Direction

Direction is responsible for how a production looks in content. It decides on framing, process, tempo and when a setup is in the can. On the shoot day direction is the person whose instructions steer the process — within what was agreed beforehand.

What a direction instruction covers

Direction instructions concern execution: line of look, position in the frame, speed of movement, expression, volume, timing. Sentences such as “half a step to the left”, “slower”, “look to camera” or “that once more from the top” are professional instructions and belong to ordinary work in front of the camera.

Added to that is the decision about repeats. If a take does not sit, direction orders the next one. That too is not a judgement of you, but a decision about the material.

How you recognise good direction: it announces what happens next instead of letting it happen. It names before the take which acts occur in this setup. And after an abort it says what it was. Those three habits cost nothing and make the difference between a concentrated and an unpleasant shoot day.

Where the instruction ends

Direction has content authority, but no power of disposal over your body. The line runs where an instruction goes beyond what stands on your Yes-No-Maybe list. That list is part of the contract and therefore stands above every instruction on set.

In practice that means: a request to show a refused act “just this once” or “just briefly for one setup” is not a direction instruction but a contract change. You can refuse it without giving a reason, and you can stop the take at any time through the agreed Safeword or a spoken Cut. There are no disadvantages for the refusal — neither on the fee nor on future bookings.

Direction is not production management

These two roles are often confused, especially on small crews where they sometimes fall together in one person. They have different responsibilities:

• Direction: content, picture, process of the takes, repeats.
• Production management: organisation, schedule, contracts, fees, documentation of age verification and consents, observance of the protection rules.

Organisational and contractual questions therefore do not sit with direction but with production management. If both roles sit in one person, you lack a neutral point of contact — then it is all the more important that there is a named person for complaints or that an Intimacy Coordinator is present.

If an instruction does not fit

Say it at once and not after the third attempt. A simple “I do not do that” is enough; you owe nobody a reason. If the pressure remains, abort the take and turn to production management or your contact.

Which rules apply with us for conduct on set is under safety.