IndieWire's Filmmaker Toolkit
Chris O'Falt
Interviews with leading film and TV creators about their process and craft. From screenwriting to film language to cinematography, we'll be examining the innovative ways today's best filmmakers are getting their visions out into the world.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 27, 2022 • 28min
"The Beatles: Get Back" Director Peter Jackson & Editor Jabez Olssen
On this episode of the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast, we speak with Peter Jackson and his longtime collaborator, editor Jabez Olssen about their work distilling hundreds of hours of audio, dozens of hours of video, and 40 years of mythology about the Beatles' Get Back sessions into a documentary that tries, going day by day, to lay out the experience of the sessions that led to the Beatles' last live performance. Jackson and Olssen discuss what putting visuals to familiar audio changed, how they found ways around seemingly inaudible or unusable material, and why they set out to make a documentary that wasn't a Beatles break up story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 19, 2022 • 34min
"Reservation Dogs" Showrunner Sterlin Harjo
On this episode of the Filmmaker’s Toolkit podcast, showrunner Sterlin Harjo talks about why he could only make (this version) of "Reservation Dogs" in his native Oklahoma, and what opportunities open up to a series when rooting it in a specific place that TV hasn't really seen before – and certainly not from a Native perspective. That, plus the steps in teaching an audience how to laugh at survival humor, the benefits of taking an epic approach to outwardly small stories, the trouble with manufacturing hail, and why the show's mythological elements live very matter-of-factly alongside its teen comedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 22, 2022 • 31min
"After Yang" Director Kogonada
Kogonada discusses the cinematic components of "After Yang" from how memory relates to the processof filmmaking to the importance of a science fiction story with domestic stakes. All of that, plus: the importance of spaces that can tell their own stories, the differences between film and short story, how the quality of light impacts the film, and a little bit of love for Robert Bresson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apr 8, 2022 • 34min
"Pachinko" Creator Soo Hugh
Creator and executive producer Soo Hugh discusses how she tackled the globe and time-spanning 'Pachinko' by thinking about was the show wasn't and then discovering what the show was.All of that, plus: challenges of creating characterization in translation, the different visual styles of the show, and what a historical epic that isn't fetishizing period can look like.Slightly spoiler-y conversation about Episode 7 from 19:30 - 21:27. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 25, 2022 • 41min
Cinematographer Greig Fraser on "Dune"
For a surprise bonus episode of Filmmaker's Toolkit, we have a conversation with 'Dune' cinematographer Greig Fraser. He gets into how he and director Denis Villeneuve achieved the correct sense of scale, the power of simplifying the frame, the film's concentrated, strategic bursts of color, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mar 6, 2022 • 37min
"The Batman": Director Matt Reeves
Matt Reeves dives into his desire for greater subjectivity in a Batman story, influences from "The Wrong Man" to "The Long Halloween," the compulsive physicality of Robert Pattinson's performance, and how he found the light (and the dark) in Gotham. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 28, 2022 • 26min
The Sound of "The Matrix"
Go inside the Matrix with long-time Wachowski collaborators supervising sound editors Dane Davis and Stephanie Flack as we listen to examples from ‘Matrix Resurrections’ and hear how the franchise has sonically evolved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 25, 2022 • 40min
'C'mon C'mon': Writer-Director Mike Mills
Mike Mills discusses the philosophy, iconic imagery, and blend of documentary and narrative that come together to give "C'mon C'mon" its richness and soul. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 21, 2022 • 35min
'The Lost Daughter' Dir Maggie Gyllenhaal & Editor Affonso Gonçalves
Director Maggie Gyllenhaal and editor Affonso Gonçalves discuss their creative partnership and how they pushed both image and sound on "The Lost Daughter." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jan 14, 2022 • 27min
'Licorice Pizza': The Sound + Vision of Paul Thomas Anderson
A look at PTA's creative process, the unique way he approaches filmmaking, and his new film with long-time collaborators:
[1:20]: Co-cinematographer Michael Bauman
[11:40]: Supervising Sound Editors / re-recording mixers Christopher Scarabosio & David Acord
[18:39]: Costume Designer Mark Bridges
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices


