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DGA QUARTERLY 73 PHOTO: NBC Some are confident and it shows in their faces." Juggling those action shots with backstories is crucial. "It's like doing the Kentucky Derby," McManus says. "You have an owner, you have a trainer, a jockey, horse, a bettor. When a horse comes across that line, there's a connection, a history behind that horse. So here we build those same connections." S THE NINJAS GET READY to tackle the ob- stacle course, McManus takes his place inside the trailer, watching the wall of monitors in the cramped space filled with about a dozen people. On the screen is a guy dressed '70s style, com- plete with a mullet and calling himself Chad Flex- ington. As he gets ready for the course, McManus is keen to capture him and his kids, all looking like mini-mulleted Flexingtons. McManus takes command: "Show him getting the crowd jacked up." "Can you dissolve?" "Seven, are you getting this?" "Keep 'em jacked up Massey!" "Now that's cute, the kid and the whole family." "Pan to four." "Wait for me." "On the 12 spot. What kind of shoes are those? Focus on the shoes." There's a lot of interaction between McManus and executive pro- ducer Anthony Storm, who generally sits next to him in the trailer while McManus traffic-cops the various screen shots. Storm feeds McManus the competitors' backstories and offers up info on their athletic abilities. If that ninja is faster than most, he'll be at the obstacle in 13 sec- onds—and that changes the coverage. "You can't possibly run with a camera that fast, so you skip one spot and go to the next," McManus says. "One guy had cancer last year; now his knee doesn't bend. You show that struggle. Before each run, we find out the story and play that up." Some get a package treatment prior to the actual completion, but most of what appears on air occurs in real time as McManus and his crew capture the quick live moments that cannot be recreated in a retake. "I see certain things during the event or the camera people see something and they let me know so we can get those," McManus says. "I always listen to my camera people, and if they see something great and take that shot, we'll use it. We'll put it in the line cut so the hosts can react to it and bring deeper meaning than just focusing on the com- pletion of the course." The director, who was nominated for both DGA and Emmy Awards in 2018, emphasizes that he relies on everyone out on the course to be his eyes and ears. "We are in the control room and you only see what's in the glass," McManus says. "I tell my camera people to take your face out of the viewfinder and see the whole world open up. If you see something, shoot it." McManus says it all comes down to having faith in your crew and your ability to take everything in stride. "The first time you walk into a TV truck, there are a lot of cameras and everything is going everywhere, so I have to find the visual sequence so the viewer doesn't get all twisted up," McManus says. "It's all about timing. Once you slow the game down, it all comes together." ® A The colorful, highly difficult obstacle course on American Ninja Warrior requires contestants to be in elite- athlete shape.