Stage director to video and motion picture director
A stage director already meets 20% of what the video and motion picture director role asks for. The move turns on 17 required skills not yet in the profile.
81.3/ 100
1 How much of what a video and motion picture director is expected to do is already part of a stage director’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 4 of its required skills as things a stage director already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adapt designers’ work to the performance venue
- analyse a script
- ensure visual quality of the set
- work with playwrights
What stands in the way is 17 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 9 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 stage director background worth leading with.
- already held work with playwrights communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held adapt a script communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held carry out auditions management skills
- already held organise rehearsals management skills
- already held adapt designers’ work to the performance venue communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held develop drama production process communication, collaboration and creativity
All 9 carried skills, including the 4 the video and motion picture director role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 35 missing skills fall into 7 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 adapt to type of media required
- still to learn tell a story required
- still to learn watch scenes required
- still to learn work with motion picture editing team required
- still to learn work with pre-production team required
- still to learn work with the director of photography required
- still to learn develop creative ideas required
- optional, not held attend read-through optional
- optional, not held design lighting optional
- optional, not held edit digital moving images optional
- optional, not held liaise with event sponsors optional
- optional, not held supervise script preparation optional
- optional, not held attend rehearsals optional
- still to learn audiovisual equipment required
- still to learn cinematography required
- still to learn film production process required
- still to learn lighting techniques required
- still to learn photography required
- still to learn finish project within budget required
- still to learn follow work schedule required
- still to learn lead cast and crew required
- optional, not held assess production needs to plan a production schedule optional
- optional, not held coordinate rehearsals optional
- optional, not held help set rehearsal schedule optional
- optional, not held hire human resources optional
- optional, not held supervise camera crew optional
- optional, not held create production schedules optional
- optional, not held supervise sound production optional
- still to learn study media sources required
- still to learn study relationships between characters required
- optional, not held edit recorded sound optional
- optional, not held perform video editing optional
- optional, not held operate a camera optional
- optional, not held set up cameras optional
1 further area in the appendix
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 adapt to type of media practise this
- 02 audiovisual equipment study this
- 03 cinematography study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 9 skills that carry over
- already held adapt designers’ work to the performance venue skill
- already held analyse a script skill
- already held ensure visual quality of the set skill
- already held work with playwrights skill
- already held adapt a script skill
- already held carry out auditions skill
- already held develop drama production process skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held organise rehearsals skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held create rough cut optional
18 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 coordinate rehearsals optional
- optional, not held create rough cut optional
- optional, not held design lighting optional
- optional, not held edit digital moving images optional
- optional, not held edit recorded sound optional
- optional, not held help set rehearsal schedule optional
- optional, not held hire human resources optional
- optional, not held liaise with event sponsors optional
- optional, not held operate a camera optional
- optional, not held perform video editing optional
- optional, not held set up cameras optional
- optional, not held supervise camera crew optional
- optional, not held supervise script preparation optional
- optional, not held attend rehearsals optional
- optional, not held create production schedules optional
- optional, not held supervise sound production optional
16 held skills the video and motion picture director role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role acting techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role assemble an artistic team skill
- not needed by the target role communicate expectations of fight actions skill
- not needed by the target role cue a performance skill
- not needed by the target role determine context to present the work skill
- not needed by the target role direct an artistic team skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate art quality skill
- not needed by the target role find a replacement for stage manager skill
- not needed by the target role follow time cues skill
- not needed by the target role identify technical resources for performances skill
- not needed by the target role maintain blocking notes skill
- not needed by the target role manage prompt book skill
- not needed by the target role prompt performers skill
- not needed by the target role read scripts skill
- not needed by the target role select music for performance skill
- not needed by the target role write technical riders skill
5 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn audiovisual equipment required
- still to learn cinematography required
- still to learn film production process required
- still to learn lighting techniques required
- still to learn photography required
Common questions about this move
Can a stage director become a video and motion picture director?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A stage director already covers 20% of what a video and motion picture director is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 4 of which the video and motion picture director role treats as required.
What skills does a stage director need to become a video and motion picture director?
17 required skills are missing, plus 18 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is adapt to type of media.
How hard is the move from stage director to video and motion picture director?
Its learning distance is 81.3 out of 100, which is the career change 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.