• Home
  • About Emmy-Winning Blog
  • ©2008-2022 Scott W. Smith (Contact Info)

Screenwriting from Iowa

…and Other Unlikely Places

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« How Producer/Director Ron Howard Evaluates Screenplays
Simple Directing Advice from Oscar Winners That Will Help Keep You on Schedule »

The George Lucas Directing Class in Under 100 Words (via Ron Howard)

October 7, 2019 by Scott W. Smith

Screen Shot 2019-10-07 at 3.29.12 PM

Close-up on Opie (Ron Howard)

Ron Howard has had one of the most amazing careers in Hollywood history. He’s been a  child actor in a classic Tv show (The Andy Griffith Show), a young star actor  (Happy Days), an indie filmmaker (Grand Theft Auto), an Emmy winning producer (From Earth to the Moon), and an Oscar winning producer/director (A Beautiful Mind). He also had the privilege of developing a personal relationship with producer/director George Lucas who directed him in American Graffiti and produced Willow which Howard directed.

So with Howard’s over 50+ solid years of film and television experience here’s a very simple piece of filmmaking advice that I’m calling “The George Lucas Directing Class in Under 100 Words (via Ron Howard).” It’s advice that Howard learned first hand from Lucas, and advice that has always stuck with him and that he shares with others as they set out to direct. Here are 91 words that can change your life:

“George Lucas said no well-written scene has ever gone bad because the director staged it and shot it with a wide shot, a medium, and two close ups. If the scene’s well-written, you can just always fall back on that formula and you’ll have the material you’ll need to go into the editing room. Now, if you have an idea or a visual notion that’s more sophisticated that involves camera moves so be it, but you’re not going to ruin the scene because you shot it in a very simple way.”
Ron Howard
Masterclass, Frost/Nixon Staging Review

I learned about wide shots, medium shots, and close-ups in film school and it was called sequencing. Basically getting the coverage you need in a scene that when you go into the edit room you have a variety of shots that allows you to control pacing, visual interest, performance, and dramatic presentation. Once you become aware of wide/medium/close-up shots you realize that the entire history of cinema is saturated with that basic “formula” to use Lucas’ word. Watch any film from the early silent era through to the most recent release and you’ll see wide, medium, and close-up shots over and over again.

What constitutes a wide, medium, and a close-up is somewhat subjective—and there are variations such as an extreme close-ups)  but this will get you in the ballpark.

MEDIUM CLOSE-UP
Screen Shot 2019-10-07 at 3.02.22 PM.png
CLOSE-UP (reversal shot of the medium closeup)
Screen Shot 2019-10-07 at 3.02.39 PM.png
MEDIUM TWO SHOT 
Screen Shot 2019-10-07 at 3.03.29 PM.png
WIDE SHOT
Screen Shot 2019-10-07 at 3.04.00 PM.png
MEDIUM SHOT 
Screen Shot 2019-10-07 at 3.12.05 PM.png
EXTREME WIDE SHOT
screen-shot-2019-10-07-at-3.16.29-pm.png

EXTREME CLOSE-UP (A BEAUTIFUL MIND)
Screen Shot 2019-10-08 at 2.58.13 PM.png

Once you become aware of wide/medium/close-up shots you realize that the entire history of cinema is saturated with that basic “formula” to use Lucas’ word. Watch any film from the early silent era through to the most recent release and you’ll see wide, medium, and close-up shots over and over again.

Bigger budget films have tools at their disposal to make very complicated shots (dolly, crane, Steadicam, helicopter, etc) but it still boils down to wide/medium/close-up shots. Even films that where done in one take (Russian Ark) or meant to look like one take (Rope, Birdman) are still a variety of wide, medium, and close-ups.

Watch this evergreen advice played out from an episode of The Andy Griffith Show from the 1960s.

P.S. And wide/medium/close-up is scalable on every kind of production—from the largest blockbuster to the :15 second web spot.
Scott W. Smith

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in filmmaking | Tagged George Lucas, Masterclass, Ron Howard Directing, Star Wars | 1 Comment

One Response

  1. on October 9, 2019 at 10:13 am Simple Directing Advice from Oscar Winners That Will Help Keep You on Schedule | Screenwriting from Iowa

    […] « The George Lucas Directing Class in Under 100 Words (via Ron Howard) […]



Comments are closed.

