Focal Press Running the Show: The Essential Guide to Being a First Assistant Director

Whether it's a crew of two hundred shooting a cast of thousands on horseback, or a crew of twelve filming one person in a room, each and every successful movie production requires a strong First Assistant Director (AD) at its helm. In this new and updated edition of Running the Show: The Essential Guide to Being a First Assistant Director from Focal Press, veteran First AD Liz Gill walks you through the entire filmmaking process through the perspective of the First AD, from pre-production, shoot, wrap, and everything in-between.

This book provides invaluable insight into working as a First Assistant Director, featuring tricks-of-the-trade for breaking down a script, creating a schedule and organizing test shoots, alongside how to use turnaround time, weather cover, split days, overtime, and continuous days to balance a challenging schedule and get the most from the cast, crew, and the shoot. This new edition has been fully updated and expanded throughout to provide up-to-date coverage on new equipment and software, health and safety considerations and the implications of VFX. This is the essential guide to becoming a successful First Assistant Director, ideal for professional and aspiring AD's seeking to further their career, students of directing and production looking to gain a better understanding of how this department works, and anyone interested in film and TV production.