day you shoot scenes, and the cool thing about it is it’s all about failure. Try and fail. Where else in your career can you go and do that? Our society does not allow that. A lot of times it’s wasted on the filmmakers there. They show up and say, “Nah, I want to do it this way, and this is my style.” One time I was there, this filmmaker wanted to shoot a scene his way, and he did it and was done and we had five hours left. I was like, “Let’s try it some other ways and see what we get.” He didn’t want to do it. So he was done and we did nothing. So the advisors saw it later and advised him to go back and reshoot it before he was handed anything else to do. EN: They shoot it, a scene, and then edit it. Then they get notes from advisors, and at the end of the week, everyone screens it together. DL: It’s great because when it doesn’t work, you learn. That’s the point. The lab lasts four weeks. Every week you get a new set of advisors. A directing advisor, cinematography advisor, production design advisor, acting advisor, and editing advisor are all there. There are huge key personality elements in the production process. Each week there, they change. They are remarkable people and so talented. You learn and you watch and explore your potential. CF: When you have that director that’s a challenge or hindrance to the project, how do you handle that? DL: In the real world, on a shoot, it’s my responsibility to go to the producer and say, “This is not a good idea.” There at the labs, it’s different. [With the filmmaker who didn’t want to reshoot], I went to the advisors to let them know what was going on . . . This person was a first-time filmmaker . . . In the real world, he did what he should have done, but there at the labs he should have explored and workshopped the scene. He was a sweet guy though. He just needed to realize the potential of what he had been given. In this instance, he got wrapped up in the moment and didn’t listen to the hints. CF: Emily, you went as crew chief too?
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