Associate Professor Alex Munt shares what it really takes to be a screen director, from creative leadership to life on set.

Screen directors shape the stories we see on screen, from streaming series to big-budget films and indie features and shorts. But what actually goes into the job?

According to Associate Professor Alex Munt, film director, screenwriter and media researcher at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), directing is about storytelling, creative leadership and shaping the key decisions that define a project’s style and impact.

What is a screen director and what do they do?

A screen director is the creative lead who brings stories to life on screen. They guide the project’s artistic and technical elements, shaping its visual style, pacing and emotional tone. On set, they direct performances and the camera, with oversight of countless creative decisions to ensure every moment supports the story. While screen production is a highly collaborative process, it’s the screen director who leads and drives the project forward. 

Directors collaborate closely with producers, writers and heads of department, from cinematography and sound to production design and editing to develop a unified vision. Their role spans the entire production cycle, from concept and script development through filming, post-production and final release. Between shoots, many stay active by developing new screen ideas, producing online content and preparing for future projects. 

Screen directors work across a wide range of settings. While film and television remain key industry pathways, the growing demand for digital media means many graduates also build careers in online content creation, branded media and streaming platforms.

A screen directors responsibilities include:

  • Leading the creative vision and decision-making from pre-visualisations to on-set
  • Directing the camera using inventive screen language to tell a screen story
  • Guiding actors and managing collaboration across departments
  • Balancing artistic goals with budgets and schedules
  • Overseeing all stages of production, from development to post-production
  • Adapting to evolving platforms and creating content across formats

No single path to directing

With such a diverse and demanding role, you might wonder how to become a director. As Munt explains, there’s no single path to entering the world of directing. He himself comes from a design background, but others start through screen performance, photography, editing or other creative disciplines. Becoming a director takes time and maturity. It requires a passion for screen stories and resilience in a competitive industry. 

However, what matters most he says, is curiosity. Curiosity about the world, about people and especially about the power of images and sound to tell new stories. It means being visually literate and paying attention to how stories are constructed both online and offline. Whether you’re scrolling through digital content, watching a film in a cinema or walking through an art gallery, it’s about understanding the emotional impact of images and sounds in storytelling.

Skills that make a strong director

Munt says perseverance is the number one skill for a director. Filmmaking is demanding and often unpredictable, so commitment is essential, especially across long timelines. 

Leadership is also important. Directors lead diverse creative and technical teams, which requires strong communication skills and a solid understanding of how each area works. 

Strong decision-making is also critical. Being able to make confident, well-informed decisions from visual choices and pacing to working with actors and post-production. These decisions add up, shaping the final result and eventually building a director’s unique style and approach. 

At UTS, students learn to plan and execute these decisions across the entire production process. They also gain hands-on experience through internships with major broadcasters such as Channel Seven and Channel Nine, where they may work on live TV editing to sharpen their craft while building networks in the industry. 

Misconceptions and advice

One major misconception about directing is that it’s glamorous. Munt is clear that the reality is far more complex. While it can be exciting, it also demands patience, stamina and hard work, particularly during the long gaps between productions. 

His top advice: “It’s a contact sport. Get out there.” 

That means getting involved, making connections, collaborating with others and creating work, because experience is the best pathway into the industry. It means being on the front foot in your creative aspirations and not waiting for someone to do it for you. As Mark Duplass said, ‘the calvary is not coming’ - director’s need to shape their own future. 

Finding your role in screen production

Directing isn’t the only role available. Screen production is a team effort, and part of studying film at UTS is discovering where you fit best. Munt explains that students often enter the degree unsure of what specific path they want to take, but that quickly changes. 

As students progress, they begin to understand what they like, what they are good at and where they see themselves making the strongest creative contribution. This could be in: 

  • Development: screenwriting and producing 
  • Production: cinematography and sound recording 
  • Post-production: editing, sound design, special effects and finishing the final cut 

This exploration is built into the UTS program, giving students the chance to try different roles and find where they can do their best work.

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Alex Munt

Alex Munt

Associate Professor, Faculty of Design and Society

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Associate Professor Alex Munt on becoming a screen director

Associate Professor Alex Munt on becoming a screen director transcript

How to become a screen director 
Professor Alex Munt 
Duration 4min 30sec
 
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:10:17 
 
Hi, I'm Associate Professor Alex Munt. Filmmaker, screenwriter, and media researcher at UTS. Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a screen director? Today I'll be answering some of your questions around this. Let's get started. 
 
