ALL: Judging the directors

[Sylph]

How do you usually do it? What are the elements of one's style you pay close attention to? And what are some directorial practices you really hate?

[stenbeck212]

I like tight closeups. They aren't done very much any more. I'm also a fan of moving the camera in more populated scenes, instead of jumping between conversations. Choosing an unlikely character or image for a tag too. Lingering tags are hardly ever suspenseful, and I wish the fade to black could just happen already. Direction that makes people talk to someone's back is annoying. It seems that the action is blocked the same way in most scenes these days. It would be nice if directors tried different angles, maybe using parts of a set that are typically ignored. I like how OLTL ends all its tags by cutting to black, and Another World's freeze frame endings (which GL copied) were always a nice touch. Opening credits during a prologue are great. Steadicams seem pointless unless they're showing us a character's point of view, or used in a remote.

[Sylph]

I agree, Stenbeck. It has really become monotonous and dull, not single imaginative or non-standard element. TV direction by its nature is not very creative, but it also gives you greater opportunities to prove yourself by finding new ways to shoot something.

Maybe it would be good if they also incorporated more carefully thought through movements or tracking shots, correct the exaggerated jaw dropping and do more work with the younger generation.