Director of photography to video and motion picture director
A director of photography already meets 74% of what the video and motion picture director role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.
33.2/ 100
1 How much of what a video and motion picture director is expected to do is already part of a director of photography’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the video and motion picture director role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A video and motion picture director role treats 17 of its required skills as things a director of photography already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adapt designers’ work to the performance venue
- adapt to type of media
- analyse a script
- audiovisual equipment
- cinematography
- develop creative ideas
What stands in the way is 4 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 30 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A video and motion picture director role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a director of photography background worth leading with.
- already held supervise script preparation communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held watch scenes communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held supervise camera crew management skills
- already held design lighting communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held work with pre-production team communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held work with playwrights communication, collaboration and creativity
All 30 carried skills, including the 17 the video and motion picture director role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 14 missing skills fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn tell a story required
- still to learn work with the director of photography required
- optional, not held attend read-through optional
- optional, not held develop drama production process optional
- still to learn lead cast and crew required
- optional, not held assess production needs to plan a production schedule optional
- optional, not held carry out auditions optional
- optional, not held coordinate rehearsals optional
- optional, not held help set rehearsal schedule optional
- optional, not held organise rehearsals optional
- optional, not held create production schedules optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- still to learn study relationships between characters required
- optional, not held create rough cut optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a video and motion picture director role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 study relationships between characters practise this
- 02 tell a story practise this
- 03 work with the director of photography practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 30 skills that carry over
- already held adapt designers’ work to the performance venue skill
- already held adapt to type of media skill
- already held analyse a script skill
- already held audiovisual equipment knowledge
- already held cinematography knowledge
- already held develop creative ideas skill
- already held ensure visual quality of the set skill
- already held film production process knowledge
- already held finish project within budget skill
- already held follow work schedule skill
- already held lighting techniques knowledge
- already held photography knowledge
- already held study media sources skill
- already held watch scenes skill
- already held work with motion picture editing team skill
- already held work with playwrights skill
- already held work with pre-production team skill
- already held adapt a script skill
- already held attend rehearsals skill
- already held design lighting skill
- already held edit digital moving images skill
- already held edit recorded sound skill
- already held hire human resources skill
- already held liaise with event sponsors skill
- already held operate a camera skill
- already held perform video editing skill
- already held set up cameras skill
- already held supervise camera crew skill
- already held supervise script preparation skill
- already held supervise sound production skill
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held assess production needs to plan a production schedule optional
- optional, not held attend read-through optional
- optional, not held carry out auditions optional
- optional, not held coordinate rehearsals optional
- optional, not held create rough cut optional
- optional, not held develop drama production process optional
- optional, not held help set rehearsal schedule optional
- optional, not held organise rehearsals optional
- optional, not held create production schedules optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
8 held skills the video and motion picture director role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role ICT software specifications knowledge
- not needed by the target role consult with production director skill
- not needed by the target role file-based workflow knowledge
- not needed by the target role multimedia systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role photographic processing techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role read scripts skill
- not needed by the target role select camera apertures skill
- not needed by the target role translate artistic concepts to technical designs skill
Common questions about this move
Can a director of photography become a video and motion picture director?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A director of photography already covers 74% of what a video and motion picture director is expected to do: 30 skills carry over, 17 of which the video and motion picture director role treats as required.
What skills does a director of photography need to become a video and motion picture director?
4 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is study relationships between characters.
How hard is the move from director of photography to video and motion picture director?
Its learning distance is 33.2 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.