In filmmaking, the Director is the person who guides the artistic quality of a film's production (cast and crew) by way or his or her specific take on a screenplay.

About

In any film production a Director will wear many different hat with regards to capturing the true artistic essence of the storyline. If the Producer is the boss of the whole production, then the Director is the boss of the set itself. Directors strive to get the very best image of their own individual vision on film and that mean combining screenplay, lighting, shots. acting and setting into an insightful work of art.

To fulfill any Director's vision, he or she will also have a hand in casting, storyboarding, script rewrites, editing, setting style, and any other task that will directly or indirectly affect said vision.

History

Historically, film directors have been gracing us with talent, or lack thereof, since the introduction of movies. In 1878, when the racehorse "Occident" was shot "in motion" with 12 stereoscopic cameras, Eadweard Muybridge was present to direct the proceedings, so, technically, Mr. Muybridge was the first film director.

As moving picture technology improved, so did the amount of directors. From the Silent Era to the Talkies to Surround Sound, the director was and is always present to present the audience his or her grand vision.

Examples of Great Directors

Alfred Hitchcock                                                                                                        Psycho, The Birds, North by Northwest

Francis Ford Coppola                                                                                               The Godfather, The Godfather, Part 2, Apocalypse Now

Martin Scorsese                                                                                                        Raging Bull, GoodFellas,The Departed

John Ford                                                                                                                    The Grapes of Wrath, The Quiet Man

Frank Capra                                                                                                                  It's a Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Steven Spielberg                                                                                                             E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Elia Kazan                                                                                                                     On the Waterfront, East of Eden,  A Streetcar Named Desire

Billy Wilder                                                                                                                       The Lost Weekend, The Apartment, Sunset Boulevard

Stanley Kubrick                                                                                                                A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey,  Dr. Strangelove

Oliver Stone                                                                                                               Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July