ABSTRACT

Lauren Wolkstein discusses her career in independent film and how it led to her big break directing television on Ava Duvernay’s Queen Sugar. She talks about preparing by learning the show inside and out and studying the visual look book provided by producing director DeMane Davis, then about how she approached the material once she had her script in hand. She discusses her collaboration with writer Erika Johnson and the visual principles she had to adhere to – not much moving camera, wide masters, and close coverage of characters’ faces. She explains how she merged her own directorial sensibility with that of the show, particularly in terms of how she approached the theme of new beginnings and transformations inherent in her episode. Wolkstein takes the reader through her prep, and explores the balance between asserting control and listening to the crew. She notes that television directing is the most collaborative form of directing and that the key is to get to know the rhythms of the cast and crew. She concludes by discussing her relationship with the director of photography and explaining the pros and cons of episodic directing versus independent feature directing.