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...
info_outline DAN LEMMON - VFX SupervisorTeam Deakins
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...
info_outline JESSE JAMES Live Q&ATeam Deakins
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...
info_outline JON SANDERS & ANNA MOTTRAM - Writer/Director & Actor/WriterTeam 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_outlineSEASON 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 Naval Shipyard, Willie weathered years of rejection before gaining admittance into the sound union, becoming the first African-American in the local’s history, and finally began his long career in film and television. Throughout the episode, Willie remembers those who helped him advance in his career; among them fellow trailblazer Sidney Poitier, who gave Willie his first break sound mixing a feature on the Poitier-directed LET’S DO IT AGAIN. Willie later shares how he likes to prepare for a film, and we discuss some of the challenges Willie faced recording sound on OPPENHEIMER and TENET. Towards the end of our conversation, we ask Willie if he’s ready to hang it up, and we also learn about Willie’s involvement in a new educational program in Kansas City exposing young men and women to the world of filmmaking.
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This episode is sponsored by Aputure