This is a bit of text and backstory here, so bear with me, I don't know if i'm just going through a bout of insecurity or have a genuine concern, and I wanted to seek the opinions of others who have gone through similar experiences. Just to say upfront, there is no bitterness involved with this project, and we are all good friends.
So, we are currently going through post on our first low budget feature. I was the Producer for the film, and I didn't really have an intention to shoot the film, I wanted to simply be the Producer and gain more experience in that field. I also wanted to find someone else that would benefit more from the Feature DP credit than me, as I am trying to focus less on being a Director/DP and more on building myself as a Director and Producer, I would say I am a decent DP, but without going into too much detail, I don't think its the career path for me. Long story short, I ended up becoming the DP for my good friend who had also written the screenplay, and was going to direct.
I did share my apprehensions prior to shooting, I myself am not only older but I have more experience directing and working with actors, I didn't want to end up having to work with the actors, and effectively direct, but we failed to discuss responsibilities of blocking and coverage prior to shooting.
Being a Producer and DP did cause an obvious conflict, on one side I wanted to ensure the film had a level of quality and production value that came in line with the material I like to present under my production company, on the other side I did want to just act purely as a DP, and help the Director bring their vision to the screen, there's a reason for hierarchy and positions on set, and I didn't want to mess with that, it was bad enough I was also Producer, and the inherent conflict that could cause.
Pre-Production was hectic, so by the time the first day came, the Director hadn't really done any pre-visualization of how scenes would be shot, he was forced by the AD to come up with a shot list for the first day, but when I saw it, I was unhappy with the basic coverage and there being far too many shots, especially for an 18 day feature where we couldn't afford that many setups, more importantly the coverage simply didn't make any sense for the scene, it was a bit film school and textbook. So I scrapped the list and quickly came up with a solution that made more sense, and the general everyday workflow would soon follow this pattern. The director would rehearse the scene with the actors, he'd come up to me and describe the shots, and I would effectively throw them all out of the window, and come up with new blocking and more cinematic coverage, and mess up what the actors had just rehearsed. The AD made the point about how the Director is responsible for the blocking and that I shouldn't butt in, but the Director told them that he trusted me implicitly with anything to do with camera, and that I should be allowed to have my say. Of course this made the AD's job hard, as the shot list was made literally minutes before we would start shooting each scene.
We soon found our workflow and got used to it. The Director would rehearse the scene, myself and the Gaffer would watch it, I would work out the blocking with the actors, and the coverage, and then describe the shooting plan to the Gaffer, who like most Gaffers was a DP in her own right so we would have useful discussions with each other, it wasn't before long that that onset relationship between her and myself was more akin to the Director and DP, at least when it came to the camera side of things. As we were shooting I didn't have time to think too much about the fact I was fulfilling a lot of duties expected by the Director, I just figured this is the kind of Director that thinks less about camera, more about performance, and I can be the DP that has more creative freedom.
The Director though would get frustrated, and rightly so, when he felt he almost had no say with the camera and lighting, but the truth was 9 times out of 10, my solution just made more sense, and we are seeing that especially now during the edit. I do get frustrated when he describes a shot as his, knowing full well all he did was agree with my idea, I know I am going to get even more frustrated when others watch the film and credit him with the way scenes are covered and shot, it will bother me even more if he got hired to direct something because of those factors, and someone comes to me and says "so what camera did you shoot with?".
Fortunately, I didn't have to work with the actors, or work with the Production Design and other departments anymore than a DP traditionally would, and beyond having a significant part in the casting of the film, I do at least feel secure the performances and the tone of the film are something the Director can be proud of, and of course, the writing, which I have always felt to be truly excellent.
I am not a big fan of Co-Directing credits, to me they can be messy and reminds me way too much of my early days as a kid, when we were all insecure and uneducated, the "whoever operates the camera is directing" mentality. However looking at the relationship between some well known Co-Directors, I have read in many cases one will be more responsible for working with the actors, and the other will focus more on the camera side of things. The way I look at the way we worked together from the very beginning more than a year ago, it has felt like a co-Directing operation to me, even now as we are effectively editing the film together.
My friend is a very understanding person, and is certainly not a credit hog, but I don't want to even bring up this issue with him if it's simply me being insecure, and as a result then make him feel insecure about his own work and credit. Can anyone add their thoughts, or own personal experiences where they felt as a DP that they were effectively the co-Director? Am I just making an issue out of nothing?
