Harry Ransom Center

The “Making the Movies” exhibit at the Harry Ransom Center displayed the difficult process that is creating a successful film. The scripts, the various notes, the props – the HRC had it all. Most importantly, it made me realize that as a director I must be productive above anything else.
As I examined the numerous multiple theatrical posters throughout the exhibit, I noticed that some had the words “Directed by…” printed on them. These words highlighted how vital the director is to any film. After all, director James Cameron is always mentioned when the highly successful movie Avatar is advertised. After seeing the exhibit and judging from prior directing knowledge, my job is to keep the pieces together. In our case, the pieces are everywhere. Over 20 people are working on our video essay, so I want to make intelligent decisions in a timely fashion.
All of the notes to and from various production crew members that decorated the HRC’s walls makes the video essay seem really difficult. We do not have several years to complete the film…we do not even have several months. Therefore the class must make decisions quickly. We have spent a lot of time brainstorming ideas, and now we must actually work toward completing them. As one of two directors, I consider my biggest task to be dealing with organization. If the class as a whole is not organized, we will not complete anything. The movies on display at the HRC are not up there because they had a lazy director. Teamwork really is key in our situation, and by what I saw at the HRC, this is the case for any effective film.