Second unit

Second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit.^[1] The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming stage of production to be completed faster.

Function

The functions of the second unit vary, but typically the first unit films the key face-to-face drama between the principal actors. Two frequent ways a second unit is used are:

Action sequences: Action sequences are often filmed in discrete locations, using stunt performers, rather than the principal cast, and requiring significantly different filming arrangements than for ordinary scenes. Therefore, they are an opportunity for second unit shooting.
"Pick-ups": After the main unit has finished on a set or location, there may be shots that require some or all of this setting as background but that do not require the principal actors. These shots may include things such as close-ups, inserts, cutaways, and establishing shots.

In both of these scenarios, the purpose of the second unit is to make the most efficient use of some of the resources that are expensive or scarce in film production: actors' and directors' shooting time, sound stage usage and the cost of sets that may have been built on stages.

The work of second units should not be confused with multiple-camera setups, where several cameras film the same scene simultaneously. Large productions may have multiple second units. Although filmmakers may refer to having "three or four units working", each unit would be called an "additional second unit"; usually none would be described as the third or fourth unit.

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, who was second unit director on Batman for Tim Burton, Batman and Robin for Joel Schumacher, Jack the Giant Slayer for Bryan Singer, Radio Flyer for Richard Donner, X-Men Origins: Wolverine for Gavin Hood, Excalibur for John Boorman, Rambo: First Blood Part II for George P. Cosmatos, Cry Freedom for Richard Attenborough, The Quest for Jean-Claude Van Damme, Guardians of the Galaxy for James Gunn, and Labyrinth for Jim Henson, 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 to copy what the first unit does as much as possible. You mustn't be on an ego trip and try to 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."^[2] Brett Ratner, commenting about Conrad E. Palmisano, who directed second unit for him on Rush Hour 2, Rush Hour 3, After the Sunset, and X-Men: The Last Stand, The Other Guys for Adam McKay, No Strings Attached and Six Days, Seven Nights for Ivan Reitman, Batman Forever for Joel Schumacher, Assassins and Conspiracy Theory for Richard Donner, She's Having a Baby for John Hughes, Robocop 2 for Irvin Kershner, Robocop 3 for Fred Dekker, Into the Blue for John Stockwell, Disturbia for DJ Caruso, Rambo: First Blood, Weekend at Bernie's and Weekend at Bernie's II for Ted Kotcheff, Marked for Death for Dwight H. Little, and Under Siege for Andrew Davis 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."^[3]

Occasionally, some second unit directors work with certain directors on several projects, such as Allan L. Graf, who directed second unit for Walter Hill on several of his films, as well as Eric Schwab working with Brian De Palma on his films. Certain films also may have more than one second unit director. Examples include The Departed, Superman Returns, The Expendables, Blade: Trinity, Transformers: The Last Knight, the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy, and Bad Boys For Life.

Some directors, such as Christopher Nolan,^[4] Quentin Tarantino,^[5] Paul Thomas Anderson, Mike Judge, and Stephen Hopkins, do not use second units in their films.

Because second units often film scenes with stunts and special effects in action movies, the jobs of stunt coordinator and visual effects supervisor often get combined with that of the second unit director.

Examples of second unit directors include:

