Where Is The Director?
Munaf Husain
~ Digital Film Producer, Visual Storyteller at Dancing Light Pictures ~ Art = Human Understanding
There seems to be a trend these days. Agencies and marketing departments are simply hiring editors and videographers to create content. Where's the director? That crucial role of the unifying vision behind a video, someone at the hiring organisation just assumes they can do it themselves. As if owning a few musical instruments and hiring a few musicians makes you a composer.
A video is much more than just stylish images, fancy graphics, and snazzy editing. There is a narrative vision to it. And an emotional component, a feeling, a genuine sentiment.
In an age of ever increasing fakery in the media and on social media, I believe authenticity is of high value for every marketer. It's everything in fact.
For a video to feel authentic, it needs to have a heart. An authentic, beating heart. And...a director to put in that heart.
Even if it is just a 10 seconds video, the director's is a job that requires an in depth understanding of not just the craft, but the world at large. The expert handling of tools and techniques is in the service of a human story or idea, of some kind or the other. Knowledge is at a premium. Knowledge of life, history, art, poetry, literature, culture, nature, human nature. Knowledge of metaphor and its workings.
A knowledgeable and experienced director brings more authenticity to the telling of the story through video. With only technicians, talented as they may be, you are more likely to create attractive looking pulp with not much emotional resonance or shelf life.
If you are planning to create any type of video content for your business or enterprise, hiring an experienced director is the most beneficial decision you could make.
INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST & DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER
5yMunaf is right and wrong - for lower end commercial and creative work the directors , editors ,cinematographers, music directors can be dispensed with. Mere coordinators , joiners, camera operators , musicians do the job with the help of various software , A.I . , augmented reality etc. However for art / higher end work ,Directors / cinematographers/ Editors/ music directors are needed and will always be required . For , the machines/technicians can at best do routine / same thing or routine differently. Only humans can make it more than the sum of parts , do “ different” things , attempt reaching the unknown and the unknowable .All in all ,there is no cause for worry - quantum of work has increased exponentially . So there is enough space for Technicians-cum- machines and Directors-cum- ideas. P.S .: The planes are being flown without pilots these days – by computers- on auto pilot. The human pilot is only a back up thus dispensing with the co-pilot
Writer, Producer, Director, Editor, Co-Host at Rahim Films Inc.
5yWithout a director imagine a plane without a pilot. The billions of dollars in equipment cannot fly the plane