ABSTRACT
James Hayman begins with his backstory as a film student at NYU in the 1980s, where he studied alongside directors Spike Lee and Jim Jarmusch. He details how his relationship with Jarmusch led to a career in the camera department, and how his work as a cinematographer on Northern Exposure led to the opportunity to direct on that series. He discusses his big break on Law and Order, which he credits with kickstarting his directing career, and then talks about his work in the world of TV movies. He goes into detail about the differences between serving as a producer-director and moving from show to show, and tells how closely he works with directors on show he produces during prep. He goes into the visual style of NCIS: New Orleans in depth and talks about how the show has evolved in recent seasons, and how you introduce a new character on a popular show. Hayman also discusses the relationship with the showrunner, the planning of action sequences, and his approach to expository dialogue sequences. He further talks about making actors comfortable, the need for visiting directors to be team players, his work on The Sopranos, and the directors who have influenced him like Martin Scorsese and Steven Soderbergh.