Vic Armstrong, who directed second unit on Gangs of New York for Martin Scorsese, War of the Worlds for Steven Spielberg, The Amazing Spider-Man for Marc Webb, Mission: Impossible III for J. J. Abrams, Tomorrow Never Dies for Roger Spottiswoode, The World Is Not Enough for Michael Apted, Die Another Day for Lee Tamahori, Thor, Henry V and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit for Kenneth Branagh, The Green Hornet for Michel Gondry, The Golden Compass for Chris Weitz, Charlie's Angels for McG, The Phantom for Simon Wincer, I Am Legend for Francis Lawrence, Last Action Hero for John McTiernan, Starship Troopers and Total Recall for Paul Verhoeven, Universal Soldier for Roland Emmerich, Mechanic: Resurrection for Dennis Gansel, Lift for F. Gary Gray, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor for Rob Cohen, Blade: Trinity for David S. Goyer, Eddie the Eagle for Dexter Fletcher, Johnny English Strikes Again for David Kerr, American Assassin for Michael Cuesta, Angel Has Fallen for Ric Roman Waugh, and Miracle for Gavin O'Connor.
Dan Bradley, who did Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 for Sam Raimi, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, and Green Zone for Paul Greengrass, The Bourne Legacy for Tony Gilroy, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol for Brad Bird, Three Kings for David O. Russell, The Dukes of Hazzard for Jay Chandrasekhar, Superman Returns for Bryan Singer, Bright for David Ayer, Wonder Woman 1984 for Patty Jenkins, XXX: Return of Xander Cage for D.J. Caruso, Hollywood Vice Squad and Dudes for Penelope Spheeris, Lions for Lambs for Robert Redford, Jurassic World: Dominion for Colin Trevorrow, Adaptation for Spike Jonze, Monkeybone for Henry Selick, The Expendables 3 for Patrick Hughes, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull for Steven Spielberg, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny for James Mangold.
Brian Smrz, who did Mission: Impossible 2, Paycheck, and Windtalkers for John Woo, Fantastic Four and Taxi for Tim Story, Iron Man 3 and The Predator for Shane Black, Night at the Museum and The Adam Project for Shawn Levy, Ghostbusters: Afterlife for Jason Reitman, Shazam! Fury of the Gods for David F. Sandberg, The Hangover Part II for Todd Phillips, Venom: Let There Be Carnage for Andy Serkis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes for Matt Reeves, Expend4bles for Scott Waugh, Eagle Eye for DJ Caruso, Live Free Or Die Hard for Len Wiseman, Superman Returns and X2 for Bryan Singer, Minority Report for Steven Spielberg, and Knight and Day for James Mangold.
Mike Gunther, who did Kung Pow! Enter the Fist for Steve Oedekerk, Bumbleebee for Travis Knight, Star Trek Beyond for Justin Lin, The Purge: Anarchy for James DeMonaco, The Forever Purge for Everardo Valerio Gout, Sabotage for David Ayer, Fighting for Dito Montiel, Me Time for John Hamburg, Transformers: Age of Extinction and Ambulance for Michael Bay, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F for Mark Molloy, Twisters for Lee Isaac Chung, and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire for Gil Kenan.
Mic Rodgers, who did The Fast and the Furious and The Boy Next Door for Rob Cohen, The Last Castle and Straw Dogs for Rod Lurie, Braveheart, Apocalypto, and Hacksaw Ridge for Mel Gibson, Payback for Brian Helgeland, Point Break for Ericson Core, Wanted and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter for Timur Bekmambetov, Lethal Weapon 4 and Scrooged for Richard Donner, Fast & Furious for Justin Lin, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle for McG, and Nothing to Lose for Steve Oedekerk.
Rick Avery, who did Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie for Adam McKay, Scream 3 and Cursed for Wes Craven, Clockstoppers for Jonathan Frakes, Identity for James Mangold, Hands of Stone for Jonathan Jakubowicz, Street Knight for Albert Magnoli, The Sweetest Thing for Roger Kumble, Finding Graceland for David Winkler, Charlie Wilson's War for Mike Nichols, and Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny for Liam Lynch.
Allan L. Graf, who did Another 48 Hrs., Wild Bill, Last Man Standing, Trespass, Supernova, Johnny Handsome, Geronimo: An American Legend, and Dead for a Dollar for Walter Hill, A Knight's Tale and 42 for Brian Helgeland, Timeline for Richard Donner, The Muppets for James Bobin, Project X for Nima Nourizadeh, Wayne's World for Penelope Spheeris, Friday Night Lights for Peter Berg, The Replacement Killers for Antoine Fuqua, Due Date for Todd Phillips, We Were Soldiers for Randall Wallace, The Waterboy for Frank Coraci, Vegas Vacation for Stephen Kessler, Jerry Maguire for Cameron Crowe, and Any Given Sunday for Oliver Stone.
Sam Hargrave, who did The Accountant for Gavin O'Connor, Atomic Blonde for David Leitch, and Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame for Anthony and Joe Russo.
Charles Gibson, who did The Ring, The Lone Ranger, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End for Gore Verbinski, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides for Rob Marshall, Terminator: Salvation for McG, Cats & Dogs for Lawrence Guterman, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 for Francis Lawrence, The Green Mile for Frank Darabont, and Looney Tunes: Back in Action for Joe Dante.
Simon Crane, who did Men in Black 3 for Barry Sonnenfield, Frankenstein for Kenneth Branagh, Quantum of Solace and World War Z for Marc Forster, The Huntsman: Winter's War for Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Jason Bourne for Paul Greengrass, Your Highness for David Gordon Green, Beyond Borders and Vertical Limit for Martin Campbell, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider for Simon West, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life for Jan de Bont, Hobbs and Shaw for David Leitch, Stardust for Matthew Vaughn, Edge of Tomorrow, Jumper, Chaos Walking, and The Instigators for Doug Liman, In the Land of Blood and Honey for Angelina Jolie, Infinite for Antoine Fuqua, Bedtime Stories for Adam Shankman, and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Surrogates for Jonathan Mostow.
Bradley James Allan, who did The World's End and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World for Edgar Wright, Solo: A Star Wars Story for Ron Howard, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance for Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings for Destin Daniel Cretton, and Kingsman: The Secret Service, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and The King's Man for Matthew Vaughn.
Steven Quale, who did Titanic and Avatar for James Cameron, The Haunted Mansion for Rob Minkoff, and Greyhound for Aaron Schneider.
Spiro Razatos, who directed second unit on Bad Boys II and Transformers: The Last Knight for Michael Bay, Bad Boys For Life for Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby for Adam McKay, Kong: Skull Island for Jordan Vogt-Roberts, X-Men: First Class for Matthew Vaughn, The Expendables for Sylvester Stallone, Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6, and F9: The Fast Saga for Justin Lin, Furious 7 for James Wan, The Fate of the Furious for F. Gary Gray, Fast X for Louis Leterrier, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, and The Gray Man for Anthony and Joe Russo, Venom for Ruben Fleischer, Death Race for Paul W.S. Anderson, Total Recall for Len Wiseman, Driven for Renny Harlin, and 21 Grams for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.
Terry J. Leonard, who did The Expendables for Sylvester Stallone, Rush Hour for Brett Ratner, Cowboys and Aliens for Jon Favreau, Gangster Squad for Ruben Fleischer, Die Hard With a Vengeance for John McTiernan, Used Cars and Romancing the Stone for Robert Zemeckis, 2 Fast 2 Furious for John Singleton, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift for Justin Lin, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze for Michael Pressman, American Outlaws for Les Mayfield, Joy Ride for John Dahl, Tombstone for George P. Cosmatos, The Quick and The Dead for Sam Raimi, Maverick for Richard Donner, The Fugitive and The Package for Andrew Davis, Eraser for Chuck Russell, Flight of the Intruder, Big Wednesday, and Conan the Barbarian for John Milius, and Date Movie for Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer.
John Mahaffie, who did The Amazing Spider-Man 2 for Marc Webb, Spider-Man: Homecoming for Jon Watts, The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron for Joss Whedon, Where the Wild Things Are for Spike Jonze, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King for Peter Jackson, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian for Andrew Adamson, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader for Michael Apted, Green Lantern, Edge of Darkness, and The Legend of Zorro for Martin Campbell, Thor: The Dark World for Alan Taylor, Ant-Man for Peyton Reed, Shazam for David F. Sandberg, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story for Gareth Edwards, and Aquaman and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom for James Wan.
