CineMontage

Q3 2020

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53 F A L L Q 3 I S S U E "Succession" CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39 "Mirror" CONTINUED FROM PAGE 37 to that. Last season when Issa was still working with "We Got Y'all," they took the kids to the beach. We had many shots of the waves crashing and there was music in the background, so you want to capture the sounds of the waves that are distinct enough to cut through the music. Cars are one of the more challenging ones because you want to make it feel real. H u b b a r d : I n S e a s o n 3 ' s " O b - s e s s e d - L i k e" e p i s o d e w h e re I s s a i s essentially Instagram-stalking Nathan – that's where I kind of cut my teeth doing the social media graphics. The script would say "scrolling through Ins- tagram," but we had to put content into that. So I thought, what would someone who's just moved from Houston to L.A. be posting on Instagram? He'd probably want to see the sights around Los An- geles, especially the Inglewood area. So maybe he went to Randy's Donuts and checked out Watts Towers. Q How authentic is Los Angeles in the show? Lewis: "Insecure" has always been pretty sophisticated in making sure L.A. appears as a character. We see parts of the city we don't normally see, that informs many aspects of the characters as well. Being black, these are stories that are near and dear to my heart. I know people like this, it means a lot that I'm helping tell stories that connect with people from my own life. Broadway: As a native of L.A., the shots of the city definitely feel authen- tic – that's how black L.A. is for people in their late 20s and 30s. Often you only see L.A. as a shot of Beverly Hills or Hollywood. But I grew up in Compton, and that's not the L.A. I know. It felt nice to see the side of the city I grew up with represented on screen, and not in a super violent or stereotypical way. I love Issa's sense of community; that really shines through on this show. ■ Su Fang Tham is a freelance story an- alyst and writer specializing in media and entertainment. we'll show each other scenes that we're working on to get each other's thoughts. Q Is there a fair bit of improv that goes on with the show? If so, does that make your job harder if you've potentially got more gems to sift through beyond what was in the script? Eluto: Actually, there isn't that much improvisation in the show. Occasionally there is some, and if it's good material, we'll definitely try it out. Q In the "DC" episode, there was a lot going on in the Capitol Hill hearing sequence: Tom fumbling disastrously during his testimony, Gerri, Kendall and Roy's testimo- nies under Senator Eavis' (Gil's) scrutiny, and of course, everyone's reaction while watching from the Anteroom. Was that all in the script, or were some parts discov- ered organically in the edit bay? Eluto: The reactions and dialogue in the Anteroom were mostly scripted. In Season 2, the first cut of the last two episodes ran almost one hour and 40 minutes each, so we had to cut it down. I always leave everything in as scripted for the director to see. Then between the two of us, depending on the director, we'll usually start making cuts before showing it to the producers. Jesse Armstrong, the creator and showrunner, will consider other producers' thoughts and network notes, but he is the f inal arbiter. It's about trying different things, tightening, cutting lines, cutting scenes or part of scenes, to see what ends up playing the best. Q Also in the "DC" episode, what was behind the reason to alternate between the hearing and Roman's negotiations in Turkey to take Way- star RoyCo private? Each situation was tense enough on its own. Eluto: That's how it was scripted and I think it worked best to have the two storylines intercut. That structure gave it a sense of the passage of time. Since the first cut of the episode was long, elements of both story beats had to get shortened. Q In either season, what were some of your favorite or most challenging sequences to work on? Eluto: There are too many to choose from! Season 1's f inale when the car goes into the river and [waiter who was fired by Logan moments earlier] Dodds drowns – it was great material to cut, really well done and covered. We created a lot of tension by intercutting Kendall's state of mind with Shiv's wedding re- ception, and then the payoff the next morning – when Logan completely rips the rug out from under Kendall. I also really enjoyed editing the "Safe Room" episode this season. It had a lot of different elements – action and tension with shots fired and the lockdown, as well as humor between Tom and Greg, and Roman at management training at the Parks division. It's a great show to work on. The cast and writing are outstanding. To top it off, it's a wonderful group of people to work with. ■ Su Fang Tham is a freelance story analyst and writer specializing in media and entertainment.

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