SEASON 2 - EPISODE 170 - Cristian Mungiu - Director

In this extended episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with director Cristian Mungiu (R.M.N., GRADUATION, BEYOND THE HILLS). Cristian's films—which we deeply admire—largely focus on social issues in his native country of Romania, and though they are told in his own unique voice, his films explore problems many in the world face today. We learn how the fall of communism and Ceaușescu's regime in Cristian's youth enabled him to become a filmmaker, and he reflects on the lingering effects of the country's cinematic culture before and after the Romanian Revolution. We spend much of our conversation discovering how Cristian approaches filmmaking and cinematic storytelling, and he shares how he works on any given day in production. Cristian also reveals how his films are received by Romanian audiences, and we discuss our commitment as filmmakers to presenting the truth as we see it. Plus, Cristian lets us know what to expect in his upcoming feature, FJORD.

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Recommended Viewing: R.M.N., GRADUATION, BEYOND THE HILLS

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This episode is sponsored by Aputure

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 169 - Edgar Wright - Director

Director Edgar Wright (THE RUNNING MAN, SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD, SHAUN OF THE DEAD) joins us in this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast. Edgar is responsible for one of our favourite films, SHAUN OF THE DEAD, and we didn't miss the opportunity to ask as many questions about it as we could. He shares the film's connection to director Mike Leigh's (Season 1, Episode 76) work, and we learn how the film was developed during Edgar's free time while directing television at the BBC. We also learn how he got his first directing gig at the broadcaster at age 21, and he reveals the veteran crew members' reactions to discovering he wasn't a nepo baby. We later discuss his general approach to coverage, his strategy to pick up inserts, and how he protected his creative identity when he began shooting films for Hollywood. Plus, Edgar reveals why he decided to direct THE RUNNING MAN, and we learn how it differs from the previous adaptation.

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Recommended Viewing: SHAUN OF THE DEAD

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This episode is sponsored by Aputure

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 168 - Ted Schilowitz - Futurist

In this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with futurist Ted Schilowitz. Ted has spent his life working in entertainment, from producing commercials in Florida to exploring virtual reality at Fox and Paramount, and we thought his perspective on the relationship between technology and entertainment could help us better understand where we might be headed. Over the course of our conversation, we discover that to think of the future, we need to remember the past, and Ted connects recent developments in technology to a number of breakthroughs he was witness to himself. We learn about Grass Valley—the video equivalent of Silicon Valley—and of the origins of the RED camera system, and Ted reveals Apple's early attempts to bring digital video to their computer systems. We also discuss modern consumer trends and our changing relationships with screens, and we learn about Kodak's missed opportunity in the prehistoric days of digital cameras. Ted later shares his observations on AI, and he makes a prediction of what we'll see over the next five years of cinema.

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This episode is sponsored by Sandstorm & Aputure