George A. Aguilar, who did 21 Jump Street and 22 Jump Street for Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Tower Heist for Brett Ratner, Now You See Me for Louis Leterrier, Motherless Brooklyn for Edward Norton, Zombieland for Ruben Fleischer, Goosebumps for Rob Letterman, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Mr. Popper's Penguins for Mark Waters, The Smurfs and The Smurfs 2 for Raja Gosnell, Ghostbusters for Paul Feig, School for Scoundrels for Todd Phillips, Enchanted for Kevin Lima, Footloose for Craig Brewer, Tomb Raider for Roar Uthaug, The Many Saints of Newark for Alan Taylor, My Super Ex-Girlfriend for Ivan Reitman, Mortdecai and Premium Rush for David Koepp, Going in Style for Zach Braff, Noah for Darren Aronofsky, Deliver Us From Evil for Scott Derrickson, All the King's Men for Steven Zaillian, and The Departed, Silence, The Irishman, Killers of the Flower Moon, and the television series Vinyl for Martin Scorsese.
Jack Gill, who did The Cat in the Hat for Bo Welch, The Hangover Part III for Todd Phillips, Wild Hogs for Walt Becker, Drillbit Taylor for Steven Brill, Date Night for Shawn Levy, Last Holiday for Wayne Wang, Ride Along and Ride Along 2 for Tim Story, Just My Luck, My Life in Ruins, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days for Donald Petrie, The Watch for Akiva Schaffer, The Change-Up for David Dobkin, Dudley Do-Right for Hugh Wilson, Passengers for Morten Tyldum, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant for Paul Weitz, and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle for Jake Kasdan.
Darrin Prescott, who did Baby Driver for Edgar Wright, Ford v Ferrari for James Mangold, Black Widow for Cate Shortland, Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever for Ryan Coogler, Texas Killing Fields for Ami Canaan Mann, Deadpool 2 for David Leitch, Stand Up Guys for Fisher Stevens, Ballerina for Len Wiseman, Drive for Nicolas Winding Refn, Madame Web for S.J. Clarkson, and John Wick, John Wick: Chapter 2, and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum for Chad Stahelski.
Mickey Gilbert, who did Bruce Almighty, Evan Almighty, Liar Liar, and Dragonfly for Tom Shadyac, Problem Child and National Security for Dennis Dugan, Elf for Jon Favreau, Simon Birch for Mark Steven Johnson, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps for Peter Segal, The Last of the Mohicans for Michael Mann, Rat Race for Jerry Zucker, Forget Paris for Billy Crystal, Above the Law for Andrew Davis, and Wes Craven's New Nightmare for Wes Craven.
Eric B. Schwab, who did Mission: Impossible, Mission to Mars, Snake Eyes, Redacted, and Domino for Brian De Palma, Valkyrie for Bryan Singer, and Top Gun: Maverick for Joseph Kosinski.
Guy Norris, who did Suicide Squad for David Ayer, The Suicide Squad, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 for James Gunn, Stealth for Rob Cohen, Scooby-Doo for Raja Gosnell, Ghost in the Shell for Rupert Sanders, Triple Frontier for J. C. Chandor, Bulletproof Monk for Paul Hunter, and Mad Max: Fury Road, Three Thousand Years of Longing, and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga for George Miller.
Kenny Bates, who did The Rock, Armageddon, 6 Underground, Transformers, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon for Michael Bay, Bad Company for Joel Schumacher, The Italian Job for F. Gary Gray, and Training Day for Antoine Fuqua.
Doug R. Coleman, who did Punisher: War Zone for Lexi Alexander, The Karate Kid for Harald Zwart, The Love Guru for Marco Schnabel, Max for Boaz Yakin, The Longest Yard and Get Smart for Peter Segal, Blades of Glory for Will Speck and Josh Gordon, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry for Dennis Dugan, Run All Night for Jaume Collet-Serra, Road to Perdition for Sam Mendes, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle for Des McAnuff, The Crow: City of Angels for Tim Pope, Star Trek: Nemesis for Stuart Baird, Analyze That for Harold Ramis, and Four Brothers for John Singleton.
Garrett Warren, who did Larry Crowne for Tom Hanks, Mars Needs Moms for Simon Wells, Ghosted for Dexter Fletcher, Logan for James Mangold, Ender's Game for Gavin Hood, God Is a Bullet for Nick Cassavetes, The Internship for Shawn Levy, Here Comes the Boom for Frank Coraci, Spy for Paul Feig, Free State of Jones for Gary Ross, Little Fockers for Paul Weitz, Limitless and Divergent for Neil Burger, and Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar: Fire and Ash for James Cameron.
Roger Guyett, who did Cowboys and Aliens for Jon Favreau, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, and Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens for J.J. Abrams, and the television series Obi-Wan Kenobi for Deborah Chow.
Steve Boyum, who did Groundhog Day for Harold Ramis, Mr. Holland's Opus for Stephen Herek, D2: The Mighty Ducks and George of the Jungle for Sam Weisman, D3: The Mighty Ducks for Robert Lieberman, Airborne for Rob Bowman, and Jingle All the Way for Brian Levant.
Michael Owens, who did Letters From Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers, Changeling, and Space Cowboys for Clint Eastwood, Hidalgo for Joe Johnston, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home for Leonard Nimoy, and Bringing Out the Dead for Martin Scorsese.
William H. Burton, who did The Scorpion King for Chuck Russell, Collateral Damage for Andrew Davis, Dick Tracy for Warren Beatty, Hostage for Florent-Emilio Siri, I Spy for Betty Thomas, Hard Target for John Woo, Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man for Simon Wincer, and House of Wax for Jaume Collet-Serra.
Doug Lefler, who did Army of Darkness, A Simple Plan, and Spider-Man for Sam Raimi, Ghost in the Machine for Rachel Talalay, Hercules and the Lost Kingdom for Harley Cokeliss, and Hercules and the Amazon Women for Bill L. Norton.
Joe Alves, who did Jaws for Steven Spielberg, Jaws 2 for Jeannot Szwarc, and Starman for John Carpenter.
Jeff Dashnaw, who did The Magnificent Seven and The Equalizer 2 for Antoine Fuqua, The Final Destination and Shark Night for David R. Ellis, Neighbors and Get Him to the Greek for Nicholas Stoller, The Highwaymen for John Lee Hancock, Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son for John Whitesell, Whip It for Drew Barrymore, Spenser Confidential for Peter Berg, and Spy Kids, Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams, and Spy Kids 3D: Game Over for Robert Rodriguez.
Phil Neilson, who did Tropic Thunder, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and the television series Escape at Dannemora for Ben Stiller, Iron Man for Jon Favreau, Ben-Hur for Timur Bekmambetov, Fantastic Four for Josh Trank, Battleship for Peter Berg, 47 Ronin for Carl Rinsch, The A-Team for Joe Carnahan, The Twilight Saga: New Moon for Chris Weitz, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe for Andrew Adamson, and Tears of the Sun for Antoine Fuqua.
E. J. Foerster, who did Shanghai Noon for Tom Dey, Shanghai Knights for David Dobkin, Godzilla for Gareth Edwards, The Chronicles of Riddick for David Twohy, The Greatest Showman for Michael Gracey, Vice for Adam McKay, Office Christmas Party for Will Speck and Josh Gordon, True Lies for James Cameron, The X-Files: I Want to Believe for Chris Carter, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse for David Slade, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 for Bill Condon, Hot Pursuit for Anne Fletcher, Snow Dogs and Max 2: White House Hero for Brian Levant, The Shaggy Dog for Brian Robbins, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer for Tim Story, Patch Adams for Tom Shadyac, Sahara for Breck Eisner, and Year One for Harold Ramis.
Gary M. Hymes, who did Pineapple Express for David Gordon Green, Horrible Bosses for Seth Gordon, Jurassic Park for Steven Spielberg, Observe and Report for Jody Hill, Yes Man for Peyton Reed, Bless the Child for Chuck Russell, The Flintstones for Brian Levant, Alex Cross for Rob Cohen, Broken Arrow for John Woo, and The Punisher for Jonathan Hensleigh.
Jeffrey A. Lynch, who did Spider-Man (alongside Lefler), Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3 (both alongside Bradley), and Oz the Great and Powerful for Sam Raimi and Tomorrowland for Brad Bird.
Andrew Armstrong, who did Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed for Raja Gosnell, Rambo III for Peter MacDonald, Hellbound: Hellraiser II for Tony Randel, Galaxy Quest for Dean Parisot, and Planet of the Apes for Tim Burton.
