10 Top Qualities of a Great Director

I love working with directors that have any or all of the following qualities. Could just be my opinion, but a director with any of these qualities is not only great to work with but more importantly really inspires you with enthusiasm and creativity.

1. Clarity of vision

The director needs to have a clear vision of what they’re attempting to make. They need to know in advance what are their most important aims or goals, what they want to say, and why they want to say it. Whilst it’s up to the creatives and heads of department how the project comes into existence, knowing their core vision, inside and out, is the single most important item for a great director.

2. Originality

A truly great director needs to say something new. It may be through the bringing together of ideas previously formed, even by other people. It may be through seeing another’s idea through a different lens. It may be the level of polish and precision that is brought to the vision, or that the tools used to tell the story that are different. Either way, originality is key to a director’s greatness.

3. Inspiring and passionate; a leader

The director must be completely invested and enthused by their vision, and they must be able to inspire and enthuse others about it. It’s no good having an amazing idea for a project but being unable to bring others in to follow that idea to inception and completion. A great director not only has a clear, original vision but inspires others to follow that dream with them.

4. Trust and faith in their crew’s abilities and talents

A great director trusts their crew to bring the vision to life. By laying out the clear, original vision in an inspiring way, the great director will then take a step back to allow the creatives to bring their unique talents to bear on the problem. The great director will ideally assemble a team they have complete faith in, and will show that by allowing that team free (to a point) reign to bring the idea to life in the ways they’re inspired to, without micromanagement.

5. Previous experience as director and other roles in production

From a purely practical stance, the great director has to be experienced. Either as a director or in other roles of production, the great director comes to work with a solid skill base to support their vision, originality, passion and faith.

6. Objectively open to other people’s ideas/points of view (but absolutely, unwaveringly certain of their own)

By inspiring and leading other creatives, the great director is totally up for new ideas they may not have thought of before – in fact, they welcome it! This is the central point of working with a team as the director. It’s all in the name – the director directs – they guide the process, course correcting now and then but very much open to any new creative endeavours that serve the overall vision and goal.

7. Tactful; gives criticism in a constructive way

This is one where my opinion may diverge from the norm. I am absolutely of the mindset that any feedback, no matter how critical, can always be delivered with tact – politely, civilly, and with constructive intention. Similarly, it’s up to the creative to receive that feedback in the manner it was intended – not personally, but as a course correction to put everyone back on the path to that central, defining, original vision.

8. Fun to work with (even if only in hindsight!)

Again – this may only be my opinion, but there has to be some fun in the process of working with a director. Fun is a subjective term, though; from my point of view, the fun comes from really getting to grips with the vision and crafting that into something everyone’s proud of, that fulfils the brief and then some through a collaborative venture, where everyone brings their A-game and skill to the table. Some levity in the process doesn’t go amiss though, especially during long work days.

9. Focussed on the project; not easily distracted

The great director won’t be easily swayed from the task at hand. When they’re at the table read, on set, in the edit, at the dub… the great director stays the course until the job is done. I’ve seen this unwavering focus trickle down into the working ethos of the whole crew; similarly, I’ve seen a somewhat-distracted boss have a knock-on effect on all their staff. The great director sets the tone. Their level of focus is a signifier for how important the project is to them. Distraction = low priority, and crews pick up on this. It makes sense: if the gig’s not important enough to keep the director’s attention, why should the crew invest anything more?

10. Always has a good few more projects ready to go when this one is finished

The great director, whilst focused on the project at hand, will always have the next project, or even a slate of them, ready to go, at various stages of pre-production. Perhaps this isn’t the most obvious quality of a great director, but for me it signifies the breadth of ideas the director has: they aren’t just a one-trick pony. One-and-done isn’t in their vocabulary; they’re in it for the long haul.

What other qualities do you think makes a great director?