Team Deakins

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 44 - PAUL MESCAL - ACTOR

Team Deakins sits down with actor Paul Mescal (AFTERSUN, NORMAL PEOPLE, GOD'S CREATURES) on this episode of the podcast. During our thoughtful conversation, Paul reveals the advice he received from actor Emily Watson and from his Gaelic football coach that he applies to his craft every day. We also discuss his work on AFTERSUN, and Paul heaps praise on the script and the direction of the film which attracted him to the project. We later discuss the pros and cons of shooting in and out of continuity, and we commiserate over the unproductiveness of scheduling scenes without considering their dramatic functions within the overall piece.

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Recommended Viewing: GOD'S CREATURES

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This episode is sponsored by TrueCut Motion & Falca

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 43 - MATT REEVES - DIRECTOR

Team Deakins sits down with director Matt Reeves (THE BATMAN, CLOVERFIELD, WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES) for a fascinating discussion. Matt indulges our appreciation for the craft behind THE BATMAN and shares how he and his collaborators envisioned Gotham and Batman as a city and as a person that could exist within our own world. We discuss how Matt's use of visual effects has evolved and the importance of references to maintain a level of reality in fully computer-generated shots. Throughout the episode, Matt reflects on how he spent much of his career learning how to have a career and how every new project is like enrolling in film school all over again.

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Recommended Viewing: CLOVERFIELD

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This episode is sponsored by Falca & TrueCut Motion

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 42 - DAVE CHAMEIDES - CAMERA AND STEADICAM OPERATOR

Today, Team Deakins is joined by camera and steadicam operator Dave Chameides (SNOWFALL, THE WEST WING, ER) on the latest episode of the podcast. During our conversation, we discuss the effectiveness of the cinematography in 1917 and Dave's contribution to the creation of the final shot in ST. VINCENT. We also consider the responsibility an operator has towards the actors in front of the lens and the role of camera operation in storytelling. Towards the end, Dave also shares advice for anyone interested in steadicam operation as a possible career path.

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This episode is sponsored by TrueCut Motion & Falca

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 41 - JOHN DE BORMAN - CINEMATOGRAPHER

Team Deakins is happy to share our conversation with cinematographer John de Borman (AN EDUCATION, THE FULL MONTY, THE MIGHTY) on this episode of the podcast. We discuss working with different types of directors and battling the increasingly complex logistics of modern filmmaking and the ballooning number of crew sizes on projects. We also share our experiences working with actors of varying dispositions and the puzzles that arise during production to bring out their best performances. Finally, John offers advice for future cinematographers and highlights a skill he developed that elevated and enriched his work.

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This episode is sponsored by Falca & TrueCut Motion

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 40 - HELEN KEARNS - EDITOR

Team Deakins is happy to host editor Helen Kearns (GOOD NIGHT OPPY, THE KEEPERS, ASSASSINS) on this episode of the podcast. Helen reveals how earlier studio involvement in financing and distribution has affected documentary filmmaking, both in helpful and disruptive terms. We discuss the challenges (and comforts) of editing GOOD NIGHT OPPY during the pandemic and the finding the balance between telling a story and being honest when editing documentaries.

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This episode is sponsored by TrueCut Motion & Falca

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 39 - RUTH E. CARTER - COSTUME DESIGNER

Wake up! Today's Team Deakins Podcast forecast: costume designer Ruth E. Carter (MALCOLM X, BLACK PANTHER, LOVE & BASKETBALL). In an insightful conversation, Ruth shares how she integrated 3D printing into the design and production of costumes for BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER and how she collaborates with the visual effects department to augment her designs. Ruth also reveals how she intuits a director's potential reaction to costume ideas based on how they themselves dress. Finally, we clarify what are and are not a costume designer's responsibilities, and Ruth advocates for the increased participation of the costume designer in pre-production and post-production.

You won't regret listening to this episode, "and that's the double truth, Ruth!"

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This episode is sponsored by TrueCut Motion

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 38 - PATRICK TRESCH - CINEMATOGRAPHER

Team Deakins is happy to have cinematographer Patrick Tresch (MY ENGLISH COUSIN, DIRTY GOLD WAR, MOTHER LODE) on today's new episode of the podcast. We discuss gaining a documentary subject's trust in the early stages of a project and the difficulties of filming someone who intellectually agrees to be filmed but subconsciously resists. Patrick also shares the insight he gained into how people relate with their environment after filming the indigenous peoples of the Amazon, and he reveals what it took to make his mother finally understand what it is exactly he's doing.

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This episode is sponsored by TrueCut Motion

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 37 - PETER SARSGAARD - ACTOR

Team Deakins is happy to host actor Peter Sarsgaard (THE BATMAN, BOYS DON'T CRY, JARHEAD) on today's new episode of the podcast. Peter shares the types of projects he prefers to work on and the different forms of direction he finds effective. We learn how he became involved in THE BATMAN, and he recounts the grueling six-day-long shoot he survived to capture his pivotal scene in the film. We were so happy to speak with Peter, and we hope you enjoy what he has to say!

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This episode is sponsored by TrueCut Motion

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 36 - STUART WILSON - SOUND MIXER - THE BATMAN

Team Deakins is glad to welcome back sound mixer Stuart Wilson (THE BATMAN, THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, SPECTRE) to discuss his wonderful work on THE BATMAN. Stuart shares how his team used the film's costumes to their advantage when miking the actors, and we learn how they utilized Catwoman's wigs to hide mics when the catsuit often offered no other options. We also learn how Stuart juggled a myriad of mixes simultaneously to facilitate communication between the actors and the director between and during takes. We hope you enjoy the episode!

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This episode is sponsored by TrueCut Motion

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 35 - RUSSELL CARPENTER - CINEMATOGRAPHER

Team Deakins speaks with cinematographer Russell Carpenter (TITANIC, TRUE LIES, AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER) on this episode of the podcast. We dive headfirst into Russell's professional relationship with director James Cameron, beginning with a chance encounter at a local TV station that led to Russell working on some of the biggest movies in history. Russell also shares his appreciation for the technical challenges of working on Cameron's films and describes the sink-or-swim nature of filming TITANIC. We later discuss being submerged in anxiety when starting out and mustering the courage and discipline to put yourself out there. We also touch on developing a 'cinematic immunity' during production that instills the supernatural confidence needed to shoot a film. Wading through the years-long process of shooting AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER, Russell describes the unique environment Cameron created to realize the film. Additionally, we compare working on smaller, less effects-heavy projects with the contrary and discuss the joys of knowing what you got on the day and the immediacy of that type of filmmaking.

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This episode is sponsored by TrueCut Motion