Greg Michael, who did The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, Van Helsing, Deep Rising, The Jungle Book, The Adventures of Huck Finn, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra for Stephen Sommers, Hotel for Dogs for Thor Freudenthal, Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore for Brad Peyton, The Tuxedo for Kevin Donovan, Marmaduke for Tom Dey, The Time Machine for Simon Wells.
Scott Rogers, who did Ted, Ted 2, and A Million Ways to Die in the West for Seth MacFarlane, Race to Witch Mountain and Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 for Andy Fickman, Uncharted for Ruben Fleischer, Sky High for Mike Mitchell, The Do-Over for Steven Brill, The Ridiculous 6 for Frank Coraci, Earth to Echo for Dave Green, Batgirl for Adil El Ardi and Bilall Fallah, and John Wick: Chapter 4 for Chad Stahelski.
Bennie E. Dobbins, who did Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and Weird Science for John Hughes, Commando for Mark L. Lester, Red Heat for Walter Hill.
Wade Eastwood, who did Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning for Christopher McQuarrie, Men in Black International for F. Gary Gray, Jumanji: The Next Level for Jake Kasdan, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back for Edward Zwick, Inferno for Ron Howard, and The Mummy for Alex Kurtzman.
Douglas Aarniokoski, who did Once Upon a Time in Mexico for Robert Rodriguez, Resident Evil: Extinction for Russell Mulcahy, Tekken for Dwight H. Little, Texas Rangers for Steve Miner, Takers for John Luessenhop, and The Medallion for Gordon Chan.
Joel Kramer, who did The Conjuring and The Conjuring 2 for James Wan, Terminator Genisys for Alan Taylor, This is 40 for Judd Apatow, Central Intelligence for Rawson Marshall Thurber, Ready to Rumble for Brian Robbins, Youth in Revolt for Miguel Arteta, Blade Runner 2049 for Denis Villeneuve, Daylight for Rob Cohen, Fathers' Day for Ivan Reitman, and Heat for Michael Mann.
Glenn H. Randall, Jr., who did E.T. the Extra Terrestrial for Steven Spielberg, On Deadly Ground for Steven Seagal, Innerspace for Joe Dante, Beethoven and Are We There Yet? for Brian Levant, The Mask of Zorro for Martin Campbell, and Rosewood for John Singleton.
Jeff Habberstad, responsible for second unit on Doctor Strange for Scott Derrickson, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness for Sam Raimi, Captain Marvel for Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, Ant-Man and the Wasp for Peyton Reed, Jarhead for Sam Mendes, Call of the Wild for Chris Sanders, Aliens vs Predator: Requiem for Greg and Colin Strause, Shooter for Antoine Fuqua, This Means War for McG, The Mother for Niki Caro, and The Last Airbender for M. Night Shyamalan.
Gary Davis, who handled second unit on Starsky and Hutch for Todd Phillips, Terminator 2: Judgment Day for James Cameron, Proof of Life for Taylor Hackford, Torque for Joseph Kahn, U.S. Marshals for Stuart Baird, and Men at Work for Emilio Estevez.
Ben Herandez Bray, who did American Hustle, Silver Linings Playbook, The Fighter, and Joy for David O. Russell, The Grey and Smokin' Aces for Joe Carnahan, In the Blood for John Stockwell, and Lowriders for Ricardo de Montreuil.
Steven Ritzi, who did Jonah Hex for Jimmy Hayward, Let's Be Cops for Luke Greenfield, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween for Ari Sandel, A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas for Todd Strauss-Schulson, Game Night for John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, Shaft and Dashing Through the Snow for Tim Story, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul for David Bowers, A Bad Moms Christmas for Scott Moore and Jon Lucas, Blockers for Kay Cannon, Night School for Malcolm D. Lee, Uncle Drew for Charles Stone III, Sextuplets for Michael Tiddes, Get Hard for Etan Cohen, Harold and the Purple Crayon for Carlos Saldanha, Masterminds for Jared Hess, Self/less for Tarsem Singh, Unforgettable for Denise Di Novi, The Judge for David Dobkin, and Keeping Up with the Joneses for Greg Mottola.
Gregg Smrz, who did Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters for Thor Freudenthal, The Animal for Luke Greenfield, and Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves for John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein.
Freddie Hice, who did Snakes on a Plane and Celluar for David R. Ellis, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York for Chris Columbus, Curly Sue for John Hughes, Baby's Day Out for Patrick Read Johnson, My Fellow Americans for Peter Segal, and 3:10 to Yuma for James Mangold.
Greg Rementer, who handled second unit on Bad Boys: Ride or Die for Adil El Ardi and Bilall Fallah, Black Adam for Jaume Collet-Serra, Bullet Train for David Leitch, Secret Headquarters for Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, Nobody for Ilya Naishuller, and River Runs Red for Wes Miller.
Jonathan Taylor, who did Iron Man 2 for Jon Favreau, Captain America: The First Avenger for Joe Johnston, Point Break for Kathryn Bigelow, and A Good Day to Die Hard for John Moore.
Branko Racki, who directed second unit on Freddy Got Fingered for Tom Green, 16 Blocks for Richard Donner, The Skulls for Rob Cohen, Welcome to Mooseport for Donald Petrie, The Maiden Heist for Peter Hewitt, and Canadian Bacon for Michael Moore.
Max Kleven, who did Back to the Future Part II, Back to the Future Part III, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit for Robert Zemeckis, Batman Returns for Tim Burton, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves for Kevin Reynolds, Rollerball for Norman Jewison, and Silent Movie for Mel Brooks.
Thomas Robinson Harper, who did Lords of Dogtown and Twilight for Catherine Hardwicke, Little Miss Sunshine for Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, The Tomorrow War for Chris McKay, Old Dogs for Walt Becker, Pacific Rim: Uprising for Steven S. DeKnight, We Bought a Zoo for Cameron Crowe, Godzilla vs Kong for Adam Wingard, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters for Michael Dougherty.
Joseph P. Reidy, who did Goodfellas, Cape Fear, and The Age of Innocence for Martin Scorsese, Quiz Show for Robert Redford, and A Bronx Tale for Robert De Niro.
Phil Marco, who did Casino, Kundun, and The Color of Money for Martin Scorsese.
David Barrett, who did Final Destination 2 for David R. Ellis, Orphan for Jaume Collet-Serra, Killing Cabos for Alejandro Lozano, The Fog and Stigmata for Rupert Wainwright, and Supercross for Steve Boyum.
Andy Cheng, who did The New World for Terrence Malick, Red Riding Hood for Catherine Hardwicke, Seeking Justice for Roger Donaldson, and Santa's Slay for David Steiman.
Ernest F. Orsatti, who did Mafia!, Hot Shots!, and Hot Shots! Part Deux for Jim Abrahams, The Pink Panther for Shawn Levy, Men of Honor for George Tillman, Jr., Theodore Rex for Jonathan Betuel, City of Industry for John Irvin, Larger Than Life for Howard Franklin, and Dr. Dolittle for Betty Thomas.
William H. Burton Jr., who did Face/Off for John Woo, The X-Files for Rob Bowman, Chill Factor for Hugh T. Johnson, Lightning Jack for Simon Wincer, and Turbulence for Robert Butler.
Craig R. Baxley, who did Predator for John McTiernan, Heaven Can Wait for Warren Beatty and Buck Henry, The Long Riders for Walter Hill, Take This Job and Shove It for Gus Trikonis, and the television series The A-Team.
Rob Inch, who did The Marvels for Nia DaCosta, Outlaw King for David MacKenzie, and the miniseries Secret Invasion for Ali Selim.
Robert Alonzo, who did Deadpool for Tim Miller, The Flash for Andy Muschietti, Alpha for Albert Hughes, Captain America: Brave New World for Julius Onah, American Made for Doug Liman, Oblivion for Joseph Kosinski, and The Batman for Matt Reeves.
Damon Caro, who did Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Zack Snyder's Justice League, and Army of the Dead for Zack Snyder, Wonder Woman for Patty Jenkins, and 300: Rise of an Empire for Noam Murro.
Thomas J. Wright, who did Staying Alive for Sylvester Stallone, Howard the Duck for Willard Huyck, Neil Simon's I Ought to Be in Pictures and Pennies from Heaven for Herbert Ross, Beverly Hills Cop for Martin Brest, and Final Destination for James Wong.
Brad Martin, who did Abduction for John Singleton, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb for Shawn Levy, I, Frankenstein for Stuart Beattie, Underworld and Underworld: Evolution for Len Wiseman, Underworld: Awakening for Måns Mårlind, Homefront for Gary Fleder, Wild Card for Simon West, Greenland for Ric Roman Waugh, and Zoolander 2 for Ben Stiller.
Kimble Adams, who did Ghost Rider for Mark Steven Johnson, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans for Patrick Tatopoulos, Knowing and Gods of Egypt for Alex Proyas. and The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, and the cutscenes of the video game Enter the Matrix for The Wachowskis.
