GTA 5 Director Mode Complete Guide

Short fan-made videos and machinimas have always been part of the Grand Theft Auto series. They have inspired the inner creativity of many players, being utilizedto create some of the best fan-made movies. Movies that are made only using the resources available in the game, and via mods.

With the release of Grand Theft Auto 5 on next-generation consoles (at the time, being the Xbox One and PS4) and the PC, Rockstar Games introduced the Rockstar Editor, enabling fans to direct and create any kind of video they want using the GTA 5 engine.

Accessing Director Mode

Director Mode as seen in the Interaction Menu

The Rockstar Editor offers a lot of new features, one of which is the Director Mode. The Director Mode in GTA 5 is accessed from either: (1) the Rockstar Editor menu; (2) the Interaction Menu; (3) from a cell phone contact — Acting Up (erstwhile called Los Santos Talent); or (4) you can activate it by dialling the contact's number directly (similar to using a cheat code).

Acting Up in the contact list

Once you're in Director Mode, you can choose any character or NPC to play the game and activate other cheats such as explosive ammo, super jump, etc. It pretty much lets you "direct" the game you are playing.

You cannot enter the Director Mode if the player is inside a vehicle, wanted, in an active mission, during a cutscene or in an online lobby. It will give you a message saying "Director Mode is currently inaccessible"

Director Mode not accessible

Check out the video below, which also explains it very well.

And in case you forgot the different system codes for the "cheat code" method of access to Director Mode, here they are:

List of 17 Actors Category

The following are the 17 categories you can choose your actor from:

Animals
Beach Bums
Costumes
Downtown
Emergency Services
Gangs
Heist Characters
Laborers
Military
Online Characters
Professionals
Special Characters
Sports
Story Characters
Transport
Uptown
Vagrants

Note that some of the actors are only available in the Director Mode once they are unlocked in the game's Story Mode by completing a certain mission or completing collectible missions. Once you unlock an actor for Director Mode, you receive a notification on the screen telling you that the actor is now available in the Director Mode.

Another menu available on the casting trailer menu screen is the 'Settings' menu. It is also available via the Interaction Menu when in the Director Mode. The Settings menu allows you to tweak several "worldly" features such as weather, time, invincibility, super jump, etc. These are basically the cheat codes in the free mode map that can be altered to fit the scene best to be "directed."

Settings — In Casting Trailer Menu

The following are the available settings:

Time of Day: You can change the time of day in the game. There are pre-defined hours, such as Midnight always starts at 12:00 AM. Other pre-defined times include pre-dawn, dawn, morning, midday, afternoon, sunset, and dusk. You can "fine-tune" the time by 10 minutes per 0.5 seconds in Director Mode. You also have the option to freeze time, so there is no change at all.
Weather: You can set the weather in the game. There are multiple weather options such as clear, broken cloud, overcast, hazy, snowy, smog, fog, rain, and thunder.
Wanted Status: You can set the wanted level. The default option is Normal, which is similar to the one in story mode. If the actor commits any crime, the wanted level rises. Then you have pre-defined options that are Low (2 stars), Medium (3 stars), and High (5 stars), followed by Disabled that allows you to do whatever crime you wish without getting any rise in the wanted level.
Pedestrian Density: This allows you to set the density or number of pedestrians in the area. You can choose from Normal, Low, Medium, High, and None. None also disables land animals in the area while the flying animals are not affected.
Vehicle Density: This option allows you to set the traffic density. You can choose from Normal, Low, Medium, High, and None. None will also prevent parked vehicles from spawning, including aircraft and trains. The UFOs will still spawn.
Restricted Areas: You have the option to either turn on or off the restricted areas. Restricted areas include areas where you would normally get attacked, such as Fort Zancudo. Turning this option off will allow you to roam inside such areas without getting attacked freely. You might still get attacked in some areas such as the Merryweather Security HQ.
Invincibility: You can enable or disable actor invincibility cheat.
Flaming Bullets: You can enable or disable flaming bullets cheat.
Explosive Bullets: You can enable or disable explosive bullets cheat.
Explosive Melee: You can enable or disable explosive melee cheat.
Super Jump: You can enable or disable the super jump cheat.
Slidey Cars: You can enable or disable the slidey land vehicles cheat. Activating this cheat makes the friction very low on the vehicle tires.
Low Gravity: You can enable or disable the low gravity cheat.
Clear Area: You can remove all the entities in the area, including dead passengers or destroyed vehicles and general scrap. This is useful if you wish to clean the area for a shoot.

