In prep: from script to plan
A feature director is often attached long before a start date, developing the script with the writer and producers and helping attract cast and money. Once the film is greenlit, prep becomes a sequence of decisions that the rest of the crew waits on.
Casting comes first, with the casting director and producers. Locations follow with the location manager and production designer, who bring photos and scout options until the director picks. With the director of photography, the director builds a visual approach, usually a lookbook of references, then a shot list or storyboards for scenes with stunts, effects, or complicated coverage. With the 1st AD, the director reads through the schedule and pushes back where a day looks too heavy. The tech scout is where department heads walk each location with the director and ask their questions in person.
Rehearsals depend on the budget. A studio feature might have a week or two; a low budget indie might get one table read and a few hours per actor.
On set: performance and coverage
On the day, the director's attention belongs to the actors and the frame. The 1st AD runs the clock, so the director can start each scene by blocking it with the actors, watch a rehearsal with the DP, and agree on coverage: a master, then singles, inserts, and any specialty shots.
A director who knows what the edit needs shoots less. Say scene 42A is 1 3/8 pages and the schedule gives it three hours. If the director plans a master, two overs, and two close singles, that's five setups, with lighting turnarounds between the directions. If they stage the scene as a walk-and-talk on a Steadicam with one insert, they may get it in two setups and give the saved time to the next scene. The shooting ratio calculator and how many script pages you can shoot in a day help test those choices.
Each take, the director gives notes to actors, checks the monitor at video village, and tells the script supervisor which takes to circle. The script supervisor's notes become the editor's map, so directors learn to be clear about preferences on the day.
In post: the director's cut
After wrap the editor puts together an assembly, and the director gets a contractual period to make their own cut before producers and the studio take over. Under the DGA Low Budget Side Letter, the length of that period depends on budget level:
| Budget level | Director's cut period |
|---|---|
| Levels 1 and 2 (up to $3M) | Same number of days as principal photography, never fewer than 20 days |
| Level 3 (over $3M up to $4M) | At least 8 weeks |
| Level 4 (over $4M up to $11M) | Full 10 weeks |
Each is followed by a screening of the director's cut. The director also usually attends the sound mix and color sessions, though how much authority they have there depends on their contract.
How TV directing differs
An episodic director is a guest. The showrunner sets the tone, the scripts arrive from the writers' room, and the series' visual rules come from the pilot. The director's job is to deliver that episode on schedule within the show's style, often in a prep period set by the DGA.
For 2026 to 2027, a network prime-time one-hour episode pays a $58,808 program rate with 7 guaranteed prep days and 8 shooting days. Each day beyond the guarantee pays $3,921. If the shoot runs nine days, one past the guarantee, the director earns $58,808 plus $3,921, or $62,729. A half-hour network episode pays $34,629 with 3 prep days and 4 shooting days. Basic cable and pay television have separate tables.
DGA pay on features
The 2026 to 2027 high budget theatrical minimum is $25,214 a week, with a guaranteed 2-week preparation period, a 10-week employment period, and a 1-week cutting allowance. Shorts and documentaries have a lower scale of $18,007 a week.
Films budgeted at $11 million or less use the Low Budget Side Letter:
| Level | Budget | Weekly minimum |
|---|---|---|
| 1 and 2 | Up to $3M | Negotiable |
| 3 | Over $3M up to $4M | $8,321 (33%) |
| 4A and 4B | Over $4M up to $8.5M | $18,911 (75%) |
| 4C | Over $8.5M up to $11M | $22,693 (90%) |
For levels 3 and 4 the rate card gives directors a minimum guarantee of 13 weeks. On a Level 3 film, that works out to 13 times $8,321, or $108,173 before pension and health. The side letter lists an employer contribution of 8.75% to the pension plan and 13.5% to the health plan.
Levels 3 and 4 also pay soft prep: a weekly amount of $1,650 (Level 3), $3,750 (Levels 4A and 4B), or $4,500 (Level 4C) for up to 5 weeks of work before official pre-production. It kicks in once 3 of 4 crew members are employed weekly: a freelance UPM or line producer, the production designer, the location manager or scout, and the casting agent.
How directors get the job
There's no qualification list for directors. People get hired on the strength of their work: short films, a low budget feature, music videos and commercials, episodes shadowed and then directed on a series, or a move from another job (writer, DP, editor, actor, 1st AD). A director joins the DGA when a signatory company hires them. Our guide to the DGA Low Budget Agreement explains how an indie can sign on.
Documents the director signs off on
The director approves the shooting script revisions, the shot list and storyboards, the schedule's day-by-day order (with the 1st AD), casting choices, and the director's cut. They should be reading the one-line schedule every week of prep to catch days that don't work.
In Storiara, the shot list is organized by scene: each shot has a name, a category, a description, and an optional reference image, and shots can be dragged into shoot days on the scheduling stripboard, so the director and DP's plan and the AD's schedule live in one place.