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The Beat of His Own Drum

Orson Welles

Orson Welles is best known for two undisputed masterpieces—Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons. But he continued to make interesting, innovative (if troubled) films around the world.

Photo Essays

On-set photography is a long-standing tradition that captures a director at work. These Photo Essays reveal in images the careers of some of our most prominent members or showcase our members working in a particular genre, time or location.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Summer 2020 No Way Out This file is a PDF
Summer 2020
No Way Out

As we gradually emerge from our quarantines, it’s worth taking a look at themes of isolation and confinement over the years, which served as a device for directors to study characters pushed to the breaking point.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Spring 2020 Photo Essay George Stevens This file is a PDF
Spring 2020
Against All Odds

Star-crossed romance has made for memorable drama over the years, proving that “happily ever after” doesn’t always apply.

Capturing Competition This file is a PDF
Winter 2020
Capturing Competition on Camera

For competition shows, directors still focus on the storytelling by concentrating on real people with relatable stories, whether it's an Iron Chef contestant or a singer on The Voice.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Fall 2019 Photo Essay Made in Mexico Julie Taymor This file is a PDF
Fall 2019
Made in Mexico

The author of a recent book about filming south of the border examines the experiences of such directors as Julie Taymor, Mel Gibson and Alfonso Cuarón, among others.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Summer 2019 Photo Essay Leaders Ken Kwapis directing The Office This file is a PDF
Summer 2019
Leaders Out of the Gate

Looking back at select pilots launched since 2000, it's clear that the first decade of the New Millennium paved the way for the current Platinum Age of Television.

DGA Quarterly Spring 2019 Photo Essay Invented Worlds Blade Runner 1982 Ridley Scott This file is a PDF
Spring 2019
Invented Worlds

When it comes to fantasy and futurism, directors’ imaginations truly run wild. We glimpse a few examples of the big screen’s ability to transport us to realms that
only exist in the movies.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Winter 2019 Photo Essay All The Kings Men Sean Penn This file is a PDF
Winter 2019
Demagogues, Charlatans and Hucksters

The maxim that "absolute power corrupts absolutely" is proven by history, providing particularly ripe subjects for filmmakers.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Fall 2018 Photo Essay The End is Near This file is a PDF
Fall 2018
The End is Near

Earlier this year, there was a lot of tough talk traded back and forth between Washington and Pyongyang about nuclear arms, a subject that has inspired a few Hollywood doomsday scenarios over the years.

DGA Quarterly Summer 2018 Game of Thrones This file is a PDF
Summer 2018
Vision Quest

Episodic television's current renaissance has more than a little to do with the increasingly cinematic approach to some of the medium's more ambitious series, some of which are glimpsed herein.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Spring 2018 Photo Essay Michael Curtiz Warner Bros Casablanca This file is a PDF
Spring 2018
Warner Bros.' Crown Jewel

One of WB's most prized contract players, Michael Curtiz directed such Golden Age classics as Casablanca and Mildred Pierce.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Winter 2018 Photo Essay This file is a PDF
Winter 2018
Survival of the Fittest

The life-or-death struggle has been an integral part of drama since filmdom's origin, but when the bulk of the story involves simply staying alive, the stakes couldn't be higher.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Director Lasse Hallstrom This file is a PDF
Fall 2017
The Food of Life

When food and drink play an epicurean role in movies, the result can have a Pavlovian effect.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Summer 2017 Photo Essay Jonathan Demme This file is a PDF
Summer 2017
Demonstrably Demme

In the wake of Jonathan Demme's passing in April, we take a visual tour through his bracingly eclectic film canon.

DGA Quarterly Spring 2017 Photo Essay Music Biopics F Gary Gray Straight Out of Compton This file is a PDF
Spring 2017
Rhythm and Blues

The music biopic, with its rise/fall/redemption dramatic arc, is a ripe subject for directors.

Future World This file is a PDF
Spring 2016
Photo Essay

From Méliès to Spielberg, directors have long wondered what life would look like in the future. With the help of production and costume design, here’s how directors visualized the shape of things to come.

DGAQ Photo Essay 1966 Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf Mike Nichols This file is a PDF
Fall/Winter 2016-17
Photo Essay

50 years ago, the New Hollywood was redefining the medium and echoing the tumult of the times.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Photo Essay Clint Eastwood This file is a PDF
Winter 2016
Photo Essay

Guild Lifetime Achievement Awards celebrate the remarkable careers of feature, television, news, and sports directors. Here are some of them creating their unique body of work.

