So You Want To Be A Movie Director

Lights. Camera. Action! Step behind the camera and discover what it really takes to direct a movie.

Every movie you love began as words on a page. Someone had to imagine every scene before it existed, then lead hundreds of actors, artists, and crew members to bring it to life. That someone is the director. So You Want To Be A Movie Director takes young readers ages 10 to 14 behind the scenes of filmmaking, from the first storyboard sketch to the hush of a dark theater on opening night.

Kids follow a movie through every stage of production. They’ll learn how directors plan shots with storyboards and shot lists, scout real locations, rehearse with actors, call “Action!” and “Cut!”, and spend months in the editing room, where trimming a few seconds can make a joke funnier or a chase more thrilling. A lively day on the set of a family adventure film puts readers in the director’s chair as they race the setting sun, work with young actors, and decide what to do when a hungry goat takes a bite out of the treasure map.

The book also gives a clear, honest look at the career. Readers discover the many paths into directing and meet the gaffers, key grips, cinematographers, and assistant directors who make up a film crew. They learn why the best directors listen more than they yell, and they see the real challenges too: long days, big budgets, flops, and years of waiting for a movie to get made.

Packed with surprising stories, the book reveals why Jaws became scarier because its mechanical shark kept breaking down, how Babe used forty-eight piglets to play one pig, and why Charlie Chaplin filmed a single scene 342 times. Inspiring profiles introduce six directors from around the world who started in unexpected places: Alice Guy-Blaché, Satyajit Ray, Steven Spielberg, Hayao Miyazaki, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, and Ava DuVernay.

Hands-on activities turn reading into doing. Kids can make a toy vanish on camera using a trick from the earliest days of film, test how audiences read emotions on a face, sketch their own storyboards, and shoot one moment from three different angles. A kid-friendly glossary, recommended books and websites, and practical steps young filmmakers can take right now make this an ideal pick for classrooms, homeschool career units, libraries, and any kid who loves movies.

Part of the award-winning So You Want To Be A... career exploration series, this book treats young readers as capable thinkers and gives them an honest, eye-to-eye look at the work. For every kid who has ever pointed a phone at their toys and whispered, “Action!”