Shortlist Actors

You can shortlist up to 10 actors from the list of actors shown in this list. The shortlisted can be easily accessed or switched to without returning to the casting trailer menu screen. You can switch to one of the shortlisted actors directly from within the Director Mode.

List of Shortlisted Actors

Recently Used

This list shows the actors you've used in Director Mode recently.

List of Recently Used Actors

Exit to Story Mode

This option takes you back to the Story Mode.

Enter Director Mode

Once you're happy with all your settings, choosing this option launches the actor in the Director Mode, where you are free to play however you desire based on your settings.

When you are in the Director Mode, you can access the following settings and features via the Interaction Menu (while on foot):

Settings: These are the same settings that we've discussed above, but additional fine-tuning controls. Location: You can place/teleport the actor to a pre-defined location on the map. The following are the pre-defined areas you can teleport the actor to: LS International Airport Docks LS Downtown Del Perro Pier Vinewood Hills Wind Farm Sandy Shores Stab City Fort Zancudo Canyon Cable Car Paleto Bay The Lighthouse Vineyard Richards Majestic Studio Golf Club Altruist Camp Power Station Sawmill Quarry Pit Land Act Dam Storm Drain Observatory Radio Telescope Array LSU Cove Mt. Gordo Waypoint User Defined Location 1 User Defined Location 2 Action: You can access some of the Character Actions found in GTA Online such as: The Bird Rock Salute Jerk Blow Kiss Air Thrusting Dock Knuckle Crunch Slow Clap Face Palm Thumbs Up Jazz Bands Nose Pick Air Guitar Wave Surrender Shush Photography DJ Air Synth No Way Chicken Taunt Chin Brush Finger Kiss Peace You Loco Freak Out Thumbs on Ears Banging Tunes Left Banging Tunes Banging Tunes Right Oh Snap Cats Cradle Raise the Roof Find the Fish Salsa Rol Heart Pumping Uncle Disco Make it Rain Cry Baby Cut throat Karate chop Shadow boxing The Woogie Stinker Air Drums Call Me Coin Roll and Toss Bang Bang Respect Mind Blown Crowd Invitation Driver Runner Shooting Suck It Take Selfie Dialogue: These are a set of spoken dialogues and each category mentioned below can have up to 4 different phrases: Hi Bye What's Up Whatever Yes No Thanks Cheer Frightened (Strong) Frightened (Mild) Shocked (Strong) Shocked (Mild) Insult (Strong) Insult (Mild) Curse (Strong) Curse (Mild) Switch Actor: You can use the shortlisted actors to switch using this option from the interaction menu. Garage: You can spawn any of the selected vehicles from the Story Mode garage. Scene Creator: You can place and edit various props from the Content Creator in up to 4 different scenes. Rockstar Editor: This launches the Rockstar Editor's Video Editor. Return to Casting Trailer: Takes you back to the Casting Trailer Menu. You do not leave the Director Mode, just the map. Quit Director Mode: You leave the Director Mode and return to the Story Mode.

Other Limitations & Features

While the Director Mode is similar to the Story Mode in terms of gameplay mechanics, it has many more limitations and other features (as discussed above) that set it apart from the Story Mode significantly. There are many limitations in the Director Mode, which you might not encounter in the Story Mode otherwise.

No Barbershops or Clothing Stores
Los Santos Custom is not accessible
No Random Events
No Minigames
No Hunting
Mission-specific buildings can't be entered
Only Snapmatic camera app is available to use on the Phone
There are no weapons scattered around the map, but new ones can be obtained by killing NPCs holding one
Prostitutes cannot be hired, although they spawn at their designated locations
If the actor dies while the invincibility cheat is turned on, you are returned to the casting trailer menu. You might be wondering how the actor can die with the invincibility cheat on? This "die" refers to the actor getting knocked out or getting busted by the cops.
The ghost easter egg such as the Ghost of Mount Gordo and the Thelma and Louise appearance still exists
First person view is only possible if the actor being used is either one of the protagonists or one of the GTA Online characters
Certain actors have special features such as the Blaine Country Sheriff. If you're playing as the Blaine County Sheriff, law enforcement officers will not attack you, unless you bump into them or have the NOOSE after you at a really high wanted level