Team Deakins
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...
info_outline KEVIN BAILLIE - VFX SupervisorTeam Deakins
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...
info_outline TIM BLAKE NELSON - Actor / Writer / DirectorTeam Deakins
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...
info_outline PETER JAMES - CinematographerTeam Deakins
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...
info_outline TRISTAN OLIVER - CinematographerTeam Deakins
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...
info_outline TURNING THE TABLES - "Our Partnership"Team Deakins
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...
info_outline STEVE DUNN - Assistant DirectorTeam Deakins
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...
info_outline IVAN SEN - DirectorTeam Deakins
SEASON 2 - EPISODE 103 - IVAN SEN - DIRECTOR On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we’re speaking with director Ivan Sen (LIMBO, GOLDSTONE, MYSTERY ROAD). In addition to directing his films, Ivan is simultaneously responsible for the editing, cinematography, sound, and a myriad of departments typically delegated to others—his being a one man crew is a frequent point of discussion, and we learn how shooting on his own (or with relatively few collaborators) allows him to capture the emotional moments elusive to the circus of larger productions. We learn how Ivan’s childhood moving...
info_outline LUKASZ ZAL - CinematographerTeam Deakins
SEASON 2 - EPISODE 102 - LUKASZ ZAL - CINEMATOGRAPHER On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we’re speaking with cinematographer Lukasz Zal (THE ZONE OF INTEREST, COLD WAR, IDA). Born and raised in Poland, Lukasz yearned to express himself creatively in his youth, but it wasn't until he filmed a communion that he found his creativity was best practiced through cinematography. We also learn how Lukasz took over the role of cinematographer on IDA and how he and director (and fellow Pole) Pawel Pawlikowski worked together. He later reveals the humorous reason the camera finally moves at...
info_outline WILLIE BURTON - Production Sound MixerTeam Deakins
SEASON 2 - EPISODE 101 - WILLIE BURTON - PRODUCTION SOUND MIXER On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, production sound mixer Willie Burton (OPPENHEIMER, LOVE & BASKETBALL, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION) joins us to talk about his career and the world of audio. We learn how Willie’s love for all things audio began as a teenager in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and drove him to hitching a ride with a visiting minister out to California to pursue a higher education and deepen his knowledge in the field. After a string of odd-jobs and an engineering career in the sonar division of the Long Beach...
info_outlineSEASON 2 - EPISODE 99 - ALFONSO CUARÓN - WRITER / DIRECTOR
Writer and director Alfonso Cuarón (ROMA, CHILDREN OF MEN, Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN) joins us on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast to talk about his career and about filmmaking. Growing up in Mexico, Alfonso sought solace in the cinema, and he crewed and assisted on documentaries around the country throughout his youth, setting the foundation for his visual sensibilities by studying the photography of Ansel Adams and observing a DP manipulate natural light to shoot vegetables. After directing his first feature, Alfonso was brought to Hollywood by director Sydney Pollack to work on an episode of the anthology series FALLEN ANGELS, and Alfonso recalls for us his encouraging conversation with actor Alan Rickman that helped him overcome the petrifying pressure of shooting within the Hollywood machine. Alfonso later shares how director Guillermo del Toro convinced him to helm the third HARRY POTTER film, and he reveals which elements of the franchise he pushed to evolve and change. Alfonso also reflects on his relationship with visual effects, and we discuss why prep and bringing one’s collaborators into one’s process brings out the best in any film. Towards the end, Alfonso reflects on his experiences working on his upcoming limited series and shares his fear that television, not cinema, is the one conquering the other; however, despite this fear, we discuss the past, present, and potential future of filmmaking through an optimistic lens.
-
This episode is sponsored by Aputure