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 1,339 other followers

  • Screenwriting from Iowa…and Other Unlikely Places

    Screenwriting from Iowa…and Other Unlikely Places
  • @scottwsmith_com

    • "#TopGun" (1986) Revisited ...and the Midwest Roots of the #Screenplay #TomCruise (And my dog totally engaged watc… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 1 month ago
    Follow @scottwsmith_com
  • Top Posts

    • My YouTube Retirement Plan
    • How an Oscar-winning Screenwriter Uses Index Cards
    • Why Movie Stars Have Big Heads
    • Raging Bull vs. Martin Scorsese
    • The Perfect ‘Mad Men’ Monologue
    • Inside the ‘Breaking Bad’ Writers' Room & How Bad Ideas Can Lead to Good Ideas
    • Asperger, Alligators & Hollywood
    • 'Network' Notes by Paddy Chayefsky
    • The Case for Quentin Tarantino's 10th and Final Film being ‘Moby-Dick’ (Starring Tom Cruise as Ahab and The Rock as a Tattooed Cannibal )
    • Average Length of a Movie Scene (tip #21)
  • Recent Posts

    • My YouTube Retirement Plan
    • Tony Siragusa (1967-2022)
    • What James Cameron Thinks About the Rules of Screenwriting & Books on Screenwriting
    • Tom Cruise/Maverick vs. Casey Neistat/MrBeast
    • The Iowa Roots of ’Top Gun: Maverick’ Director Joseph Kosinski
  • Pages

    • About Emmy-Winning Blog
    • ©2008-2022 Scott W. Smith (Contact Info)
  • Categories

    • Book Reviews
    • Film History
    • filmmaking
    • Filmmaking Quote of the Day
    • Miscellaneous
    • Most Viewed Posts
    • Movies
    • Off Screen Quotes
    • podcasting
    • Postcards
    • Quotes from the Road
    • Screenwriters
    • screenwriting
    • Screenwriting & Life
    • Screenwriting Biz
    • Screenwriting Quotes
    • Screenwriting Road Trips
    • screenwriting tips
    • Television
    • Video Blog
    • writing
    • Writing Quotes
  • Add to Technorati Favorites
  • Digg!
  • Archives

    • July 2022
    • June 2022
    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021
    • November 2021
    • October 2021
    • September 2021
    • August 2021
    • July 2021
    • June 2021
    • May 2021
    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
    • February 2010
    • January 2010
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • September 2009
    • August 2009
    • July 2009
    • June 2009
    • May 2009
    • April 2009
    • March 2009
    • February 2009
    • January 2009
    • December 2008
    • November 2008
    • October 2008
    • September 2008
    • August 2008
    • July 2008
    • June 2008
    • May 2008
    • April 2008
    • March 2008
    • February 2008
    • January 2008
  • Meta

    • Register
    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.com
  • RSS Screenwriting from Iowa

    • My YouTube Retirement Plan
      ”I consider myself on my last leg.” —Brad Pitt at 58GQ magazine, 2022 “I think that the Internet is going to effect the most profound change on the entertainment industries combined. And we’re all gonna be tuning into the most popular Internet show in the world, which will be coming from some place in Des Moines.”—Steven […]
      Scott W. Smith
  • Blogroll—Favorite Posts from Others

    • ASPIRING TO ACT, WRITE, DIRECT—TomCruise.com
    • BURN IT DOWN—John August
    • CASE STUDIES IN FILM EDITING—Oliver Peters
    • DAVID MAMET'S MEMO— Movieline
    • EVERY SALE HAS A STORY—Blake Snyder
    • FILM FINACE OVERWHELM—Stacy Parks
    • IT'S THE CONCEPT STUPID—Max Adams
    • LISTEN TO A MOVIE—Scott Myers
    • MISHA GREEN INTERVIEW—Scriptshadow
    • QUERY LETTER SAMPLE — Michele Wallerstein
    • RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK—Scriptsnotes, Ep 73:
    • THE 'RAIDERS' STORY CONFERENCE—Mystery Man on Film
    • THE "A" LIST—Christopher Lockhart
    • THE SCREENWRITER'S GUIDE TO MOVIE VILLAINS—Screenwriting Spark
    • THE TOTAL FILM-MAKER BY JERRY LEWIS—Cinephilla and Beyond
    • VINCENT LAFORET—chasejarvisLIVE

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • Screenwriting from Iowa
    • Join 1,339 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Screenwriting from Iowa
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: