BELOW THE LINE PODCAST

Season 7 - Ep 10 - Oscars - Visual Effects

As we continue our coverage of the Oscar nominees in the technical categories, I’m joined once again by Industry veteran Kent Seki. Today, we’re talking about the films recognized by the Academy for Visual Effects. 

Season 7 - Ep 9 - Oscars - Production Design

Week Two of our Academy Awards coverage starts now. Today, I'm joined by Production Designer Sam Lisenco, Set Decorator Regina Graves and Lead Man Kerry Weeks to review the Oscar nominees for Production Design.

Season 7 - Ep 8 - Oscars - Animated Feature

Today wraps up our first week of Academy Awards coverage, and I’m joined by Kent Seki (visual effects) for a discussion of the Oscar nominees for Animated Feature.

Season 7 - Ep 7 - Oscars - Costume Design

Our discussion of Academy Award nominees in the technical categories continues! This episode, I'm joined by two costume designers, Allison Choi Braun and Katie Irish, to discuss this year’s Oscar finalists for — you guessed it — Costume Design.

Season 7 - Ep 6 - Oscars - Sound

For the next three weeks, we're talking about the Academy Awards! Each episode, I'll be hosting subject-matter experts to discuss the nominees in the technical category of their expertise. Today, I'm joined by Steve Morrow (sound mixer) and Don Sylvester (sound editor) to discuss this year's Oscar nominees for Sound.

Season 7 - Ep 5 - DGA Awards - First-Time Features

The Directors Guild of America maintains a separate category for First-Time Feature Film, which often gives smaller films a chance at recognition. Today, I’m joined again by Katie Carroll, Bill Hardy and Shaun O’Banion to discuss these nominees from a below-the-line perspective.

Season 7 - Ep 4 - DGA Awards - Theatrical Feature Films

Welcome back for our second year of Awards Season coverage! This episode, Katie Carroll, Bill Hardy and Shaun O’Banion return to the show to discuss the Directors Guild of America nominations for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in the category of Theatrical Feature Film.

Season 7 - Ep 3 - COVID-19 - Props in the Pandemic

When Hollywood resumed work last year, the handling of props quickly emerged as a focal point of concern for cast and crew alike. Gregg Bilson, Jr. (CEO of prop house ISS) and Scott Buckwald (property master) return to the show to discuss how property departments and their suppliers have contributed to a safe and efficient set.

Season 7 - Ep 2 - COVID-19 - Managing the Set

Filming safely and efficiently during the pandemic is a serious challenge. My guests today are a trio of assistant directors — Emily Hogan, Chris Della Penna and Vince Duque — who return to discuss their experiences on set and share what insights they've gained over the last nine months.

Season 7 - Ep 1 - COVID-19 - State of the Industry

For the launch of Season 7, I've reconvened some familiar voices to discuss how film production has not only adapted to the pandemic but appears to be booming. Join Katie Carroll (assistant director), Allison Choi Braun (costumer), Dan Fisher (property master), and Dave Tuttman (cinematographer) to hear about their latest projects, and what it portends for the Industry going forward.

Season 6 - Ep 10 - Combat Camera at Vandenberg AFB

Happy Veterans Day! Today, I'm joined by military photographers and videographers I served with nearly 25 years ago at the 30th Communications Squadron (Vandenberg AFB, CA). My guests - Jim Stayton, Bruce Dzitko, Fred Johnson and Al Pedroza - share stories from our days in uniform and how those experiences still resonate with us today.

Season 6 - Ep 9 - COVID-19 - Non-Union Production

My guests today — Johanna Vanderspool, Caitlin Alba and Claire Truman — represent the NonFiction “Union”, an advocacy coalition of non-fiction freelancers. We talk about the growth of reality television over the last two decades and how this segment of the Industry is responding to the pandemic.

Season 6 - Ep 8 - The Forty-Year-Old Version

My guest today is Eric Branco, Cinematographer for The Forty-Year-Old Version, the 2020 Sundance winner that is now airing on Netflix. We discuss what it was like to collaborate with Radha Blank (who wrote, directed and stars in the film) and the practical challenges of capturing a vision in black and white.

Season 6 - Ep 7 - COVID-19 - Protocols for Filming

Season 6 resumes with a discussion of the protocols adopted by the Film Industry to protect the health and safety of cast and crew during the pandemic. That's been the focus of my personal efforts over the last three months, and my guests today -- Jill Maxcy and Greg Kaston Smalley -- are also working in this space.

Season 6 - Ep 6 - COVID-19 - Central Casting

My guests today -- Jen Bender (Executive) and Claire Benjamin (Casting Director) -- are from Central Casting, the largest employer of background actors in the Industry. We discuss how background casting worked before COVID-19 and how the process is changing in response to the pandemic.

Season 6 - Ep 5 - Ozark

This episode, we’re talking about Ozark, the Netflix streaming series starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney, which recently released its third season. In a change of pace, I’m joined by two of the producers who have been with the show since the beginning: Patrick Markey (Executive Producer) and Matt Spiegel (Line Producer/Unit Production Manager). We look behind the scenes at the Atlanta-based show, and discuss the challenge of filming Season 4 in a COVID-19 world.

Season 6 - Ep 4 - Party of Five

Today we're discussing the television drama Party of Five, which ran for six seasons on Fox (1994-2000). It was my first assignment as a DGA (Directors Guild of America) Trainee, and I'm joined by two of the assistant directors with whom I worked: Chris Della Penna (1st Assistant Director) and Vince Duque (2nd Assistant Director). It's a fun look back at the long-running series, and we have an interesting discussion about how film production has changed over the last 20 years.

Season 6 - Ep 3 - COVID-19 - Filming During Quarantine

My guests today -- Jason Melius (All Rise, 2nd Assistant Director), Mike Caron (Danger Force, Director) and Emily Hogan (Mythic Quest, 1st Assistant Director) -- all work on shows that produced new episodes under quarantine conditions. Each production took a different approach, and we compare notes on what it took to make these episodes happen.

Season 6 - Ep 2 - The Thing, Part II

This is the second of two episodes discussing John Carpenter's The Thing, and I'm once again joined by Dean Cundey (Director of Photography), Ken Diaz (Special Makeup Effects Coordinator), Dave Kelsey (Mechanical Animation Coordinator), and Bruce Humphrey (DGA Trainee).

Dean also shared a video demonstrating how closely the filming of the movie aligned with Mike Ploog’s original storyboards, which you can watch on our YouTube channel:  https://youtu.be/Pve-hRIJGWc

 

Season 6 - Ep 1 - The Thing, Part I

This is the first of two episodes discussing John Carpenter's The Thing, the 1982 sci-fi/horror classic starring Kurt Russell. I'm joined by crew from the film: Dean Cundey (Director of Photography), Ken Diaz (Special Makeup Effects Coordinator), Dave Kelsey (Mechanical Animation Coordinator), and Bruce Humphrey (DGA Trainee). Welcome to Season 6 of Below the Line.

Season 5 - Ep 12 - COVID-19 - Sheltering in Place

This is the final episode of Season 5, and we're checking in with crew members from the season's first episode for status updates. Join Katie Carroll (assistant director), Allison Choi Braun (costumer), Dan Fisher (property master), and Dave Tuttman (cinematographer) for a discussion about how film production in both NYC and LA is responding to the ongoing pandemic.

Season 5 - Ep 11 - COVID-19 - Teamster Strong

My guests today represent the motion picture craft locals of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters: Tommy O'Donnell (Local 817 - NYC), Steve Dayan (Local 399 - Hollywood) and Lorrie Ward (Local 155 - Vancouver). We discuss how the pandemic is impacting their members, resources for those in need, and the strategy for getting back to work.

Season 5 - Ep 10 - COVID-19 - Danger Force

Earlier this month, Danger Force (the superhero tv show in its first season on Nickelodeon), produced and aired a special quarantine episode, and my guests today explain how it came together: Jimmy Brooks (line producer), Mike Caron (director), and Robyn Willey-Pratt (first assistant director).

Season 5 - Ep 9 - Props - ISS

Our series focused on the property department concludes today with a pre-pandemic visit to Independent Studio Services (a prop house headquartered in Sunland, CA, with offices worldwide) for a conversation with Gregg Bilson, Jr. (CEO of ISS) and Scott Buckwald (property master, ISS customer, and longtime podcast contributor).

If you'd like to listen to this episode while looking at pictures from our tour, visit our YouTube channel for an edited slideshow = https://youtu.be/5v34PMDnHLI

Season 5 - Ep 8 - Props - Avengers: Endgame

My guest today is assistant property master Travis Bobbitt, whose work on 2019's Avengers: Endgame was the culmination of a journey he started a decade ago on 2010's Iron Man.