Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1488128
OUTLOOK DIRECTORS W hile — hopefully — COVID and Monkeypox are gradually reced- ing in the rear-view mirror, filmmakers still face the usual suspects in front of them when it comes to production and post: tight budgets and tight schedules. Here, four leading directors talk about the challenges of post and their views on the future of the industry. KASI LEMMONS I Wanna Dance with Somebody, Harriet, Eve's Bayou The director/writer began her career as an actress, racking up such credits as Spike Lee's School Daze and Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs before making her directorial debut in 1997 with Eve's Bayou. The Southern Gothic drama became the top-grossing indie of the year and won her an Independent Spirit Award. Since then she's made such diverse films as Black Nativity and Harriet, which was nominated for two Oscars. STRENGTHS: "For me, there are two main strengths. First, it's really the most creative part of the whole filmmaking process, as once you get into the edit and post, you're basically rewriting the film. You shoot the script and then that material and the movie you post have a relationship, but the rewriting pro- cess in post is about finding the core of the movie, the core of the story and its characters, and it can surprise you how it changes in post. And post also allows you to fix any problems in creative ways. "Second, it's all about being able to build the movie out, building the vision out, and using all the amazing tools avail- able to you in post. For instance, sound design is something I absolutely love. I'm crazy about it! Using sound design to create the right atmosphere or mood just elevates everything you're looking at. Without it, the visuals can be quite flat sometimes. Sound design breathes life into them. And I love using score and music in post, and the whole collaboration with the post team — everyone from the editor to the sound team, the VFX people and the colorist — is so creative and inter- esting, and you learn so much each time." WEAKNESSES: "Sometimes you can feel like you have too many choices available to you, especially in the edit, and also having a lot of voices weighing in. For me, the most difficult part of the whole post process is going from my director's cut, where it's just me and the editor, to a later cut where everyone has an opinion, and the more producers you have, the more opinions you have to deal with. It's tricky, as any film you make is a very personal thing, but the nature of film- making is that it's very collaborative. So it requires all that collaboration in post, and frankly, it also requires collaboration from the audience, when you do test screen- ings. It can be quite nerve-wracking. But over the years I've learned to be not DIRECTORS S.W.O.T. FOUR FEATURE FILM DIRECTORS WEIGH IN ON POST PRODUCTION'S STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES & THREATS BY IAIN BLAIR Kasi Lemmons on the set of I Wanna Dance with Somebody.