Team Deakins

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 113 - Technical Knowledge for Cinematographers - with David Mullen

In this special episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we’re joined by our friend and cinematographer David Mullen (Season 1, Episode 83) to discuss what and how much technical knowledge a cinematographer ought to know these days. The conversation includes specific explanations of technical details (such as the difference between film grain and digital noise) and more general subjects (such as the importance of telling a story and eliciting an emotional response from the audience). We also share a number of work stories, including Roger’s early-career exposure to cinematographer Douglas Slocombe’s internal light-meter and David’s experience seeing his work on a TV show smothered by a yellow filter during post. Reflecting on the diversity in images in older Hollywood films despite limited film stock and optical options, we maintain the position that the look of a film is the product of a cinematographer’s eye (rather than the technology one uses), and David elucidates how cinematographer Oswold Morris developed the desaturated look of director John Huston’s adaptation of MOBY DICK using the technology available to him to serve the storytelling. We also reflect on the lost knowledge of how films were made in the early digital days of the 2000s and stress the need to study and remember filmmaking history, recent and ancient. Towards the end, we also consider director Yasujiro Ozu’s prolific and effective use of a single 50mm lens when the conversation drifts towards the phenomenon of people avoiding “boring lenses”. Plus, we highlight the need to understand basic high school mathematics (no excuses!).

Cinematographers at all levels, from the aspiring to the battle-worn, can enjoy and learn from this discussion, and we hope you enjoy listening.

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This episode is sponsored by Aputure

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 112 - DAN LEMMON - VFX Supervisor

VFX Supervisor Dan Lemmon (THE BATMAN, DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, AVATAR) joins us on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast. Expanding upon our collection of conversations with filmmakers who worked on THE BATMAN, Dan is more than eager to discuss his work on the film, and he breaks down his team’s contributions to the Batmobile chase sequence and the look of the film as a whole. We also discuss the value of shooting references for the VFX department, and Dan reveals his reasoning for advocating to shoot as much as possible in-camera. We later learn how VFX houses are adapting to deliver their work at the same quality under tightening budgets, and we reflect on how the pace of innovation in the field has changed over Dan’s career. Dan also explains how motion capture technology works and how it’s evolved to allow for films like AVATAR and the recent PLANET OF THE APES trilogy to exist as envisioned by their directors. Towards the end, we reflect on the modern trend towards naturalism and the diminishment of theatricality in how stories are told cinematically.

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This episode is sponsored by Aputure

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 111 - JESSE JAMES Live Q&A - with Wendy Roderweiss

This special episode of the Team Deakins Podcast features a recording of what was a live conversation between Team Deakins and filmmaker and DePaul University professor Wendy Roderweiss following a screening of THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago. During the conversation, we discuss our experiences shooting the movie and working together as creative and life partners, and James reveals how her involvement allowed Roger to simultaneously shoot JESSE JAMES while colour timing JARHEAD. She also discusses how she balanced the workload between the two films (and countries!). We later share the genesis of the opening montage, and we also reflect on the limited use of the Deakinizer lenses invented for the film. We also answer a series of audience questions, and we reflect on our time working with the DePaul students during our visit to Chicago. Roger also offers his (brief) review of the print used at the screening!

This was recorded in early 2024 during our visit to DePaul University to participate in a series of events with their students.

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This episode is sponsored by Aputure

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 110 - JON SANDERS & ANNA MOTTRAM - WRITER / DIRECTOR & WRITER / ACTOR

On the episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with writer/director Jon Sanders & actor/writer Anna Mottram (PAINTED ANGELS, A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER, A CLEVER WOMAN). As old friends and a fellow filmmaking couple, we had a lot to talk about! Roger and Jon reminisce on coming up together amidst the fallout television left hanging over England’s film scene, and we all compare our experiences working with our partners over a lifetime. Anna muses on the act of improvisation as an actor, and Jon shares how he works with the cinematographer to pull off the series of long takes that define their films. We later discuss the liberating force of digital cameras, and we learn why they opt to improvise every scene and shoot their films in chronological order. Towards the end, we reflect on their commitment to the theatrical experience, the reach of their films, and on the touching feedback Jon and Anna receive from their viewers.

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This episode is sponsored by Aputure

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 109 - KEVIN BAILLIE - VFX SUPERVISOR

On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with visual effects supervisor Kevin Baillie (HERE, PINOCCHIO, FLIGHT) in an engaging conversation about the evolving use of VFX in film. We learn what types of discussions Kevin has with filmmakers to determine how to incorporate VFX effectively into their projects, and we discuss his belief in using the right tool for the right job. While looking back in history, we marvel in the immersive quality of Ray Harryhausen’s pioneering work on JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS and discuss the function of VFX within a piece of storytelling. We also discuss the increasingly prevalent role of VFX in production and on a perceived creative bifurcation between the production stage and the post-production stage. A frequent collaborator of director Robert Zemeckis, we discuss how the director’s relationship to visual effects has changed over the years, and Kevin reveals the intent behind the VFX in the upcoming feature HERE.

