Art & Crafts from The Ankler

Dec 5

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mona Fastvold ( The Brutalist ), cinematographer William Rexer and production designer Samuel Bader tell Ankler Media deputy editor Christopher Rosen about how they stretched the small budget for The Testament of Ann Lee to great lengths. This conversation is sponsored by Searchlight Pictures.

Dec 1

Cinematographer, director and executive producer Dana Gonzales and visual effects supervisor Jonathan Rothbart reveal how they expanded the Alien universe with the FX series Alien: Earth — and how the original film by Ridley Scott helped guide the way. This conversation, hosted by Ankler Media deputy editor Christopher Rosen , is sponsored by FX.

Nov 17

Production designer Brandon Tonner-Connolly and cinematographer Mark Schwartzbard discuss their influences for the new FX series The Lowdown , created by Reservation Dogs' Sterlin Harjo — from '70s New Hollywood noir to the climate of Tulsa, Okla. This conversation, hosted by Ankler Media deputy editor Christopher Rosen , is sponsored by FX.

Aug 25

When Dan Gilroy sat down with his brother, Andor creator Tony Gilroy , and fellow writers Tom Bissell and Beau Willimon , to work on the Emmy-nominated show’s second and final season, he knew they had a tall task ahead. “On a lot of shows, climax means spectacle, and throwing a lot of money on the screen and looking for things to break and crash,” Dan Gilroy says to Ankler Media deputy editor Christopher Rosen on the latest episode of the Art & Crafts podcast. “That was not our climax. Our climax is a moral, character-driven climax, and in many ways, it’s driven by Rogue One [the Star Wars prequel movie that introduced audiences to the Andor title character, played by Diego Luna ]. So the audience knows what’s going to happen to these people at the end, when this is all said and done. Most of them are going to die, which is a very unusual starting place. However, it gives you tremendous power as you’re barreling toward your climax.” Listen to Gilroy, director Janus Metz and costume designer Michael Wilkinson discuss their Emmy-nominated work in the episode, sponsored by Disney+.

Aug 18

The sound design of the FX comedy series The Bear is often so noisy — heated conversations, shattered plates, clanging pots and pans — that when the Emmy Award-winning show goes quiet, it can feel like a primal scream. Never had the power of silence been more apparent on the series than in the season 3 episode “Doors,” which opens at a funeral service for the mother of pastry chef Marcus ( Lionel Boyce ). “It was a real gift that they gave us that nice quiet moment before devolving into even more chaos of this episode,” The Bear supervising sound editor and re-recording mixer Steve “Major” Giammaria , MPSE, tells Ankler Media deputy editor Christopher Rosen during the latest episode of Art & Crafts , sponsored by FX.

Aug 15

The Netflix animated series Love, Death + Robots has featured several innovative and unexpected episodes during its four-season run, but perhaps none as unique as “400 Boys,” where an army of gigantic babies threatens to end the world. “There’s a lot of sound design that we can play around with for something like that,” says supervising sound editor Brad North , MPSE, about the conceit of the episode. On the latest edition of The Ankler’s Art & Crafts podcast, North and fellow Emmy nominee Eliot Connors ( Arcane ) discuss the their acclaimed work with moderator Alexandra Fehrman , CAS. This episode, sponosred by Netflix, was recorded at the American Society of Cinematographers’ Clubhouse in Los Angeles on Aug. 7.

Aug 14

“There was a magazine called Famous Monsters of Filmland that they used to sell at a 7-Eleven near my family’s house. And one day, I looked in the back of it, and there was a photo of them putting a man into the Godzilla suit. And I went, ‘Oh, wow, it’s a suit. Somebody makes this stuff,’” says The Umbrella Academy visual effects supervisor and Emmy nominee Everett Burrell . “And that was totally the rocket ship in my brain to want to do this.” In a conversation with moderator Rob Legato , ASC, VES, Burrell discusses the inspirations for The Umbrella Academy and why he wanted to become a VFX artist in the first place. This episode, sponsored by Netflix, was recorded at the American Society of Cinematographers Clubhouse in Los Angeles on Aug. 7.

Aug 13

In a conversation with set decorator Claire Kaufman, SDSA (and an Emmy Award nominee this year for The Studio ), Emmy-nominated production designers Rob Tokarz (HBO Max's Hacks ) and Ruth Ammon (Apple TV+'s Pachinko ) discuss how they build the intricate sets for their respective shows — and their mutual apprecation. “I was Ruth’s art PA on my first union show — Heroes season 4,” Tokarz says. “I learned so much.” This episode, sponsored by Apple TV+, HBO Max and Universal Television, was recorded at the American Society of Cinematographers Clubhouse in Los Angeles on Aug. 7.