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This paper gives a comprehensive overview of the Virtual Director concept. A Virtual Director is a software component automating the key decision making tasks of a TV broadcast director. It decides how to mix and present the available content streams on a particular playout device, most essentially deciding which camera view to show and when to switch to another. A Virtual Director allows to take decisions respecting individual user preferences and playout device characteristics. In order to take meaningful decisions, a Virtual Director must be continuously informed by real-time sensors which emit information about what is happening in the scene. From such (low-level) 'cues', the Virtual Director infers higher-level events, actions, facts and states which in turn trigger the real-time processes deciding on the presentation of the content. The behaviour of a Virtual Director, the 'production grammar', defines how decisions are taken, generally encompassing two main aspects: selecting what is most relevant, and deciding how to show it, applying cinematographic principles.