ABSTRACT
Bethany Rooney begins by explaining her starting point when approaching any piece of material: the story. She then explains how she wins the trust of cast and crew members who are new to her when she comes on a show, saying that her first step is simply to listen. She then tells how she familiarizes herself with a show, discussing the importance of reading previous scripts so that the story lives in her imagination. She explains how she reads a script and works with department heads, noting that by the time she comes on board it’s really too late for the script to change. She talks about how she adapts her style to the preexisting style of any given show, and how she blocks and shot-lists her episodes, revealing that the direction of the lighting will often dictate the order of those shots on set. This leads to an in-depth discussion about collaborating with the director of photography, and an explanation of Bethany’s preferred visual style and where she learned it (working on The White Shadow). Bethany concludes by talking about the pleasures of her latest job, producing and directing Bull.
