DGA Monthly

A U G U S T 2 0 2 4 I 2 5 See more detailed descriptions, additional photos and video, where available, online at www.dga.org. DGA Committee Meeting Events Roundup A Focus on Women Committee Meeting Discussion Desperately Seeking… Director Susan Seidelman On June 24, Director Susan Seidelman (Desperately Seeking Susan, Sex and the City) discussed her career and her new memoir, Desperately Seeking Something, during a conversation moderated by Focus on Women Committee Co-Chair Maggie Greenwald. Images: (main) Director Susan Seidelman. (inset) Focus on Women Committee Co-Chair Maggie Greenwald (moderator). A Women's Steering Committee Meeting Discussion Directing a Pilot On June 18, Directors Susanna Fogel (A Small Light), Maggie Kiley (Grosse Pointe Garden Society) and Natalia Leite (Black Cake) discussed their experiences and approach to the preparation and execution of directing a pilot during a conversation moderated by WSC Co-Chair Shaz Bennett. Images: (Clockwise) Directors Susanna Fogel, Maggie Kiley and Natalia Leite and WSC Co-Chair Shaz Bennett (moderator). A Women's Steering Committee Meeting Discussion Trailblazers: A Conversation with Director Debbie Allen On July 16, Director Debbie Allen (Grey's Anatomy, All of Us) discussed her expansive career in the entertainment industry and how her beginnings have been a substantial foundation to her continued success as a Director, during a conversation moderated by Director Morenike Joela Evans. Photo: (L-R) Directors Morenike Joela Evans (moderator) and Debbie Allen. Recent Visual History Addition View more excerpts and interviews in the Visual History Collection via the link on the homepage of www.dga.org. Director Gail Mancuso refl ects on her career in episodic television, discussing the preparation that goes into her productions and her tactics for giving Actors space to perform. Mancuso on earning trust on a new show: "I come super prepared. Some people can like, "Oh, I can just do it on the fl y or whatever.' No, not me. I come to the set very, very, very well prepared, but with the ability to go with the fl ow. I'm not very stern about things. I want to make sure things are light. Trust is earned and when you hop from show to show like I have for many years, you have to be able to kinda read the room and adapt to the show, acclimate and see how the show is running. So, I come in with a very strong idea. I know lenses, I know blocking, I know when I have a scene, I know when we have enough takes, I know when to move on, I know when to cut. Once I get through that fi rst day, I feel like — because I always get the Sunday scaries — 'I just need to get through Monday and I'll be okay.' Even after all these years, I still get nervous. But then after the fi rst day, I think the Crew knows, the Actors know, and I know, and then there's a certain trust. But it's earned." The DGA's Visual History Program website contains hundreds of hours of videotaped interviews with Directors and Director's team members discussing their careers and refl ections on all aspects of the creative process in fi lm, television and other media. These interviews are indexed for quick retrieval of segments pertaining to specifi c topics of interest within a particular interview or across the entire collection. Gail Mancuso interviewed by Jody Margolin Hahn

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