SEASON 2 - EPISODE 87 - STEFAN DECHANT - PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Production designer Stefan Dechant (REBEL MOON, THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH, WELCOME TO MARWEN) joins us on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast. We worked with Stefan on TRUE GRIT and JARHEAD, and it was great catching up with him. Like many other young boys of the 70s, Stefan became enchanted with STAR WARS, and (while attending school in Cincinnati, Ohio) lied his way to a gig working on JURASSIC PARK. His first love was storyboards, but he soon found his design and illustration skills best suited a career in art direction and production design. Stefan shares how his time drafting storyboards informs his approach to production design, and we also discuss the integration of emerging technologies in filmmaking today and tomorrow. We also hear about Stefan’s experience working with director Joel Coen and cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel on THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH and learn how they carved the film’s expressionistic and abstract sets out of light.

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Recommended Viewing: THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH

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This episode is sponsored by Godox

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 86 - DIANNA FREAS - SET DECORATOR

On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we’re joined by set decorator Dianna Freas (FOR ALL MANKIND, LONE STAR, THUNDERHEART). Studying illustration and fine arts at Syracuse and Parsons, she later attended NYU and found her skills well suited to set design. After an early career period working as a co-production designer alongside husband and production designer Dan Bishop, Dianna transitioned to set decoration full time. Throughout the episode, Dianna defines some of the myriad of roles within the art and set decoration departments. What are lead men? How does she work with a buyer? What does the set decoration coordinator typically oversee? Who keeps the books? Who's responsible for that lamp? The demarcations are many, the responsibilities are numerous, and Dianna maps it all out for us with clarity. We later extoll the virtue of flexibility, and Dianna gives advice to anyone looking to break into the art department.

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This episode is sponsored by Godox & the Dallas Film Commission

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 85 - HANS ZIMMER - COMPOSER

Composer Hans Zimmer (DUNE, INTERSTELLAR, THE LION KING) joins us on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast. Hans takes us back to his early career working the espresso machine for composer Stanley Myers and later making runs for director Bernardo Bertolucci on THE LAST EMPEROR before reflecting on his experience composing the score for the South Africa-set, anti-apartheid film A WORLD APART. We later discuss the purpose of score in a film and how Hans works to create an environment in which a director’s story can unfold, as does a cinematographer. We learn what Hans is really doing when he’s procrastinating, and we weigh the value of being original and being good. We also trade notes on working with director Denis Villeneuve, and Hans reveals his deeply personal connection to the score and story of THE LION KING. Towards the end, Hans opines that the Hollywood sound is really made in London, and he revels in the joy of conducting an orchestra that has played everything until he brings his original score to their stands.

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This episode is sponsored by the Dallas Film Commission & Godox

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 84 - WIM WENDERS - WRITER / DIRECTOR

Writer and director Wim Wenders (PERFECT DAYS; WINGS OF DESIRE; PARIS, TEXAS) joins us on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast. Early on in the conversation, Wim recounts waiting in the toilet stalls as a student in Paris and watching over 1000 movies in a year before realizing working in film was his way forward. Wim walks us through his first three features, including a disastrous visit to the Venice Film Festival, and reveals how those experiences led to the genesis of his first road movie: ALICE IN THE CITIES. After a winding trip through the American West, Wim was wooed by colour photography and reveals how he and late, great Sam Shepard willed PARIS, TEXAS into existence. Wim later reflects on wrestling with expectations on its followup, WINGS OF DESIRE, and the welcoming invitation to study toilets in Japan that led to the wonderful PERFECT DAYS, which he likens to a documentary about a fictional character. We also learn which of Wim’s many films is his favourite, and we venture a guess at the future of filmmaking and filmgoing.

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This episode is sponsored by Godox & the Dallas Film Commission

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 83 - PAUL SCHNEIDER - ACTOR

On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with actor Paul Schneider (BRIGHT STAR, THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES, GEORGE WASHINGTON). Growing up in a small town in North Carolina, Paul shares how working in film and television never crossed his mind until a pivotal viewing of Jane Campion’s THE PIANO. Attending film school following the encouragement and support of a high school teacher, Paul studied editing but found himself frequently cast in his friends’ short films, culminating in a performance in GEORGE WASHINGTON, shot entirely by his film school friends. Paul later shares how, to prepare for a role in Jane Campion’s BRIGHT STAR, he practiced his Scottish accent by studying a copy of TRAINSPOTTING. We later discuss the importance of a director having a clear vision for a film and loving a collaborative director who includes their crew and cast in their creative decision making process. Paul also reveals the secret character trait that informed his character in JESSE JAMES, and we discuss the emotional mathematics of the collaboration found in filmmaking that result in a film’s final cut.

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This episode is sponsored by the Dallas Film Commission & Godox

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 82 - GARRETT BROWN - INVENTOR OF THE STEADICAM

On this special episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with the inventor of the Steadicam: Garrett Brown (YENTL, THE SHINING, BOUND FOR GLORY). He not only invented the tool but also frequently operated it, breaking the new system in on MARATHON MAN, ROCKY, and BOUND FOR GLORY in a single summer in the mid-1970s. With just a high-school level of understanding of physics, Garrett was able (after a long, isolated week in a remote hotel) to think through the fundamental design of the Steadicam which is still used today—50 years after its invention. We learn about the biomechanics of the human body that informed the design of the Steadicam and of the four key aspects of the device that isolate the camera from its operator. Garrett later recounts the day he first used the prototype on BOUND FOR GLORY (its first ever use in a feature film no less!) and how the late cinematographer Haskell Wexler fought for its inclusion. Garrett also shares how Stanley Kubrick utilized the unique properties of the Steadicam while filming THE SHINING to move the camera “like a ghost” through the empty halls of the Overlook Hotel and chase the indefatigable child actor Daniel Lloyd across miles of carpet. Few people can claim to have changed the way we make movies, and Garrett is one of them.