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This episode is sponsored by Aputure

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 108 - TIM BLAKE NELSON - ACTOR / WRITER / DIRECTOR

On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with actor, writer, and director Tim Blake Nelson (LEAVES OF GRASS, THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS, LINCOLN) about a wide range of topics. We had the pleasure of working with him on O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU?, and we had a wonderful time catching up with him. We learn all about his journey from Oklahoma to his first breaks as an actor, and we discuss the artistic and academic foundation that informs his choices as a filmmaker. James and Tim both studied the classics in college, and they compare their Latin and Greek syllabi and reflect on how they still draw from what they learned during their education. Picking the subject back up later in the episode, we also learn the truth behind the apocryphal myth as to whether anyone actually read Homer's Odyssey before shooting O BROTHER. Tim later reflects on his parallel career as a playwright, and we learn why he doesn’t direct his own plays as he muses on the different demands of conceptualizing a story for the stage versus one for the screen. Later, we discuss his career as a director, and Tim shares his increasingly difficult experiences funding his independent films. Towards the end, we discuss his recent role as the star of his son’s feature debut, ASLEEP IN MY PALM, and we ask Tim about his recent novel, CITY OF BLOWS, and learn how the story was inspired by Tim’s real experiences in Hollywood during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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This episode is sponsored by Aputure

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 107 - PETER JAMES - CINEMATOGRAPHER

On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, cinematographer Peter James (MAO’S LAST DANCER, BLACK ROBE, DRIVING MISS DAISY) joins us to talk about his career. Growing up in Sydney, Australia, Peter spent five years in his youth working at a small studio working on commercials and local television programs before finding his to working on features. Peter shares his process for overcoming his dyslexia to break down scripts, and at one point in the conversation, he even teaches us a new lighting trick. Peter later discusses how he and the crew battled the elements to shoot the colonial-era set BLACK ROBE on location in the Canadian wilderness. Towards the end, we conduct some forensics on Peter’s IMDb page, and we reflect on the power of the inverse-square law.

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Recommended Viewing: BLACK ROBE

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This episode is sponsored by Aputure

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 106 - TRISTAN OLIVER - CINEMATOGRAPHER

In this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with cinematographer Tristan Oliver (ISLE OF DOGS, PARANORMAN, CHICKEN RUN). Tristan generously shares his extensive knowledge of stop-motion animation with us, and we spend the majority of the episode learning the ins and outs of shooting 9-inch puppets in a warehouse. Tristan reveals how he (and up to 50+ active units) prepares the lights and cameras for scenes in such a way that doesn’t impede upon the work of the animators physically bringing the characters to life, and we discuss the effectiveness of applying the principles and practices of live-action cinematography into the world of animation. In addition to his work in stop-motion animation, Tristan has contributed to live-action projects such as POOR THINGS and the uniquely realized LOVING VINCENT, and he reflects on his experiences in both projects. In the back half of our conversation, Tristan shares how he really felt working with director Wes Anderson on FANTASTIC MR. FOX and ISLE OF DOGS, from learning how to work together on the former to engaging in a battle of wits over the feasibility of deep focus in the latter, and we learn in which films Tristan sees the most of himself. At the end, we close our conversation with an appreciation for the enduring quality of that which is handmade over that which is merely manufactured. 

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This episode is sponsored by Aputure

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 105 - Turning the Tables: “Our Partnership” - with Rick Carter

Production designer Rick Carter (Season 2, Episode 95) returns to the Team Deakins Podcast for a special episode in which Rick turns the tables, and his questions, towards us. The focus of his questioning? Our partnership as Team Deakins. Rick mines the origins of our relationship and helps illuminate why Team Deakins works as well as it does, and we discuss how, as storytellers, we collaborate with one another and our fellow crew members to help visualize a film. James shares how she leverages her addiction to solving problems as an asset for the crew, and Roger reflects on how his total trust in James enables him to be in two places at once. Rick later steers the conversation towards the intuitive aspects of filmmaking, and we discuss the importance of keeping one’s head straight during a shoot. Rick also expands the scope of our discussion to include the entire production, and we reflect on the magical energy of a crew working together in service of a clear vision as a unified creative unit. Towards the end, we also discuss the nature of the podcast as a means of communication, and we marvel at the fact that we’ve yet to actually meet Rick in person.

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This episode is sponsored by Aputure

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 104 - STEVE DUNN - ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Assistant director Steve Dunn (WALK THE LINE, A LITTLE PRINCESS, DANCES WITH WOLVES) joins us on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast to discuss his life and career in a candid conversation. Steve fell in love with film as a child living in Venezuela, and after returning to America, he ended up convincing his university professors to accept course-specific short films in place of term papers. After graduating from USC, Steve drove off to Atlanta and landed a two-week PA gig alongside the GUNSMOKE crew on a mercenary job during the classic show’s break in schedule. Steve later reveals how he made the transition from low-budget filmmaking in middle America to more mainstream filmmaking in Hollywood, and we learn how Steve leveraged his relationship with director Paul Schrader to break into assistant directing. Steve discusses how, as an assistant director, he keeps things moving at any cost, and he shares why he sometimes elects to designate himself as the lighting rod of blame on difficult shoots. We also discuss how Steve manages the different personalities on set, and he shares a number of episodes from his career in which he lost or narrowly avoided losing his job. Towards the end, we also learn how Steve came to finally work with director Robert Altman, one of his cinematic heroes.

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This episode is sponsored by Aputure