Brian L. Keaulana, who handled second unit on Aloha for Cameron Crowe, Into the Blue 2: The Reef for Stephen Herek, Soul Surfer for Sean McNamara, and You May Not Kiss the Bride for Rob Hedden.
Nick Powell, who did RRR for S.S. Rajamouli, Resident Evil: Retribution and The Three Musketeers for Paul W.S. Anderson, Girl from Rio for Christopher Monger, Push for Paul McGuigan, Reborn for Julia Richards, Nacho Libre for Jared Hess, and Hot Rod for Akiva Schaffer.
Steve Parry, who did A River Runs Through It for Robert Redford, Executive Decision for Stuart Baird, and The Dark Wind for Errol Morris.
Jamie Marshall, who did The Foreigner for Martin Campbell, Mafia Mamma and Miss Bala for Catherine Hardwicke, You People for Kenya Barris, Den of Thieves for Christian Gudegast, and Olympus Has Fallen for Antonie Fuqua.
Charlie Picerni, who did Lethal Weapon 2 and Lethal Weapon 3 for Richard Donner, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation for Jeremiah S. Chechik, National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 for Gene Quintano, Street Fighter for Steven E. de Souza, I Love Trouble for Charles Shyer, and Die Hard 2 for Renny Harlin.
Pat Romano, who did Big Fat Liar for Shawn Levy, A Night at the Roxbury for John Fortenberry, and Spy Game for Tony Scott.
Steve "Street" Griffin, who did London Has Fallen for Babak Najafi, Virgin Territory for David Leland, The Last Legion for Doug Lefler, Knife Edge for Anthony Hickox, 2.0 for S. Shankar, Gun for Jessy Terrero, and Bullet for Nick Lyon.
J.J. Makaro, who did Scary Movie for Keenan Ivory Wayans, My Boss's Daughter for David Zucker, Saving Silverman for Dennis Dugan, Out Cold for The Malloys, and Freedom for Šarūnas Bartas.
Edward L. Watkins, who did Scary Movie 2 and Little Man for Keenan Ivory Wayans, First Sunday for David E. Talbert, Gang Tapes for Adam Ripp, and Thicker Than Water for Richard Cummings Jr.
Timothy P. Trella, who did Superbad for Greg Mottola, Forgetting Sarah Marshall for Nicholas Stoller, The Babysitter: Killer Queen and Rim of the World for McG, Southland Tales for Richard Kelly, and Shadow Force for Joe Carnahan.
John Moio, who did The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 for Tobe Hooper, Fast Times at Ridgemont High for Amy Heckerling, and The Marrying Man for Jerry Rees.
Gerald T. Olsen, who did Dumb and Dumber for Peter and Bobby Farrelly, Rapid Fire for Dwight H. Little, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas for Brian Levant, and Goodbye Lover for Roland Joffé.
James B. Rogers, who did Dumb and Dumber To, There's Something About Mary, Kingpin, and The Heartbreak Kid for Peter and Bobby Farrelly, Green Book for Peter Farrelly, Beverly Hills Ninja for Dennis Dugan, and American Pie for Paul Weitz.
James M. Churchman, who directed second unit on First Man for Damien Chazelle, Silent Night for John Woo, The Comeback Trail for George Gallo, and Trading Paint for Karzan Kader.
Steve M. Davison, who did Catwoman for Pitof, Behind Enemy Lines for John Moore, Cecil B. Demented and Serial Mom for John Waters, The Kiss for Pen Densham, Teaching Mrs. Tingle for Kevin Williamson, and Desperado for Robert Rodriguez.
Clay Staub, who did Dawn of the Dead and 300 for Zack Snyder, and The Thing for Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
Buddy Joe Hooker, who did Money Talks for Brett Ratner, Corvette Summer for Matthew Robbins, Gunmen for Deran Sarafian, The Jackal for Michael Caton-Jones, School Ties for Robert Mandel, and Vanilla Sky for Cameron Crowe.
Artie Maleski, who did Men in Black 2 and Big Trouble for Barry Sonnenfield, All About the Benjamins for Kevin Bray, and Wild Things for John McNaughton.
Bruce Jones, who directed second unit on Vacation for John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, Grudge Match for Peter Segal, Horrible Bosses 2 for Sean Anders, The Intern for Nancy Meyers, How to Be Single for Christian Ditter, The House for Andrew J. Cohen, and Drag Me to Hell for Sam Raimi.
Patrick Leung, who did Hard-Boiled, Manhunt, Red Cliff, and The Crossing for John Woo.
George Cottle Jr, who did Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: No Way Home for Jon Watts, Barbie for Greta Gerwig, Haunted Mansion for Justin Simien, Wayne's World 2 for Stephen Surjik, Red Notice for Rawson Marshall Thurber, Thunderbolts* for Jake Schreier, and Deadpool and Wolverine for Shawn Levy.
James O’Donnell, who did Borderlands for Eli Roth, The Bubble for Judd Apatow, The 355 for Simon Kinberg, Enola Holmes 2 for Harry Bradbeer, Stratton for Simon West, and Murder on the Orient Express for Kenneth Branagh.
Daniel Larner, who did Glory, Courage Under Fire, and Defiance for Edward Zwick.
Matt Birman, responsible for second unit on Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead, and Survival of the Dead for George A. Romero, A Perfect Getaway for David Twohy, Traitor for Jeffrey Nachmanoff, It’s a Boy Girl Thing for Nick Hurran, and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights for Guy Ferland.
Paul Jennings, who did Sherlock Holmes and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. for Guy Ritchie, Power Rangers for Dean Israelite, RED 2 for Dean Parisot, Wrath of the Titans for Jonathan Liebesman, San Andreas and Rampage for Brad Peyton, Ella Enchanted for Tommy O'Haver, Jack Reacher for Christopher McQuarrie, the television special Werewolf by Night for Michael Giacchino, and the television series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Loki, Hawkeye, and Moon Knight.
M. James Arnett, who did Small Soldiers for Joe Dante, Congo for Frank Marshall, Basic Instinct for Paul Verhoeven, The Terminator and Aliens for James Cameron, S.W.A.T. for Clark Johnson, The 6th Day for Roger Spottiswoode, The Mexican for Gore Verbinski, The Lost Boys and D.C. Cab for Joel Schumacher, Ladder 49 for Jay Russell, Police Academy 3: Back in Training for Jerry Paris, Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol for Jim Drake, and Police Academy 6: City Under Siege for Peter Bonerz.
Randy Fife, who did Born on the Fourth of July for Oliver Stone, The Walking Dead for Preston A. Whitmore II, and Flashback for Franco Amurri, Damned River for Michael Schroeder, Paramedics for Stuart Margolin, and The Dirt Bike Kid for Hoite C. Caston, and O.C. and Stiggs for Robert Altman.
Alex Daniels, who directed second unit on The Dictator for Larry Charles, Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm for Jason Woliner, Old Dads for Bill Burr, Along Came Polly for John Hamburg, The Guardian for Andrew Davis, and The Bucket List for Rob Reiner.
Keith Adams, responsible for second unit on Something Borrowed for Luke Greenfield, Paradise Highway for Anna Gutto], and Epic Movie, Disaster Movie, Meet the Spartans, Vampires Suck], The Starving Games, and Superfast! for Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer.
David Hans Dreyfuss, who did Scarface and Wise Guys for Brian De Palma and Wall Street for Oliver Stone.
Antoine L. Douaihy, who did Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps for Oliver Stone, The Manchurian Candidate for Jonathan Demme, and Dust for Milcho Manchevski.
Alan Gibbs, who did Smokey and the Bandit for Hal Needham, Big Shots for Robert Mandel, and Armed and Dangerous for Mark L. Lester.
Martin Scali, who did The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatch, and Asteroid City for Wes Anderson.
Dick Ziker, who did The Shadow for Russell Mulcahy, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory for Geoff Murphy, The Glimmer Man for John Gray, The Darwin Awards for Finn Taylor, My Stepmother is an Alien for Richard Benjamin, Smokey and the Bandit II for Hal Needham, and National Lampoon's Vacation for Harold Ramis.
Raymond G. Pardo, who did Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story for Rawson Marshall Thurber, Miss Congeniality for Donald Petrie, Ray, Love Ranch, and Parker for Taylor Hackford, Gun Shy for Eric Blakeney, Two Weeks Notice for Marc Lawrence, and Source Code for Duncan Jones.
Edward G. Perez, who did Shoot 'Em Up for Michael Davis, While She Was Out for Susan Montford, and Blade: Trinity (alongside Armstorng).
Scott J. Ateah, responsible for second unit on RV for Barry Sonnenfield, Slither for James Gunn, Code Name: The Cleaner for Les Mayfield, I, Robot for Alex Proyas, Air Bud: World Pup for Bill Bannerman, Agent Cody Banks for Harald Zwart, The Wicker Man for Neil LaBute, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed for James Foley, The Invisible for David S. Goyer, MVP: Most Valuable Primate and MVP 2: Most Vertical Primate for Robert Vince, Kill Switch and Driven to Kill for Jeff F. King, and Far Cry for Uwe Boll.

