Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1474575
South, she was so vocal she became known as the infamous "Mouth of the South." Given her husband's position in the government, Martha had a private security detail at all times. Frank McCord was a private bodyguard for Martha and her family. ou can imagine her shock when Frank was arrested for burglarizing the Democratic National Committee. The connection between the atergate burglary, Richard Nixon, and her husband was obvious. Martha couldn't keep quiet. Despite her allegiance to Nixon and the Republican Party, she was the fi rst person to publicly speak out about Nixon's involvement in the atergate scandal. ltimately, this forced ohn Mitchell to choose between his wife and the President. There was an immediate smear campaign to gaslight Martha Mitchell and discredit her voice. The atergate incident truly ruined her life and that mudslinging is a maor reason why most people have never heard of Martha Mitchell today. Gaslit creator and show runner, Robbie Pickering, has been a selfproclaimed Nixon afi cionado for many years. e was intrigued by the culture surrounding Richard Nixon and the Republican Party of that era. Robbie wrote the series based on the podcast Slow Burn: Watergate, which off ered a new approach to a familiar story. Matt Ross directed all eight episodes of Gaslit and from the beginning, he wanted the show to be historically authentic. e felt that Gaslit should look and feel grounded. hile always fi nding the most cinematic approach, Matt never sought to over dramatize or embellish the sets more than they needed to be. I collaborated closely with Matt and director of photography Larkin Seiple, who brings an interesting lens to any show. Since Larkin was shooting on set every day, we developed our own communication style while shooting. e collaborated often to ensure that we stayed on the same page as I prepped ahead while Larkin and Matt were shooting on set each day. One of my favorite aspects of this production was the fact that there was one director, one director of photography and one fi rst assistant director shooting all eight episodes. This system allowed us to move past the formalities early, build a shorthand and collaborate more e ciently on the creative process. Gaslit was unique in that it had a day shooting schedule, working fi ve days a week for about seven months. Since we had all eight scripts upfront, it felt like shooting an hour movie. Our initial breakdowns had a set count of over one hundred fi fty diff erent environments or sets. Like most proects these days, Gaslit was a demanding show and at a time when Los ngeles was bustling with production, building a team was a challenge of its own. I worked closely with line producer Caroline ames and unit production A. & B. THE MITCHELLS' WATERGATE APARTMENT. SKETCHES BY DANIEL NOVOTNY. A B