FAQ - QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Hello everyone and welcome to this episode of FAQ. My first one can be read again here or click  the header corresponding category.

This time I wanted to tell you a little about my reviews, how I do them, what kind of definitions you need to know which are important if you want to talk about movies. Okay so here we go.

What is the difference between a Director and a Producer?

 

A movie director is a person who directs the making of a film. The director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, and visualizes the script while guiding the crew and actors to fulfill that vision. Prior to filming the director has a key role in script revisions, casting, and production design.  During filming, the director gives direction to the cast and crew to capture his or her vision on film.  After filming, the director is involved in the film's editing.

A director contributes to all creative elements relating to the making of a motion picture and participates in molding and integrating them into one dramatic and aesthetic whole.

 

Examples of Film Director Tasks

• Participate in selecting cast and other creative personnel
• Approve rights to third parties
• Approve script, locations, set designs, and shooting schedules
• Recommend script changes
• Direct the film
• Help select the second unit director
• Consult with the second unit director about shooting second unit photography
• Review unedited footage (also known as “dailies”)
• View the editor’s assembly (also known as an editor’s “rough cut”)
• Supervise the editor’s first cut
• Instruct editor to make changes necessary for the director’s cut
• Prepare the director’s cut
• Consult throughout post-production
• Work on the last version of the film before negative cutting and dubbing
• Direct dialogue replacement (also known as “looping”) and narration
• Participates in spotting and dubbing of sound and music
• Participate in the rating of the film by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
• Participate in previews of the film before it’s widely released
• Consult on the content of the DVD release

 

 
While a director manages the film's creative vision, the producer manages the film's finances, production, marketing and distribution.  The producer plans and coordinates financing, script selection and rewrites, and the hiring of the director, crew, and cast prior to filming; administration, payroll and logistics during filming; and editing, music, special effects, marketing and distribution after filming.  Despite the director's creative responsibilities, it is the producer who has the last word on the final editing of the film.

The producer manages the production, often including putting the money together. The director casts actors and key crew, the producer hires everybody.

 

Examples of Film Producer Tasks

Development

• Conceive of the premise of the production
• Select the writer
• Secure the necessary rights and financing
• Supervise the development process

Pre-Production

• Select the director, co-producer, cinematographer, unit production manager, production designer
• Select principal cast
• Participate in location scouting
• Approve the final shooting script, production schedule and budget

Production

• Supervise daily operations of the producing team
• Provide on-set consultation with the director and other creative personnel
• Approve cost reports

Post-Production and Marketing

• Consult with the editor, director, composer and visual effects staff
• Consult with creative and financial personnel
• Participate in marketing and distribution

What is the difference between "Screenplay" and "Written by" credits?

The Screenplay credit is normally used when there's a separate credit for the Story writer.

When the same writer is the author of both Story and Screenplay, the 'Written by' term is used.

What is the difference between "Screenplay" and "Direction"?

 Making a screenplay is writing the story, dialog and written descriptions of the action. This is done by the screenwriter(s). The end result is the script which all of the people making the movie use together to design and film what will become the end result.

Direction is technically telling the actors what to do as they perform the actions and say the dialog in the script. Coaching them in how to visually express the emotions of the scene. But in practice, it goes beyond that. The director is also in charge of making all of the final creative decisions in the entire project.

Do the director might make changes to the written dialog when it comes time to shoot the scene because the working turns out to be awkward to say, or he wants to change the dialog to match an emotion he wants to convey. He also says "yes" or "no" to the decisions of the cinematographer, explains his needs to the set designer and makes final approval on their efforts, and fits together the different departments into the overall collaboration needed to make a movie.

But ultimately the practice of "direction" just means working out how to make the actors express the script so we understand the emotions and context of each scene.

Who defines the different ratings of a movie?

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a film's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The MPAA rating system is a voluntary scheme that is not enforced by law; films can be exhibited without a rating, although many theaters refuse to exhibit non-rated or NC-17 rated films. Non-members of MPAA may also submit films for rating. Other media, such as television programs and video games, is rated by other entities such as the ESRB and the TV Parental Guidelines. 

Since the late 1990s, the MPAA film ratings have been as follows:

Rating symbol	Meaning
	G – General Audiences All ages admitted. Nothing that would offend parents for viewing by children.
	PG – Parental Guidance Suggested Some material may not be suitable for children. Parents urged to give "parental guidance". May contain some material parents might not like for their young children.
	PG-13 – Parents Strongly Cautioned Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. Parents are urged to be cautious. Some material may be inappropriate for pre-teenagers.
	R – Restricted Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. Contains some adult material. Parents are urged to learn more about the film before taking their young children with them.
	NC-17 – Adults Only No One 17 and Under Admitted. Clearly adult. Children are not admitted.

 There are more ratings possible for movies like F rated but these are not added to the list yet.

What is the difference between storyline and storytelling?

In some of my reviews I using those two different terms. But what is the difference?

Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, often with improvisation, theatrics, or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and instilling moral values. Crucial elements of stories and storytelling include plot, characters and narrative point of view.

The term 'storytelling' is used in a narrow sense to refer specifically to oral storytelling and also in a looser sense to refer to techniques used in other media to unfold or disclose the narrative of a story.

Storyline is nothing else than the plot which refers to the sequence of events inside a story which affect other events through the principle of cause and effect. The causal events of a plot can be thought of as a series of sentences linked by "and so". Plots can vary from simple structures such as in a traditional ballad to complex interwoven structures sometimes referred to as an imbroglio. The term plot can serve as a verb and refer to a character planning future actions in the story.

 So yeah these have been the 5 questions I wanted to answer or better add to the FAQ series which I will go on for sure, if you have any questions ask me anything about movies, terms, and others, and we can talk about it.

Thanks for reading and have fun watching movies.