Unlike an assistant director, who is second-in-command to the main director, a second unit director operates independently, and thus can be a stepping stone for aspiring directors to gain experience.^[6] Examples include:

David R. Ellis, who directed second unit on Cop Out for Kevin Smith, Life Stinks for Mel Brooks, The Jungle Book (alongside Michael) for Stephen Sommers, Ride with the Devil for Ang Lee, Exit Wounds for Andrzej Bartkowiak, Beethoven's 2nd for Rod Daniel, Thunderheart for Michael Apted, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and Silver for Philip Noyce, The Negotiator for F. Gary Gray, Warlock and My Father the Hero for Steve Miner, Disney's The Kid for Jon Turteltaub, Blank Check for Rupert Wainwright, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World for Peter Weir, Rock Star for Stephen Herek, and Winter's Tale for Akiva Goldsman.
Chad Stahelski, who did Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows for Guy Ritchie, The Expendables 2 for Simon West, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire for Francis Lawrence, The Brothers Grimsby for Louis Leterrier, Safe for Boaz Yakin, Birds of Prey for Cathy Yan, and After Earth for M. Night Shyamalan.
David Leitch, who did Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues for Adam McKay, The Wolverine for James Mangold, Jurassic World for Colin Trevorrow, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for Jonathan Liebesman, and In Hell for Ringo Lam.
Kirk Thatcher, who did Muppets From Space for Tim Hill.
Brian Henson, who did Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for Steve Barron.
Eric Brevig, who did Men in Black and Wild Wild West for Barry Sonnenfield, Pearl Harbor and The Island for Michael Bay, The Indian in the Cupboard for Frank Oz, Doctor Sleep for Mike Flanagan, and John Carter for Andrew Stanton.
Peter R. Hunt, who did Thunderball and The Jigsaw Man for Terence Young, You Only Live Twice and The Admirable Crichton for Lewis Gilbert, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for Ken Hughes, and Goldfinger for Guy Hamilton.
John Glen, who did On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Gold for Peter R. Hunt, Moonraker and The Spy Who Loved Me for Lewis Gilbert, Catlow for Sam Wanamaker, Murphy's War for Peter Yates, The Wild Geese for Andrew Victor McLaglen, and The Italian Job for Peter Collinson.
Frank Marshall, who did Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Empire of the Sun, The Color Purple, and Always for Steven Spielberg, Noises Off for Peter Bogdanovich, Seabiscuit for Gary Ross, and Back to the Future for Robert Zemeckis.
Christian Rivers, who served as second unit director on Pete's Dragon for David Lowery.
Scott Mosier, who directed second unit on Dogma and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back for Kevin Smith, in addition to producing, co-editing, and storyboarding both films.

