On Television Directing

The First Step in Directing a Television Episode: Read Your Script

Now, for the moment, let’s assume you have gotten the job (I will address getting your first job in a later chapter). It may seem obvious that reading the script is the very first step in the directing process, but I am going take this opportunity to specifically address the form of episodic television.

In the case of episodic television, you are stepping into a world in which characters already exist, and you are charged with the task of furthering a tremendous backstory that has been developed long before the single script you are about to read. It is essential to watch completed episodes of the series you now shoulder. Ten is a nice number, but it’s helpful to go all in on a three day binge of the series.

Now that you have familiarized yourself with the storyline, character backstories, and look of the show, NOW it’s time to read your script.

First Reading

The very first reading should be a quiet, zen-like experience with no interruptions, and no note taking. It is a fully attentive read. You are consciously wearing the viewer hat, dropping into the story emotionally, letting the material wash over you and speak to you as you willingly take the ride with the audience.

For instance, if the script has an unsatisfying ending, allow yourself to experience that. If it’s a mystery, and you find yourself ahead of the plot, experience that as well. Fully feel the character arcs and development or lack thereof. You will be amazed at how much you will discover by literally relaxing into the read and seeing where it takes you. Only by experiencing it might you address it with the writers (but that comes much later).

With the experience of that first reading you have made a giant step forward in the process of directing the episode, whether you realize it or not. You have internalized the story and characters, and you are ready to ask yourself one simple question: What’s this story about?

This brings us to the second reading.

Second Reading

Now the next step to directing begins. Read the script or the episode again from the beginning but this time, stop at every scene. Don’t think about camera angles yet. Think about physical staging. Ask yourself: What is the physical action of the scene? Not what the dialogue explains, but what the sub- text of the scene is. I always try to stay away from just letting people sit and talk. If there is no way around it, then I think about what went on just before and where the characters are heading to next. It actually might spark an idea for staging. I call it putting the scene ON ITS FEET. It’s a very commonly used term in the Theater, but rarely used or understood in film and television.

Then I go on to the next scene and to the next and begin to feel the shape of the internal drama or comedy. Scenes build upon scenes. Try and imagine the whole story as physical movement. There might be a scene that works beautifully that is very still without movement after a scene with a lot of movement. Imagine it in your head. Make it apart of your waking dream life.  Live with the story in your mind and be consumed by it. This is very similar to when an actor or actress becomes consumed with the character they play. People sometimes accuse actors of being crazy. Well guess what? Directors are crazy too. And so are writers. We are all crazy living in imaginary circumstances as if they are real to us. What madness, what fun. 

This reading of the script takes time. I stop and start. I go over things. I find little suggestions for the writers to consider that enhance what they’ve written already. For example.  Do the characters have to be sitting and already talking? Can they come into the room in conversation and then no one sits down because I have found some tension between the characters? It’s a way to start the dialogue so the writers themselves can start visualizing the action. It becomes a collaboration. A process. You are using what has been written and bouncing off of it in totally directorial terms. And on and on.

The third read can be dedicated to character analysis. Any ideas for illuminating the character issues can come with a third read. These usually take the form of questions to the writers. Get them thinking, but try and think together. It truly becomes a team process. This is the best kind of collaboration.