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Film directing is knowing everything yet doing nothing, some say. Movie directors are in charge of a great variety of disciplines and it can help to have a rudimentary grasp of all of them. There is no single way to become a film director, but it can't hurt to start out getting in the habit of regularly practicing the crafts that make up a filmmaking team.

Instead of listing every single thing a film director should learn and put off most people by the sheer number of things, it's better to start with filmmaking stuff that any person can begin doing without delay.

Take Photos

Get a camera and use it. Take it everywhere, take pictures of anything that catches your attention. Print these photos and sort them into piles of boring and interesting. Keep doing this until your interesting pile is much bigger than your boring pile. Soon you will be able to communicate the kind of photos you want your film to consist of.

Record And Listen To People Talking

Movies often have lots of dialogue in them. You don't know what good dialogue sounds like if you don't take the time to learn. Not only do you want to know how to record it effectively, you want to know what words should be said by your actors. As the director you are the authority and you need to have an opinion of the dialogue and its recording; so get one.

Redecorate Your House Or Room

A significant element of filmmaking is the selection and arrangement of objects in shots. Furniture, wallpaper, bed sheets; these all contribute to the look of the film and thus the story world. So treat your room (if not your whole house) as a movie set. Come up with a cool look and carry it out. Notice how it makes you feel, what works and what doesn't. Take pictures of it with people in the frame. Congratulations, you've just completed 1/129,600 of a 90 minute film. You're already on your way.

Establish A Unique Personal Style

Dressing the set is one aspect. It's also important what actors are wearing. Just as you created a look for your room or house, now to do this for yourself. When making movies you will be doing this for all your characters. Why not start with you? Do all the research you can; learn the different types of clothing, study styles of periods gone by, and see what the kids are doing. Now take a picture of yourself in your new style sitting in your newly decorated room. Feels good, right?

Attend Local Theatre

You can learn a lot from local stage play people. They are enthusiastic and dedicated to making their dream of acting come true. Some of these people may even be willing to be in a future production of yours. Stage and film acting is different to be sure, but good stories told in theatre are at their essence just as they are told in movie. Modern movies will often eschew story for flashy visuals, but in theatre you can't hide behind CGI so they most often have a strong story. Get inspired and take down names of people you think are good actors.

Read Screenplays

The only way to know a good screenplay is to have read bad ones. You don't need to read a lot of bad scripts, just a few here and there to cleanse your palate and help you calibrate your sensors. More than just reading them, you might want to break them into scenes and acts with the hope of gaining some insights on structure. Reading screenplays alone won't likely make you a great writer or director, but it's a good way to start.

Make Home Videos

You're already taking photos, now grab the family camcorder and shoot some family events. You can get as creative as you want and may even farm out the camera work to a younger relative. Get comfortable with picking angles and setting up scenes for maximum expressiveness. Don't just leave it at raw footage, use that family computer to edit together a feature-length piece that your family will sit through. The bar is set very low for family videos so you will likely be lauded for just cutting out boring parts and laying over an inspirational song, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't take it serious. Treat it as a real movie and it will put you that much further ahead when you are ready to shoot a real movie.

Take An Acting Class

Even if you don't want to act in movies attending at least one acting class will help you. You will get to know the process of actors and how they interact with others. The teacher in many cases will be a de facto director and it may be instructive as to how he handles actors. When you attempt to do what they do and fail at it you'll gain an empathetic streak that will endear you to future actors you work with. You will see how they break down scripts and what kind of information they need to make their performance the best they can.

People Watch

Acting doesn't only occur on stage or TV. It's everywhere. Actors will come with their own ideas, but it can't hurt for you to have some of your own. Real people often come up with very creative ways to do things and you should steal from them. It may be just a subtle mannerism or the way they laugh, but this kind of detail is what separates a dull character from one that comes to life.

These aren't all equal in value and will vary in importance depending on what kind of director you want to be. You will at least learn what comes natural to you, what you don't like, and what you need to work on. Film directing will sometimes be a matter of just watching people do things, but right now it's about you learning so you can kick start the process of becoming a director.