Directors
The second unit has its own director and cinematographer. A key skill for a second unit director is to be able to follow the style being set by the film's primary director. Peter MacDonald, second unit director on X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Bourne Ultimatum and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, has said, "The most important thing about any second unit is that you can't tell the difference between the second unit and the first unit. It must have the stamp of the first unit, both in photography and the style of direction. ... You try and copy what the first unit does as much as possible. You mustn't be on an ego trip and try and do your own style, because your material has to cut into theirs and it mustn't jar, it must fit in exactly so no-one can tell the difference." Brett Ratner, commenting about Conrad Palmisano, who directed second unit for Ratner on Rush Hour 3 and After the Sunset, said, "He has the understanding of what it takes to create a great action sequence and never deviate from the story or the tone of the film.”
Because second units often film scenes with stunts and special effects in action movies, the job of stunt coordinator is often combined with that of second unit director. Many second unit directors were stunt coordinators first, including Vic Armstrong, who has directed second unit on The Amazing Spider-Man, Mission: Impossible III and Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds; Simon Crane, who did Men in Black 3, Frankenstein and X-Men: The Last Stand; and Terry J. Leonard, responsible for second unit on Cowboys & Aliens, The Expendables and Die Hard: With a Vengeance.
Second unit director can be a stepping stone for aspiring directors to gain experience. Unlike an assistant director, who is second-in-command to the main director, a second unit director operates independently. Second unit directors who have gone on to become fully-fledged film directors include Barry Sonnenfeld (The Addams Family), John Glen (On Her Majesty's Secret Service), Ron Shelton (Bull Durham) and Frank Marshall, who directed second unit for Steven Spielberg whilst also working as producer, on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Empire of the Sun and The Color Purple. Some who became directors may return to working predominantly as second unit directors for the remainder of their career. A notable example is Michael D. Moore, who worked on more than sixty films, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Patton (1970), Raiders of the Lost Ark and the second and third Indiana Jones films in the 1980s.
In other situations, personnel involved with a production in other capacities may become second unit directors, benefiting from their understanding of the material and relationship with the production's director or producers. For example, English actor Andy Serkis, who plays Gollum, is currently second unit director on Peter Jackson's three-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Hobbit. Actor George Peppard, whilst the star of the detective drama Banacek, also served as second unit director for several episodes.
A notable exception to having more than one filming unit is director Christopher Nolan, who has avoided the use of a second unit in movies such as The Dark Knight or Inception, preferring instead to oversee every shot himself with DP Wally Pfister.
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