00:00:10:17 - 00:00:22:10 
 
What is the role of a screen director in the film making process? The director is the guardian of the screen story and what that means is that they're there from the very start until the end, where it reaches kind of an audience. 
 
00:00:22:10 - 00:00:30:00 
 
What do I need to study to become a director? There's lots of ways in. It's not a single answer. I come from a back down design myself. 
 
00:00:30:05 - 00:00:50:10 
 
Others might come from a background in screen performance or photography, for example. It's also understanding that the stories we tell for film and TV are told with images and sounds. So again, it's about being curious about images both online and offline. It's scouring the internet. It's going to the art gallery. It's understanding about the meaning and the impact of images. 
 
00:00:50:12 - 00:01:09:08 
 
For an emotional impact of storytelling. What different roles are there in film? I talk about this to my students a lot, and particularly when they start their degree, I don't think they particularly know the exact direction they want to end up at the end. But even in a short amount of time, as you go through your degree here at UTS, you understand two things. 
 
00:01:09:09 - 00:01:33:08 
 
Firstly, what you like and secondly, also what you're good at or best at in screen production. What this really means for our students is that where is the best place that they see themselves creatively contributing in either, development, for example, screenwriting and producing or production. For example, working as a film set in cinematography or sound recording or post-production in the editing kind of environment as well. 
 
00:01:33:14 - 00:01:59:03 
 
And between these three different major phases of screen production, students kind of find a way into finding out where the happiest, where they can do their best work, and where they can contribute to screen stories. What different settings can a screen director work in film and television in the main industrial settings? This doesn't prevent you from honing your skills in online content creation, and there's a deluge of that which is which is in demand and out there as well. 
 
00:01:59:09 - 00:02:19:19 
 
Also, at UTS, students undertake internships at channel seven or channel nine. For example, in live TV editing. All of these skills are relatable to directing and relatable to a larger kind of career pathway in directing. What does a director do in their day to day work? It's a different answer depending on which part of their day to day work. On a film set, 
 
00:02:20:00 - 00:02:42:12 
 
it's an intensive job. It's long days. It's being answerable about every creative decision of that film or television production. But in other sense, film and television productions take time to get up. They take time to finance. They take time to produce, to edit and get to an audience. So in a sense, the day to day journey of a director is also doing other things, for example, working in online content, and so on. 
 
00:02:42:12 - 00:02:59:09 
 
So being agile, when you're creating skills which are shaping and honing those skills for the time you would be in the capacity to screen director on a film or television project. What skills are important for director to have? I would say perseverance is the number one skill. It's really important and I think without it I think you'd struggle in this job. 
 
00:02:59:11 - 00:03:19:01 
 
The other skill, I'd say, is leadership. As a director, you're leading a team creatively and also technically to a degree as well. And that requires both a complex knowledge of the film practices of other disciplines and also your communication style, with crews getting the best creatively out of your collaborators as well. What do you love most about your job? 
 
00:03:19:01 - 00:03:42:02 
 
What I like is the oversight of the strange story, the oversight from its participation with the script through to the pre-production and visualization of the story, the production on set, and then in the editing room afterwards. It gives you an ability to shape and experience from an audience from moment to moment, and really think about the ways in which images and sounds can really connect with an audience in order to make them think differently about the world. 
 
00:03:42:05 - 00:04:08:10 
 
What's the biggest misconception about being a screen director? Okay, I love this one. Probably that it's glamorous in a sense, and some of the things the questions that have answered today are really around film and television being quite complicated, organisations of creativity. But also that idea about hard work and perseverance for me is what I believe and what I see around me is more important than any sort of natural gift or kind of talent. 
 
00:04:08:16 - 00:04:14:01 
 
I think you need more stamina as a film director than in the pizzazz, and that's really been kind of my experience. 
 
00:04:14:01 - 00:04:20:18 
 
What is your top tip or best advice to someone who wants to work in film? It's a contact sport. Get out there. 
 
00:04:20:18 - 00:04:30:23 
 
That's all the questions today. If this got you interested, check out the UTS website and search Media Arts or Screen Arts to learn more about working in the industry.

Interested in screen directing?

Explore UTS courses in media arts or screen arts to find out where a career in storytelling could take you.

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