BELOW THE LINE PODCAST

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.

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.

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  

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.

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.

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.

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).

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

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.

Today I'm speaking with the legislative directors from IATSE, SAG-AFTRA, WGA-East and the DGA, who collectively represent their members at the national level through their participation in the Arts, Entertainment, and Media Industry Coordinating Committee (AEMI). We discuss their work to-date on behalf of creative professionals in response to the pandemic ... and what's still to come.