Here is a list of the best Directing books, some I have read myself, some that I did research on, and all have great reviews!
- Directing, Fifth Edition: Film Techniques and Aesthetics (2012)
- Notes on Directing: 130 Lessons in Leadership from the Director’s Chair (2018)
- Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film & Television (1999)
- Film Directing Shot by Shot: Visualizing from Concept to Screen (Michael Wiese Productions) (1991)
- On Directing Film (1992)
- Film Directing Fundamentals: See Your Film Before Shooting (2017)
- Stage Directing: The First Experiences (2014)
- Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video (2015)
- Film Directing: Shot by Shot – 25th Anniversary Edition: Visualizing from Concept to Screen (2019)
- The Art and Craft of TV Directing: Conversations with Episodic Television Directors (2019)
- Directing in Musical Theatre (2014)
- Kazan on Directing (2010)
- Directing the Camera: How Professional Directors Use a Moving Camera to Energize Their Films (2014)
- Directing for the Stage: A Workshop Guide of Creative Exercises and Projects (1995)
Directing, Fifth Edition: Film Techniques and Aesthetics (2012)
This comprehensive manual has inspired tens of thousands of readers worldwide to realize their artistic vision and produce well-constructed films. Filled with practical advice on every stage of production, this is the book you will return to throughout your career. Directing covers the methods, technologies, thought processes, and judgments that a director must use throughout the fascinating process of making a film.
Notes on Directing: 130 Lessons in Leadership from the Director’s Chair (2018)
Some years ago, Frank Hauser, then a retired freelance director, and writer Russell Reich, his former student, self-published Notes on Directing in hardcover. It was immediately acclaimed as “a gem-witty and full of insight;” “so sensible, so complete, and so right;” and “amazingly illuminating” by the likes of Judi Dench, Edward Albee, and Terry Teachout.
Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film & Television (1999)
Internationally-renowned directing coach Weston demonstrates what constitutes a good performance, what actors want from a director, what directors do wrong, script analysis and preparation, how actors work, and shares insights into the director/actor relationship.
Film Directing Shot by Shot: Visualizing from Concept to Screen (Michael Wiese Productions) (1991)
A complete catalogue of motion picture techniques for filmmakers. It concentrates on the ‘storytelling’ school of filmmaking, utilizing the work of the great stylists who established the versatile vocabulary of technique that has dominated the moviessince 1915. This graphic approach includes comparisons of style by interpreting a ‘model script’, created for the book, in storyboard form.
On Directing Film (1992)
Calling on his unique perspective as playwright, screenwriter, and director of his own critically acclaimed movies like House of Games, State and Main, and Things Change, David Mamet illuminates how a film comes to be.
Film Directing Fundamentals: See Your Film Before Shooting (2017)
Film Directing Fundamentals gives the novice director an organic methodology for realizing on-screen the full dramatic possibility of a screenplay. Unique among directing books, Nicholas Proferes provides clear-cut ways to translate a script to the screen. Using the script as a blueprint, the reader is led through specific techniques to analyze and translate its components into a visual story. A sample screenplay is included that explicates the techniques discussed.
Stage Directing: The First Experiences (2014)
Flexible and concise, Stage Directing details the seven steps that make up the directing process: selecting a work, analyzing and researching the playscript, conceiving the production, casting, beginning rehearsals, polishing rehearsals, and giving and receiving criticism. Each step is highlighted with valuable directing tips, as well as examples from modern and contemporary playscripts and productions.
Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video (2015)
Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video, Fifth Edition is the definitive book on the subject for the serious film student or beginning filmmaker. Its unique two-fold approach looks at filmmaking from the perspectives of both the producer and director, and clearly explains how their separate roles must work together to create a successful short film or video.
Film Directing: Shot by Shot – 25th Anniversary Edition: Visualizing from Concept to Screen (2019)
Shot by Shot is the world’s go-to directing book, now newly updated for a special 25th Anniversary edition! The first edition sold over 250,000 copies, making it one of the bestselling books on film di-recting of all time.
The Art and Craft of TV Directing: Conversations with Episodic Television Directors (2019)
The Art and Craft of TV Directing offers a broad and in-depth view of the craft of TV Directing in the form of detailed interviews with dozens of the industry’s most accomplished episodic television directors.Author Jim Hemphill provides students with essential information on the complexities of working in episodic TV, highlighting the artistic, technical, and interpersonal skills required, and exploring a variety of entry points and approaches to provide a comprehensive overview of how to begin…
Directing in Musical Theatre (2014)
This comprehensive guide, from the author of Acting in Musical Theatre, will equip aspiring directors with all of the skills that they will need in order to guide a production from beginning to end. From the very first conception and collaborations with crew and cast, through rehearsals and technical production all the way to the final performance, Joe Deer covers the full range.
Kazan on Directing (2010)
Elia Kazan was the twentieth century’s most celebrated director of both stage and screen, and this monumental, revelatory book shows us the master at work. Kazan’s list of Broadway and Hollywood successes—A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, On the Waterfront, to name a few—is a testament to his profound impact on the art of directing.
Directing the Camera: How Professional Directors Use a Moving Camera to Energize Their Films (2014)
The first half of this book is devoted to teaching a systemized approach that can be used to design the very best moving shot for any dialogue scene, no matter how complex or long. Bettman’s “Five Task” approach enables the aspiring director to quickly grasp this difficult element of directorial craft.
Directing for the Stage: A Workshop Guide of Creative Exercises and Projects (1995)
Appropriate for both beginning and advanced courses in directing, this is the only theatre text that combines theory with active student participation. The 42 exercises detailed here provide both the instructor and the student a ‘user-friendly’ workshop structure. With the basic concepts of directing presented progressively, the approach is totally hands-on.
Best Directing Books Worth Your Attention
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Library Genesis and download some directing books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
Studio Television Production and Directing: Concepts, Equipment, and Procedures
Author(s): Andrew Hicks Utterback
ID: 3710001, Publisher: Routledge, Year: 2023, Size: 84 Mb, Format: pdf
What Country, Friends, Is This?: Directing Shakespeare with Young Performers
Author(s): Max Hafler
ID: 3063177, Publisher: Nick Hern Books, Year: 2021, Size: 6 Mb, Format: epub
Directing Health Messages Toward African Americans: Attitudes Toward Health Care and the Mass Media
Author(s): Judith L. Sylvester
ID: 3344276, Publisher: Routledge, Year: 2021, Size: 616 Kb, Format: epub
Please note that this booklist is not errorless. Some books are absolutely hot items according to Washington Post, others are drafted by unknown writers. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant books you could recommend? Leave a comment if you have any feedback on the list.