Occasionally, actual film directors might serve as second unit directors on certain projects. Examples includes:

Steven Spielberg, who did Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith for George Lucas, The Goonies for Richard Donner, The Haunting, for Jan De Bont, and Arachnophobia for Frank Marshall, in addition to serving as a producer on latter three, as well as story writer and co-editor for The Goonies.
James Cameron, who did Galaxy of Terror for Bruce D. Clark.
Joss Whedon, who did The Cabin in the Woods for Drew Goddard in addition to co-writing the script and producing the film.
James Wan, who did The Nun for Corin Hardy, in addition to serving as a producer and co-writing the story.
Sam Raimi, who did The Hudsucker Proxy for Joel and Ethan Coen, in addition to co-writing the script.
Peter Jackson, who did The Adventures of Tintin for Steven Spielberg, in addition to serving as producer.
Paul Thomas Anderson, who did A Prairie Home Companion for Robert Altman.
Geoff Murphy, who did the Lord of the Rings trilogy (alongside Mahliffe and Ruge), Dante's Peak for Roger Donaldson, and XXX: State of the Union for Lee Tamahori.
Rob Cohen for The Hard Way and Bird on a Wire for John Badham, The Legend of Billie Jean for Matthew Robbins, and The Serpent and the Rainbow for Wes Craven in addition to serving as a producer.
Jeffrey Reiner, who did BASEketball for David Zucker.
Josh Trank, who did Big Fan for Robert D. Siegel (in addition to serving as editor and co-producer) and The Lie for Joshua Leonard.
Jerry Zucker, who did Rock 'n' Roll High School for Joe Dante.
Aaron Schneider, who did Final Destination 5 for Steven Quale.
Lin Oeding, who did Straight Outta Compton for F. Gary Gray, The Power of Few for Leone Marcucci, and The Baytown Outlaws for Barry Battles.
Kat Candler for Bad Moms for Jon Lucas and Scott Moore.
Robert Lee, who did Alone in the Dark, House of the Dead, BloodRayne, and In the Name of the King for Uwe Boll.
Clenet Verdi-Rose, who did Paradise City for Chuck Russell and Butcher's Crossing for Gabe Polsky.
Mark Steilen, who did Hall Pass, Stuck On You, and The Three Stooges for Peter and Bobby Farrelly.
Govind Nihalani, who did Gandhi for Richard Attenborough.
Matthew Tibbenham, who did Sinister for Scott Derrickson.
Robert Cotterilli, who did Hobo with a Shotgun for Jason Eisener, in addition to producing the film.
Michael Massias, who did In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds for Uwe Boll.
Ernest Jackson, who did Good Boys for Gene Stupnitsky.
Stephen Hopkins, who did Highlander for Russell Mulcahy.
Jeremy Lovering, who did Hot Fuzz and Last Night in Soho for Edgar Wright.
Bruce Logan, who did Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas for Terry Gilliam and Deal of the Century for William Friedkin.
Stanton Barrett, who did Future World for James Franco and Bruce Thierry Chueng.
Dennis Hopper, who did The Trip for Roger Corman, in addition to writing the script.
Tony Giglio, who did Resident Evil: Afterlife for Paul W.S. Anderson.
Peter A. Ramsey, who did Higher Learning and Poetic Justice for John Singleton, Tank Girl for Rachel Talalay, and Godzilla for Roland Emmerich.
Steven Soderbergh, who did The Hunger Games for Gary Ross.
Monte Hellman, who did RoboCop for Paul Verhoeven, The Big Red One for Samuel Fuller, and Creature from the Haunted Sea for Roger Corman.
Francis Ford Coppola, who did The Premature Burial, The Young Racers, and The Terror for Roger Corman, and The Wild Racers for Daniel Haller.

