Chapater 6: Conclusion Summary and Analysis

It is up to the director to decide whether to tell the story through the juxtaposition of uninflected images or not. There is no mistake-proof technique that will guarantee the perfect movie. What the director can do, though, is follow the tried and true technique, the pure process that endeavors only to tell the story. Stanislavsky asks a steamboat captain on the dangerous Volga River how he was always able to steer it safely downstream. The riverboat captain replied that he sticks to the marked channel. The same is true in making a film—stick with the safe path that has proven itself.

In the end, all the director has is his choice of shots. They have to count at the time however, the director cannot compensate for missing or incorrect shots in the editing room. The director...