DGA Quarterly Fall 2015 Photo Essay Costume Design This file is a PDF
Fall 2015
Directing Costume Dramas

Directors have long collaborated with designers to transport actors into the past in glorious costume dramas. Beneath the wardrobe, there is always a story to tell.

DGAQ Photo Essay Summer Blockbusters Chris Nolan The Dark Knight This file is a PDF
Summer 2015

It’s the season for big movies and big hits—and the occasional sleeper. Here are directors living large in a selection of shots from some good old summertime films.

DGAQ Photo Essay New Golden Age of TV This file is a PDF
Spring 2015
Episodic TV from the last 15 years

Television today—in all of its forms—may be better than ever. From The Sopranos to Fargo, here are directors working on some of the seminal series since 2000.

DGA Quarterly Photo Essay This file is a PDF
Winter 2015
Depicting the machinations of filmmaking

With so much raw material all around them, directors can’t resist the temptation to depict the machinations of filmmaking—both on the set and in studio executive suites. The result is often great entertainment.

DGAQ Photo Essay Shadowland This file is a PDF
Fall 2014
Film Noir

Influenced by German Expressionism and Old World ennui, Hollywood directors—many of them European émigrés—created the look and feel of film noir to express the fears and desperation of postwar America. It’s a genre that never dies—though its heroes often do.

DGA Quarterly Photo Essay Summer 2014 This file is a PDF
Summer 2014
Coming of Age Movies

Coming of age is a subject that never gets old. From sexual awakening to peer pressure to work responsibilities, it’s an endless source of material. In a collection of rare set shots, we see how generations of directors have handled it.

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Spring 2014
Films from 1939

With 476 films released, and many of them classics, 1939 is often considered the pinnacle of Hollywood filmmaking. To celebrate that year’s 75th anniversary, we look back at directors creating some of the high points—from Mounument Valley to Kansas.

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Winter 2014
Holiday Films

With lost kids, dysfunctional families and too much food, the holidays have always been a perfect backdrop for comedy, drama and even action. Here's how some directors have celebrated the occasion.

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Fall 2013
Horror Films

Fright—in all of its forms—has always been an essential part of the moviegoing experience. No wonder directors have figured out so many ways to horrify an audience.

Raging Bull 1980 This file is a PDF
Summer 2013
Filming Sports

With the built-in drama of competition, it’s no wonder directors have long been attracted to the world of sports. In a collection of shots, here are some of the triumphs—real and fictional—they’ve captured on film.

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Spring 2013
Howard Hawks

Howard Hawks, one of the founders of the Guild, had a long and varied career ranging from pioneering aerial films to screwball comedies and rugged Westerns. A collection of vintage shots shows him creating Hollywood history.

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Winter 2013
A Global Community of Filmmakers

Directors have always been part of a global community of filmmakers. We present a photo gallery of international directors at work who have profoundly influenced the craft.

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Fall 2012
Politics in Film and Television

Directors have long been fascinated by the workings of Washington. Here are some of them telling America's story in a collection of behind the scenes shots.

DGA Quarterly Winter 2012 Photo Essay New York City This file is a PDF
Winter 2012
New York City Filming Locations

Since the early days of filmmaking, New York has been the world’s biggest back lot. Here’s how some directors used the city to help them tell their story.

Photo Essay Outer Limits This file is a PDF
Summer 2012
Space Travel and Aliens

Starting with the silent era to modern CGI, space travel and aliens have always been a new frontier for directors to explore. As these behind-the-scenes shots show, the only limitation is the filmmaker’s imagination.

Rock and Roll Photo Essay This file is a PDF
Spring 2012
Capturing the Beat

With the emergence of youth culture in the ’50s, rock ’n’ roll became an important element—and sometimes the subject—of features and documentaries. Here are some directors capturing the beat.

DGA Quarterly Fall 2011 This file is a PDF
Fall 2011
Award Winning TV Directors

DGA Award winners in comedy and drama showcasing how the range and quality of television has expanded in the last 20 years.

DGA Quarterly Summer 2011 Photo Essay This file is a PDF
Summer 2011
Filmmakers from 1965-1989

Directors broke new ground from 1965-1989 — politically, socially, and sexually. These were no longer your father's pictures. Here's a cross section of some of the most memorable work of the period.

DGA Quarterly Spring 2011 Photo Essay Sunset Blvd. This file is a PDF
Spring 2011
Filmmakers from 1945-1965

Some of the most prominent directors from 1945-1965, seen in rare on-set shots, deal with new challenges on the job.

