Chapter 7

Sharing the Vision

Let’s say you are a freelance director, coming in to direct an episode of a show. You’ve never worked there, you don’t know the people, and you have a limited understanding of the show itself: its tone, storytelling requirements, logistics. Yet in just seven days, you are supposed to be the leader on set. You are supposed to know everything there is to know about the show, including its history and internal power dynamics, and you are expected to be successful in creating an above-average episode—hopefully, a great one. How do you do that?

First, you will have done your homework before you even arrived. If there are episodes available, you will have viewed them, taking note of the show’s style and content. You will ...

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