors Move the Camera, The Camera Doesn’t Move the Actors.
9. Make Your Movie For One Person At a Time.
10. Where There Is No Solution There Is No Problem.
Some of these are applicable to writing. For example, for #5 Zwick says:
Laughter makes the audience feel they’re in good hands. And it deepens the impact of the serious stuff.
For #7:
Fill every moment. Be generous. Be extravagant. Give them all sorts of gifts: jokes, moments, secrets, truths. Stick to the story and try not to shoot the parts you’re going to cut.
We can always learn from professional filmmakers which is one reason why this site has these archives:
There are literally over 1000 links in these archives, each representing the wisdom of pros. Read and learn.
To read the rest of the Indiewire article, go here.