Other times, directors may return to predominantly working as second unit directors for the remainder of their career. One example is Michael D. Moore, who directed second unit on more than 60 films, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Funny Farm, and The Little Drummer Girl for George Roy Hill, Patton for Franklin J. Schaffner, The Man Who Would Be King for John Huston, 101 Dalmatians, The Mighty Ducks, and The Three Musketeers for Stephen Herek, 102 Dalmatians for Kevin Lima, Ghostbusters II for Ivan Reitman, Willow for Ron Howard, Chaplin for Richard Attenborough, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III for Stuart Gillard, National Lampoon's European Vacation for Amy Heckerling, Toy Soldiers for Daniel Petrie Jr., Sometimes a Great Notion for Paul Newman, Wrongfully Accused for Pat Proft, Never Say Never Again and The Return of a Man Called Horse for Irvin Kerschner, and the original Indiana Jones trilogy for Steven Spielberg.

Additional functions

It is common for certain personnel involved with a production in another capacity to also function as a second unit director, benefiting from their understanding of the material and relationship with the production's director or producers. Examples include:

Steve Starkey, who, in addition to serving as producer, directed second unit for Robert Zemeckis on Forrest Gump, Contact What Lies Beneath, Cast Away, The Polar Express, Beowulf, A Christmas Carol, Flight, and The Walk.
Roman Coppola, who directed second unit on Bram Stoker's Dracula, Jack, The Rainmaker, Youth Without Youth, Tetro, and Megalopolis for his father Francis Ford Coppola, The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette, and Priscilla for his sister Sofia Coppola, and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited, and The Grand Budapest Hotel (alongside Scali) for best friend Wes Anderson.
Luke Scott, who directed second unit on The Martian and Exodus: Gods and Kings for his father Ridley Scott.
Matt Stone, who served as second unit director on Team America: World Police for Trey Parker, as well as co-writing the script and producing the film with Parker.
Andrew Mason, in addition to serving as producer and visual effects supervisor, directed second unit for Alex Proyas on The Crow and Dark City.
Daniel Dubiecki, who did Juno and Up in the Air for Jason Reitman, Jennifer's Body for Karyn Kusama, Money Monster for Jodie Foster, Three Months for Jared Frieder, and Please Stand By for Ben Lewin, additionally served as a producer for all projects.
Robert K. Weiss, who did The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! and The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear for David Zucker, Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult and Tommy Boy for Peter Segal, Crazy People for Tony Bill, and the pilot of Sliders for Andy Tennant, additionally served as producer on all five films and the co-creator/executive producer on the show.
Thomas Lennon, who directed second unit on Balls of Fury for Robert Ben Garant, in addition to co-writing and producing the film alongside Garant and playing the supporting role of Karl Wolfschtagg.
Alexandra “Xan” Cassavetes, who served as second unit director for her brother Nick Cassavetes on Alpha Dog, also played the role of Jenna Keschner.
John Dykstra, who directed second unit for Rob Minkoff on Stuart Little and Tobe Hooper on Invaders from Mars, also served as visual effects supervisor.
Peter Lauritson, who did Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Insurrection for Jonathan Frakes, also produced both projects.
Ishana Night Shyamalan, who directed second unit on Old and Knock at the Cabin for her father M. Night Shyamalan.
Marty Katz, who served as second unit director on Reindeer Games for John Frankenheimer, additionally served as producer.
Steven “Spaz” Williams, who directed second unit on Spawn for Mark A.Z. Dippe, also served as visual effects supervisor.
Robert Wilson, who directed second unit for Oliver Stone on Snowden, also served as producer.
Peter Winther, who did The Patriot for Roland Emmerich and The Last Full Measure for Todd Robinson, in addition to producing both projects.
Eli Richbourg, who did Phone Booth, Tigerland, Veronica Guerin, 8mm, Blood Creek, and The Number 23 for Joel Schumacher, in addition to serving as associate producer on the former three projects and executive producer on the latter two.
Phil Dornfeld, who directed second unit on Scary Movie 4 for David Zucker and Scary Movie 5 for Malcolm D. Lee, also served as an executive producer on the former and a producer on the latter.
Joe Ballarini, who directed second unit for Gregg Bishop on Dance of the Dead, also wrote the script.
Dale Dye, in addition to playing a minor part of a disabled war veteran and serving as military advisor, served as second unit director on Alexander for Oliver Stone.
Paul Harris Boardman, who, in addition to co-writing the script, served as second unit director on Hellraiser V: Inferno for Scott Derrickson.
Peter Schink, who directed second unit on Detroit Rock City for Adam Rifkin, as well as editing the film.
Glen Morgan, who served as second unit director on Final Destination 3 for James Wong, additionally co-wrote the film and served as producer
Barry Alexander Brown, who did Malcolm X for Spike Lee and Cousin Bette for Des McAnuff, in addition to serving as editor.
John August. who, in addition to writing the film, directed second unit on Go for Doug Liman.
George Folsey Jr., who served as second unit director for John Landis on Trading Places, Into the Night, and Three Amigos, in addition to producing the films.
Paul Schiff, who directed second unit on Maid in Manhattan for Wayne Wang and Mona Lisa Smile for Mike Newell, also served as executive producer on both films.
Kenneth Kokin, who did The Usual Suspects for Bryan Singer and The Way of the Gun for Christopher McQuarrie, additionally produced both projects.
Peter Schindler, who directed second unit for Mel Brooks on Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Dracula: Dead and Loving It, also served as executive producer.
Stuart Baird, who served as second unit director for Richard Donner on The Omen and Ladyhawke, also edited the films.
David B. Stephan, who directed second unit for Sam Raimi on For Love of the Game additionally served as storyboard artist on the film.
Richard Chew, who directed second unit for Cameron Crowe on Singles, also served as editor, title supervisor, and co-producer.
Peter Chiang, who served as second unit director on Johnny English for Peter Howitt, also served as visual effects supervisor.
Dan Perri, who served as second unit director on A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors for Chuck Russell, also designed the opening title sequence.
Michael Z. Hanan, who directed second unit for John Frankenheimer on The Island of Dr. Moreau, also served as visual effects supervisor.
Eli Snyder, who directed second unit for his father Zack Snyder on Rebel Moon – Part 1: A Child of Fire and Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver.
Randall William Cook, who played the role of a pilot, served as second unit director for Peter Jackson on King Kong.
Tarik Karem, who directed second unit on The Reader and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close for Stephen Daldry and the upcoming The Electric State for Anthony and Joe Russo, addit served as producer on all three projects.
Stuart T. "Stu" Maschwitz, who directed second unit on The Spirit for Frank Miller and the two-part pilot episode of Defiance for Scott C. Stewart, as well as serving as visual effects supervisor.
David Koepp, who, in addition to writing the script, directed second unit for Steven Spielberg on The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
Bryan H. Carroll, who did Miami Vice, Collateral, and Public Enemies for Michael Mann, additionally produced all three projects.
Gian-Carlo Coppola, who directed second unit for his father Francis Ford Coppola on The Cotton Club
Charles Winkler, who directed second unit on Rocky Balboa for Sylvester Stallone (in additional to serving as producer) and Home of the Brave for his father Irwin Winkler.
Todd Hallowell, who directed second unit on Apollo 13, The Paper, The Da Vinci Code, A Beautiful Mind, Frost/Nixon, Rush, EDtv, Backdraft, Ransom, The Missing, The Dilemma, Angels and Demons, and Far and Away for Ron Howard, X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse for Bryan Singer, X-Men: Dark Phoenix for Simon Kinberg, Striking Distance for Rowdy Herrington, and Virus for John Bruno, additionally served as executive producer on all films.