My interview with Greg Yaitanes
I’m reposting this here although it is not really new.
I did this interview with Greg Yaitanes (Executive Producer and director of House seasons 6 & 7) in Nov. 2009.
We “met” on Twitter where I’d posted a comment to him about “Known Unknowns” and what it inspired me artistically. That’s how he offered me the opportunity to ask him more questions of my choice, if I wanted to.
And did I?
Duh!
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@maya295_ :Two shot plan gives stillness, alternate one shot plans give movement. can you give creative reasons to opt for one rather than the other?
@GregYaitanes : completely what the scene and script calls for. i can't fully explain what determines what, it's a just a gut reaction to how i see a scene.
: Close-ups undeniably enhance the emotion that's displayed. Which specific emotion do you personally prefer to film with this technique?
: i love not wasting close ups using them for impact and intimacy.
: does it often happen that, while filming, you catch by chance a blessed moment of acting that was not written in the script but adds so much depth and beauty to the whole scene that you simply can't erase it? (and I don't mean improvisation on dialogues, but more like a move, a gaze, a facial expression... something that the actor wouldn't have discussed with you before, but which just came out in the "heat of the moment") would you mind sharing the memory of one of those stunning moments you remember?
: always.
i find Hugh does things that are subtle and so perfect sometimes that i often miss when i am watching the performance on the day. tiny expressions that tell volumes. i am really in awe of it.
i would have to say the depth of the reaction house had on the season finale BSN took my breathe away. when we revealed the lipstick to be the pills. devastated me.
: speaking about the balance between spontaneity and directing, how do you work with the actors? How far do your directing indications go? What do they include? (despite of course the basics where to stand, where to go if a movement is planned and where to stop...) do you tell the actors general indications about the "tone" they should use for their lines while on set, or it is something that's been automatically discussed before, during the reading sessions?
: i work by tweaking. i give the actors a wide road and just help keep them on it by bumping the sides a bit. our cast is so talented that i have to do very little. when we stage a scene i usually let the actors go where they want first. if that works i leave it or make small adjustments. Hugh always has ideas of where and what he is doing. he is like my co-director. making all his scenes stronger with creative ideas that go beyond anything else in tv.
: as a director, what is your relation to the camera as an object? Do you like to hold it yourself, see through its "eye" during a scene, or do you prefer to direct from a standing (or sitting) position beside it? Which also leads me to ask you, what is the best way to do a tracking: with a steady cam or a dolly? Which technique do you prefer and why?
: i 100% let the script speak to me. house is a great show that every episode is just different enough that each director can make his own movie. all my eps look different because the script called for different approaches. i'm past the point of making cool shots for the sake of making them. i want everything to support the storytelling. stedi cam and dollys are tools. my preference is toward what tool is right for the job.
: when you read a script for an episode you are going to direct, how much of your own artistic vision can you bring into the whole frame when it comes to thinking about how you'll put writing into images? I mean, what is already suggested (and sort of "ties" you), and what is only pure creative freedom? For example, how much of the final visual result of the bus crash scene in House's head did you imagine? because that was a hell of a powerful amazing scene. did the script said like "bus crash" and then you did all the rest or were there many details already written?
: i bring to and encourage every director to make his or her movie with our show. every writer has a different style so i want for every director to enhance those differences. it would pain me if every one of our shows looked the same. with the bus crash we wanted to show it all from the inside. more of the story beats where scripted but then i took it to the next level with the flip and specific visuals. moments like the bag falling away, the cane falling away, them trying to reach our for each other, house hitting his head... scripted. the details of achieving that rested on myself and the team.
: and finally, do you have any particular scene in the history of cinema or TV about which you can say: I remember that, when I first saw THAT scene, I said to myself: I want to do that for a living!
: star wars is why i make movies.
thank you for reading!