Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/760821
80 DGA QUARTERLY PHOTO: MICHAEL ANSELL/ABC AT T H E H E L M : Clockwise from top: Creator Nahnatchka Khan, far right, also directed two episodes; Jude Weng, center, had not directed scripted TV prior to Fresh Off the Boat; and director Bill Purple, center, hailed from a 1st AD background. The show, now in its third season, is groundbreaking both for who's in front of the cameras and who's behind the scenes. "I wanted people who felt, for whatever reason, that they didn't be- long," says Khan. "From an Indian American, to me being Persian, to African-American, to Korean, to Taiwanese, to Chinese, there are so many diverse backgrounds in the writers room, and yet there are so many universal experiences." She's equally inclusive with her directors, half of whom have been women. Lynn Shelton directed the pilot, and has shot six epi- sodes since. "I never had the dream of intersecting with Hollywood at all," says the Seattle-based Shelton, who attended grad school for photography. That led to working in experimental film, video art and eventually independent features, on which she had complete creative control. After Shelton's third film, Humpday, got into Sundance, her horizons expanded. She decided to try directing an episode or two of television a year. Her first job out of the gate was Mad Men. Next came New Girl. The other Fresh EPs, Jake Kasdan and Melvin Mar, who worked with Shelton on New Girl, brought her to Khan's atten- tion. "I liked that she didn't come from a traditional family sitcom background because neither did I," says Khan, who previously created the sitcom Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23. "The DNA of the show is that the family are outsiders in the white suburbs of Orlando. Lynn instantly got it. She has the best sense of humor, and she has a great demeanor with kids." Shelton sees little difference between directing features and TV. "I'm utiliz- ing the same skills," she says. "You have to be constantly making decisions about what's in the frame, you're trying to find the shape of the scene with the actors, and you're collaborating heavily with all of the department heads." For Shelton, the big distinction is that, as a guest director on an episodic televi- sion show, she is "the captain of the ship but not the admiral of the fleet." Director Bill Purple, with multiple Fresh episodes under his belt, has earned his captain's stripes. Purple had worked as an AD on studio features for years, from Charlie's Angels to Tropic Thunder. "ADing is a great career," he explains. "You get to work directly with so many amazing directors, and learn not only how to do things the right way, but also learn from their mis- takes and pitfalls." While being an AD isn't necessarily a springboard to direct- ing, it's not an impediment either. "It's actually a hard stigma to erase," he says. "But the AD is really the one that deals with every element of the process, understanding how each decision is made," adding that "making quick decisions so you can move forward" is key. Purple was 1st AD on a short-lived Shonda Rhimes show, Off the Map, and shot second unit. That led to directing an episode of Private Practice. Then Kasdan, a mentor, asked him to work on New Girl. Working his way up the ladder had its benefits. "It's made me super-organized and efficient, probably more than I naturally would have been." During Fresh's first season, he shot a second unit Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon-type fantasy basketball sequence. Khan