Film Courage: Do you feel it's a director's job to be on set before everyone else, Choice? Choice Skinner, actor, director, instructor: Oh
absolutely. I believe that if you set the precedent everyone will follow. The
director you know people always think that producers fix problems. Directors
prevent problems and fixes them as well. Especially if you're director/producer
or director/producer/writer, I've got to be there first. I have to be the one to get
the energy up I got to make sure sometimes I'll I'll drink a monster on
the way to say if it's been a long shoot I'm pumped up I find a way to make
everything feel good for everybody you know everyone's there to create
something they're all there to to share their gifts as Patrick my other friend
says they're there to share their gifts and your job is to make sure that they
have a fertile ground in which to plant great seeds and so yeah I'm there I'm
usually there first and sometimes the last to leave unless it's a project
where they got to take everything down I got an early call time you know I got to
leave and get some sleep or watch the aliens and then get up and
start the process all over again what are five skills you think a
director should have every director should if they don't have them work on
them the skill communicating with actors is number one which is why you know some
of the best actors some of the best directors were actors right so the skill
of the skill of directing actors the skill of talking to actors is one making
a tremendous shot list and being flexible with being able to leave that
shot list it's - the shot is never more important than the actors or the crew
never and I've been on sets where people feel like oh well I got to get my shot
again oh you have to take care of your people because you're a leader that was
- number three I would say is a work environment that is fun uplifting
inspiring even if it's a drama even if it's a drama I mean it's easy for a
comedy or it's easy for an action film for everybody to get pumped up and to
feel you know a certain way but it's important and imperative that you may
feel where people want to come to the set and with a drama that's even more of
a reason why you want to have that lifted experience number four the skill
of listening I learned that that it's important to listen to people because
sometimes sometimes you may have an idea and what you want and the DP or your
producers or the actors may have a different way and it's important to
listen to them because they may be telling you something that you won't
find out until post and then you go oh that's a good reason that was a good
reason and number five the skill of letting go if it's not meant to be it's
not meant to be now that's contrary to knowing that it doesn't matter what it
takes to get it done okay without people being compromised but at the same time
it's the thing of saying okay there's a reason why it's not happening let it go
it's different than saying it you know it's not impossible anything's possible
I can get it done don't say no because know is never done anything for anybody
but when it comes to saying okay this is it that you know let it go instead of
wasting you know 20 minutes talking about a shot with an actor just say okay
listen no words why don't you go ahead and give me that and then give me this
so now I have two choices cuz then that goes back to the listening thing when I
go on to post then I got alright okay I'll use that one it's dead letting go
versus what you always hear about is these great creative geniuses
entrepreneurs they're so driven they're obsessed can you still be all of that
and at some point let go passive-aggressive energy is part of
that personality thing that I mentioned about this industry no one has to be
overtly authoritative you never have to force somebody to do something
if if it's something that needs to be done we all know we all show it we're
all there we say okay this needs to be done we all understand that you hire
people according to that you would hope that everybody shows up that everybody
does their part you can't Bank on someone's life being
upside down and they're not in it and they do a shoddy job but guess what it
falls on you to fix it to make it right I never had that issue because I'm
always I'm always in the mindset of I'm good at so many things
I don't know everything but everything I know I know well and I make that happen
because of the fact that you never know what will be the wink weak link and what
you're doing so all you can do is hope that everybody shows up and and
everybody pulls through and and just understand that you can't make anybody
to it you can't you yeah I don't care how it throw the tail of a person you
are the more you argue with someone the less they're likely they're gonna want
to do it I mean it's just the way it is that's who we are as human beings you
talked about seeds fertile soil something it's interesting because last
night driving home I heard that on the radio and the guy was talking about what
he thought was going to be this great thing turned out that it was bad and
what he didn't realize is the analogy or maybe it's a parable about trying to
plant seeds and soil that's not been so that's not fertile that's almost like
it's a bunch of rocks yep unmet expectations breeds depression unmet
expectations breeds depression which basically means this I may have thought
that planting the seed was gonna bring forth a lot a great harvest but it may
have not been for that seed to go there and the expectation that I had on it is
gonna be very very very unmet it's gonna be sad for me because I'm expecting I'm
putting a lot you know people always say don't cast all your irons in the fire or
you know it's the same thing you have to be mindful and knowing that sometimes
things don't go that way and you have to be adjustable you have to be flexible
and you - no in the end is gonna work out I mean
that's to me that's a faith thing that's the thing to understand the faith that's
the thing of understanding purpose understanding Providence understanding
that it's already worked out before you even embarked on it it's gonna be okay
but can you accept that it didn't work out can you accept that because of it
worked out that there's a lesson in that for you down the road that's gonna teach
you something even more like I go back to my music career it didn't work out
right I was great I was amazing I was talented you know there was opportunity
but it didn't work out if I wasn't able say for instance it got to the point
where I was so upset about that I did something erratic because it didn't work
out I would have never gotten this far to know that there were other glorious
things that were gonna open up for me and I look back at that of course we
have regrets who doesn't have regrets right that's part of life you should
have regrets because regrets help you to understand not to make the same mistakes
but at least an understanding that you know okay
I sold a seed I plant the seed but it didn't happen well let me just take that
seed dig it up it's still you still got the
seed then put it over here and maybe it'll grow I don't know we'll see what
happens just got to keep going
you