1. Patience
Whilst the Director might rightly consider themselves to be the boss on set, they are constantly at the mercy of the production team that surrounds them, and you can’t shout ‘action!’ until every single department has first done its bit in order to get the show on the road. This means the director, once they’ve given their instructions, has to sit around and wait for them to be carried out.

2. People skills and communication skills
In an industry which demands excellent people and communication skills across the board, nowhere are these talents required more than from a director, whose abilities to motivate and inspire are crucial to the success of a production. A director might have the greatest ideas in the world, but if they are unable to communicate them they are all but useless.

3. Inspiration
When everything is going terribly wrong – which it always does at some point on every production, it’s the director who everyone else looks to in order to bail the show out!

4. A Calm, unflappable nature
There are still some directors who thrive on chaos and aggression in order to get what they want, but due to the high risk of a heart attack or a complete nervous breakdown, it’s far better to try to remain calm and collected at all times. So what if you know you’re in charge of a complete stinker, and that you’ll probably never work again – at least you can try and hold on to your health!

5. A good head for figures
Whilst the director is there for artistic reasons, they must always bear in mind that money is the bottom line. So don’t go telling the props department to hire a fleet of helicopters before first getting the go ahead from your producer!