Posts Tagged ‘directing’

Sorority Production: Day One

Posted: 2nd September 2011 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: "Sorority", Behind-the-Scenes Photos, On Location, Photography
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On the first shoot day for the ‘Sorority’ vignette, covering the two sisters’ drama and the hallway escape sequence.

The first act of Sorority (Lucy and Dee) and the interstitial segment (the hallway chase) were shot together on our first day (of two) for the vignette. Based on some of our multi-day and multi-segment shoots in the past, we decided to shoot the days’ work out of chronological order and instead approach from most-difficult to least-difficult work. For the morning, when everybody was fresh and ready to go, we’d take care of the complex and extensive hallway action scene, and in the afternoon, when the cast and crew would be tired from the morning’s work, we’d shoot the relatively sedate and stationary sisters’ scene.
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A Director’s Break

Posted: 29th April 2011 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: "Maternal", Behind-the-Scenes Photos, On Location
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On the production of the “Maternal” vignette, from the perspective of the non-directing director.

It was a unique experience for me to be on the set of “Maternal” as assistant director, while Phoebe stepped up to direct the vignette she wrote. Over the three and a half years of Night Zero’s production, only twice before have I not been the director: for the Untitled vignette in early 2009, which was directed by our photographer Forest Gibson, and for the general “crowd/battle” sequences in the protest shoot in late 2009, which were directed by the 2nd A.D. Gale Benning.

As the creator and producer of Night Zero, these rare opportunities to step away from the driver’s seat are simply wonderful. Being able to watch the Night Zero project roll along is, in many respects, a greater accomplishment than when I’m leading it myself, and an opportunity I hope to have a few more times before the year is out.
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Between the Lines

Posted: 1st January 2010 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Concepts & Development, Episode 3 - "House Calls"
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On transforming dialogue-heavy scripts to character-driven photocomics

During the course of Episode Three production I was often reminded of my experiences directing in theater, and one of the ways in which I found parallels between the two is in unwritten action. A stage script contains strictly the dialogue spoken by the characters and the essential (required) elements of stage directions. There are no instructions on how the characters carry themselves, or when they stand and move about the room, or even the mood and tone with which they deliver their lines. Everything is subject to the director’s vision and the actors’ interpretations, which is one of the reasons why a single show can be produced so many times and still be a different experience (for better or for worse). I don’t have as much experience on film, but I do know that (for the sake of storyboarding and cinematography) the stage directions are much more abundant and precise.

Through three episodes of Alexander’s scripts, the production team has gotten more comfortable with the logistics of shooting and can spend more and more of their energies focused on their particular unique tasks. Having story cards, the camera operator can spend less time worrying about what the angle is going to be and instead think about which lens and cropping to use. Having shot setup lists, the director of photography and gaffer can spend less time figuring out where the lights will need to be and instead work with more complex setups faster and more efficiently. And having an experienced team to handle all these aspects of the shoot and keep the production rolling, I can partially step out of the producer role and put my energies towards the finer aspects of directing. One such aspect that I’ve been pleased to explore (in episode three particularly) is the non-central action of the story– everything that happens that’s not in the script.
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The Evolution of Episode Three

Posted: 20th November 2009 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Concepts & Development, Episode 3 - "House Calls"
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On the first time rehearsing a scene with actors prior to a photoshoot

And so the truth comes out… or does it?

It’s a challenge to pace out episodes that are both comic books and web comics, with some sequences working naturally more in one realm than the other and other sequences falling slightly flat by splitting the difference. Part of our growth as we move from the pilot episode to the grand conclusion is toying with these balances, and at this point in episode three we can begin to judge how we’re doing.

Tales from the Past

Posted: 26th June 2009 by Forest Gibson
Categories: "Untitled", Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Guest Posts, On Location
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Forest Gibson on directing the “Untitled” vignette

From a directing point of view, the untitled vignette provided an interesting opportunity to explore the past—and how it is perceived—because the main character was not around to see what happened to his girlfriend and could only assume what happened to her. I ended up playing around with many different interpretations that fit into the same script but had dramatically different implications. One idea was that although from the main character’s point of view they were perfectly in love, she had actually been cheating on him when Night Zero happened (thus adding a whole new level of tragedy to the story). I ended up deciding on the direction that did not leave such a bitter taste in your mouth when the story ended.
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