Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1097515
18 DGA QUARTERLY FOCUS At Work With "I always want to be the guy in the room that asks the dumb questions because those are the things that fall through the cracks and could cause an issue—financial, creative, safety." — D A N A R O B I N , U P M O N V E N O M For a program that, under Jon Stewart and then Trevor Noah, has seen four U.S. presidents in office, The Daily Show stays as topical as possible. "There's so much material right now, the show can pretty much write itself," jokes associate director Susan Faith Locke-Shapiro. "I find myself sometimes giggling on headsets." A veteran New York AD, Locke-Shapiro brings her live TV experience to each taping. "When my script is marked and we're about to start the show, I know that I got this from start to finish." But the work of the AD doesn't end once cameras stop rolling. "I go right into our post-mortem meeting and we go over notes," says Locke-Shapiro. Cameras, lighting and stagehands are released, the director goes home and only a skeleton crew stays to polish the episode before it airs later that night. "Sometimes the joke doesn't get laughs, so we kill it" or "we're going to re- place this graphic," she explains. Locke-Shapiro then goes back into the con- trol room. "The editor will say on headsets, 'Sue, I'm sending you Act One,' and we'll lay it down on the reel." The bottom line is that she knows her work as an AD is essential to make it "the funniest, strongest show possible." "It's very satisfying just knowing the edits and fixes we do after is what makes air," says Locke-Shapiro. "It's tangible, it's timely and it's happening tonight." —BRANDON KYLE GOCO A Daily Polish After the Set Is Cleared Susan Faith Locke-Shapiro | Associate Director For UPM Dana Robin, the seemingly picayune details often matter the most. "Never think you're asking a stupid question," he says. "I always want to be the guy in the room that asks the dumb questions because those are the things that fall through the cracks and could cause an issue—financial, creative, safety." On a big-budget superhero film like Venom, which involved a major chase sequence filmed on location in San Francisco, Robin left no stone un- turned. "Deciding you want to flip four cars on a commercial street in a major city involves all sorts of planning and permissions, a thousand details," he explains. "We have to understand what the limita- tions are in terms of the neighborhood, what the po- lice are going to allow us to do, are there any weight load issues [with the street], what businesses are we affecting, are we able to close the street. And we did that on every location." "You really can't and never should do it by the seat of your pants," says Robin. "It's all really chal- lenging and time-consuming, and you've really got to stay focused." —BECCA NADLER On Venom, the Devil Is in the Details Dana Robin | UPM PHOTOS: (CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM LEFT) MATT ODOM; MARCIE REVENS; BRIAN DAVIS (2)