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This episode is sponsored by the Dallas Film Commission

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 81 - RICK HEINRICHS - PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Production designer Rick Heinrichs (GLASS ONION, STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI, SLEEPY HOLLOW) joins us in conversation on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast. From doodling on his homework to drafting the fantastical worlds of Tim Burton, we cover the breadth of Rick’s career in this conversation. Rick shares with us his experience studying at CalArts and learning how to think creatively from filmmakers like Alexander McKendrick and others of his caliber. Rick later reflects on his time as a starting animator at Disney and his early work in the art department before making the full transition to working as a production designer. We reminisce about our time together working on FARGO and THE BIG LEBOWSKI, and Rick shares what it was like to initially work with the Coen brothers and bring the visions in their heads into reality. During our discussion of THE LAST JEDI, Rick shares what went into creating the relatively realistic feeling prevalent throughout the film and how everyone bought into Rian Johnson’s direction for its look. We also consider the importance of tone and the paramountcy of character under which we all ultimately labour. 

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This episode is sponsored by the Dallas Film Commission

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 80 - JUAN JOSÉ CAMPANELLA - WRITER / DIRECTOR

On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, writer and director Juan José Campanella (THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES, VIENTOS DE AGUA, SON OF THE BRIDE) joins us for a conversation about his career (of which we have been longtime and passionate fans). After moonlighting as a film student and watching odd-paired double bills at local theaters in Buenos Aires, Juan attended film school at NYU and eventually returned to Argentina after 10 years to continue his career. We learn how Juan and his team pulled off the stadium scene in THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES and why he conceived of the single-shot aesthetic for that particular moment in the film. Juan later shares how his longtime creative partnership with actor Ricardo Darín has developed over the years and what Juan saw in a performance of Ricardo’s that made him believe he was a formidable actor. Juan also shares his approach to rehearsals and how he’s helped actors justify lines that, initially, they have difficulty delivering. Towards the end, Juan reflects on the differences between television and film, the response towards a film based on its distribution strategy, and the changing tastes of audiences.

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Recommended Viewing: THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES

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This episode is sponsored by the Dallas Film Commission

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 79 - DAN BISHOP - PRODUCTION DESIGNER

On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with production designer Dan Bishop (FOR ALL MANKIND, MAD MEN, PASSION FISH). From painting scenery on MY DINNER WITH ANDRE to designing the future on FOR ALL MANKIND, Dan has seen it all. We learn how he drew from history to design the world of MAD MEN, and he reveals when and how the series transitioned from film to digital. Later, Dan, after pointing out the tools of his trade were no different from Da Vinci’s for most of his career, reviews the relatively recent advances in computer software and hardware that enable him and his department to quickly and digitally construct and present design ideas. We later reflect on the quest to find the elusive “perfect location” and the varying levels of location scouts’ photography skills. We also discuss the alchemy that takes place when combining light, fabrics, and colours in a physical space and the benefits and drawbacks of working on set versus on location.

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This episode is sponsored by the Dallas Film Commission

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 78 - PABLO HELMAN - VFX SUPERVISOR

Visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman (KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, THE IRISHMAN, JARHEAD) joins us on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast. Born in Argentina, Pablo spent his youth playing music professionally and touring South America with his band before graduating from UCLA and working for several effects houses before ultimately ending up at Industrial Light & Magic where, for the past 27 years, Pablo has hung his hat. Throughout the episode, Pablo shares how he approaches implementing VFX into a film and how he works with directors and the various heads of departments during production to ensure the effects serve the story being told. Pablo also reveals how the de-aging technology used in THE IRISHMAN was developed, how it actually works, and why its development was led with the intent to preserve an actor’s performance. Later, Pablo shares several stories from working on KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, from scanning and reproducing a miniature oil derrick to wrangling digital cows. Towards the end, we consider how VFX is just another tool to use to create the reality of a film and discuss why you ultimately can’t escape from what you shoot.

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This episode is sponsored by the Dallas Film Commission & Aputure

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 77 - PENNY ROSE - COSTUME DESIGNER

Costume designer Penny Rose (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, THE COMMITMENTS) joins us on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast. Despite dressing actors at a local theatre (as a teenager) and later working alongside fashion designer Elio Fiorucci (as an interpreter), costume design didn’t occur to Penny as a career path until she found herself in the position (as the last-minute backup) on a commercial for director Adrian Lyne. Penny spent the next decade working with and learning from the preeminent English commercial directors of the time, following them into features and further developing her abilities as a costume designer. Penny later breaks down the costume department for us, and we discuss what qualities she looks for in her team members. We also learn how she builds out the look of a character with the director and the actor and of the diplomacy she exercises between the two when a disagreement arises. Towards the end, we reflect on the demands and pleasures of the vagabond lifestyle of a filmmaker.

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This episode is sponsored by Aputure & the Dallas Film Commission