DGA Quarterly Winter 2010-11 Photo Essay This file is a PDF
Winter 2011
Early Filmmaking

In the early days of filmmaking, directors were constantly expanding the possibilities of the young medium. In this selection of rare set shots, their sense of discovery is almost palpable.

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Fall 2010
Elia Kazan

Elia Kazan called himself a "desperate beast" in his quest to get the deepest emotions out of his cast. And in an extraordinary career that revolutionized screen acting, he usually got what he was looking for.

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Summer 2010
LA in Movies

Directors do love Los Angeles, and frequently use it as a backdrop-and even character-in their movies. We assembled a collection of behind the scenes shots of filmmakers at work on locations all over the City of Angels.

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Spring 2010
Orson Welles

Orson Welles is best known for two undisputed masterpieces—Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons. But he continued to make interesting, innovative (if troubled) films around the world.

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Winter 2010
Film School Generation

Spurred by social changes in the mid-'60s, a new generation of directors pushed the boundaries of American filmmaking, producing some of the most provocative, exciting movies since Hollywood's heyday.

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Fall 2009
John Ford

Underdogs, families in trouble, and men at war inspired John Ford to create movies of grandeur, grace, and, yes, beauty. Here he is capturing the inherent decency of people in flims from his unparalleled body of work.

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Summer 2009
Working on Comedies

Over the years, it's the director's vision that has made many kinds of comedy come to life. In rare set shots, we capture filmmakers working on some of the most amusing movies ever made.

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Spring 2009
Ingmar Bergman

With psychologically acute and philosophically challenging films, Ingmar Bergman helped the art-house picture. In The Ingmar Bergman Archives, we glimpse the director creating his remarkable body of work.

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Winter 2009
Road Movies

Hitting the road - for fame, fortune, or to stay one step ahead of the law - has been a staple of American films for over 80 years. Here are some shots of directors creating those odysseys.

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Fall 2008
Federico Fellini

Federico Fellini created a visual style that was unmistakable in the history of cinema. In rare set photos, we capture the Maestro at work crafting some of his unforgettable images.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Summer 2008 Photo Essay This file is a PDF
Summer 2008
Musicals

The Hollywood musical has been declared dead countless times, only to rise up again singing and dancing. We take a look at the genre in its various incarnations over the years.

DGA Quarterly Spring 2008 Photo Essay This file is a PDF
Spring 2008
John Huston

John Huston was a gambler, boxer, soldier, painter and actor in his 81 years. In photos from the set, here's a look at some of his cinematic adventures along the way.

DGA Quarterly Photo Essay This file is a PDF
Winter 2007/2008
DGA Awards' 60th Anniversary

Each year the DGA honors the greatest achievement in films. To mark the 60th anniversary of the Awards, we present a gallery of directors working on their winning pictures.

DGA Quarterly Fall 2007 Photo Essay War Zone This file is a PDF
Fall 2007
War Movies

Directors have been drawn to the battlefield since the early days of silent films. In a series of shots, we look at the view from the cinematic front lines.

DGA Quarterly Summer 2007 This file is a PDF
Summer 2007
Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock always claimed that, for him, shooting was the least interesting part of filmmaking. But in a rare series of set shots, he appears totally engaged with cast and crew.

DGA Quarterly Spring 2007 Photo Essay Out of Africa This file is a PDF
Spring 2007
Films Shot in Africa

With a slew of recent films, it might seem Hollywood has just discovered Africa as a location. But directors have been using the sweeping landscapes and dramatic terrain since the '30s.

DGA Quarterly Winter 2006 The Early Show This file is a PDF
Winter 2006
Guild Founders On Set

The founders of the Guild were not labor leaders or businessmen - they were working directors. A selection of shots captures them on their day jobs.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Fall 2006 Billy WIlder This file is a PDF
Fall 2006
Billy Wilder

Billy Wilder created some of the most memorable-and cynical-characters on the screen. In a selection of rare shots, we visit the director at work on the set.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Summer 2006 Photo Essay David Lean This file is a PDF
Summer 2006
David Lean

From Summertime in Venice to Lawrence of Arabia in the desert, David Lean was one of cinema's great visual stylists. Here's a look at the great director at work.

DGA Quarterly Spring 2006 Robert Wise This file is a PDF
Spring 2006
Robert Wise

Robert Wise was the consummate professional. His body of work ranged from musicals - West Side Story - to film noir - The Set-Up - and everything in between. Here's a look at the director at work.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Fall 2005 Photo Essay Kubrick This file is a PDF
Fall 2005
Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick stamped his films with a unique visual style. A selection of photos from the new book, The Stanley Kubrick Archives, shows what the view looked like from the director's chair.