Research: Directing a Crew

Although I have directed a few student projects this time around would be different as it will only be me "in charge" whereas before even though we were all supposed to have definitive roles we all just jumped in and helped with every aspect. I researched a number of texts on the best way to direct a crew to try and prepare me for the week of production.
[http://www.lavideofilmmaker.com/filmmaking/how-to-direct.html]

Key sections for me was How to Direct the Cinematographer and How to Direct the Music composer. There was nothing on directing the editor but here is the section on How to direct: general principles 

1. Know exactly what you want. This needs a lot of preparation!2. Be polite and low-key with everyone — it is worth repeating.3. Know every aspect of the project inside out: camerawork, design, overall tone — absolutely everything.4. Directors are leaders. Believe it or not, actors and crew members LOVE directors who have a clear vision and communicate it clearly. They want to be directed, so do your homework and direct!

One good thing is that I had the chance to explore each role over the past three years and so I at least understood the restrictions and capabilities of certain aspects which at least meant I wasn't then going to ask for something that was impossible to achieve. Something that I do struggle with is articulating my words, and so more often than not end up making vague hand gestures and expecting people to catch on to my self playing game of charades. I need to know what I want inside and out and find a way to express it in words easily. 

I also found and looked at [http://nofilmschool.com/2013/07/directing-tips-seth-hymes/]
key texts I took from this article....Basic Personality AwarenessEven though this example is talking about a hired crew and being able to fire people and we don't have that luxury it was still applicable in how it talked about knowing and appealing to the individual personalities of your crew members and working with it.

Beware of the demands you will be placing on people 
Making sure everyone is doing their own specific role and not crossing over into areas that aren't their speciality, and if so questioning why that is happening
Quite often, simply maintaining an upbeat attitude and acknowledging your team for doing a great job is half the battle
You shouldn't forget the crew are people and not tools, if you over work the they won't look forward to working with you again and so show them some appreciation.

The Power of Good Food
The point is in the title, providing things fr people to eat will keep them motivated and focused, and will also call for a shortened break if everything they need is on shoot.

These tips all made for good starting points but I do know that each individual has their own technique and style of directing and I known mine is based around certain aspects of my personality whereby I am more than happy for everyone to give their opinion and if it doesn't take away from anything then I am more than happy to allow it, but at the same I have a clear directive and end point. In some ways I have already been directing the crew throughout the pre production stage and as long as everything stays on that same level of communication I can't see there being any real problem.