system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How can someone be a director and star in the same film?

Forgive me for my ignorance, but I always pictured the director behind the camera, not in front of it.
gpt
They are behind the camera - they have an idea of how they want the shot to look like and can provide director guidance to the other actors, work with the cinematographer (the guy who actually aims the camera, frames shots etc.) and the rest of the crew.... once the shot is set up exactly how they want, they can step in front of the camera to act in the shot. While some directors give their cinematographers a lot of leeway in how they want the camera aimed, how it is to track or pan, zoom etc., directors usually work with the cinematographers they know well, who can just "know" what the director wants - which makes it easier for the director-actor to step out in front of the camera. And of course everyone is in constant communication and discussion.  But even so, its not that onerous; back to the monitors (the screens that show what's visible in the camera), back onto the set, back to the monitors...