When you end a fascinating episode of tv, after you’re taking a deep breath, typically you wish to go proper again and relive among the magic you simply witnessed.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live Season 1 Episode 4 is that hour, a magical affair between two stalwart characters within the beloved franchise, slowly breaking your coronary heart after which placing it again collectively.
The episode is directed by the effortlessly charismatic Michael Slovis, who was good sufficient to talk with TV Fanatic concerning the large episode.
Slovis was not solely variety and detailed in his responses but in addition extremely educated and the proper particular person to interrupt down the ins and outs of such a pivotal piece of the story.
It was such an honor to get a while with Slovis, and it is a dialog each diehard Walking Dead fan ought to take a look at.
What sort of prep are you doing if you’re going into an episode as a director? And particularly for an episode like this, which is of such a excessive magnitude?
Whitney, we solely have quarter-hour, and I speak about this for hours advert nauseam to varsities.
But crucial factor to me is to find out, and it sounds straightforward, it is like studying the fundamental strikes in chess or checkers, however then enjoying the sport, which is totally completely different, proper?
For me, it is figuring out what’s the story about, and the way do I advance the story.
Anytime I get caught on the set with both a efficiency or a shot or one thing, I revert again to, “What is the story that we’re trying to tell at this moment? How does it advance the story within the act, the scene, the episode, and then ultimately within the structure of the entire series?”
For me to distill down what the story is, that’s crucial half. Because I come from images, the precise photographs come organically, however I do it by way of character. I do it by way of what a part of the story are we telling at that second.
And that goes for one thing as performance-driven as this episode, or if it is a brief and even one thing with lots of motion. I must know what the story is.
An ideal instance is on the finish of that episode, the place they’re operating, they usually lastly…they kiss in episode three, proper? The one which precedes that units us up. Trying to determine what occurred at that breach was actually essential to me as a result of I knew it was the setup for episode 4.
The episode hits on so many various beats. There’s the drama; there’s angst; there’s romance; there’s a little bit little bit of comedy, backwards and forwards, and throughout. How do you be sure that the scenes mirror what you are getting within the script?
It’s an amazing query, and I’m glad you introduced up the comedy as a result of that is been an indicator of The Walking Dead because it began. It’s not slapstick, ha-ha comedy.
It’s acquainted smile comedy, which I feel is without doubt one of the issues that made it such a pretty present as a result of we might all see ourselves in these conditions with the tragedy and all of the issues which might be occurring.
With this episode particularly, I’ve to say that it actually was all three of us at all times working and asking.
And as a result of Danai wrote this lovely script and knew it inside, outdoors, had reworked it, labored it, reworked it, taking the notes from Scott, I suppose, and from all over the place the place they arrive from, the community and no matter, and so she knew it just like the again of her hand as a result of it had emerged from her.
I had the distinctive fortune of getting any individual who knew the complete genesis of the present proper there with me. And so I simply requested, to be trustworthy, and we talked about it. And she was so superb, great, and open that it by no means was dogmatic. It at all times was a dialog.
That’s good. And I might be approach off base right here. I might be overthinking it. But after I was watching it, the vibe that I used to be getting from that condominium advanced felt like the connection between Rick and Michonne.
It was sort of high-tech and funky, after which it began to crumble, encompassing the place they have been of their relationship at the moment. They needed to make a transfer, or they have been going to go down. What sort of vibe have been you hoping to attain with the entire setup of that condominium?
Right. You simply answered your individual query. To be completely trustworthy, Whitney, you bought it, and you were not overthinking it, particularly the design of that condominium. And by the way in which, that is instance of the humor, proper?
The voice saying, “You’ve achieved the desired temperature or whatever.” It’s not like breakout laughing, slapstick humorous, nevertheless it’s like, “I get it. I get where it’s all adding up to.”
The design of that condominium was powerful and difficult. And since you are proper, it was actually a capsule. If you’ll, it was a canvas for his or her relationship. How have been we going to color it onto this canvas? And it might’t simply be one thing that is innocuous or not useful to telling the story.
We labored lots on the design of it and what we might do. And if you say design, you’ll be able to’t actually exit and design your dream set as a result of you might have the truth of budgets and schedules, and area was a giant difficulty.
Could it slot in the place we have been placing it? So, all of these issues needed to be factored in.
And so it went by way of a course of. We talked concerning the story. I checked out it, and I’ve this factor that I do the place I actually sit at my desk, have a look at the script, shut my eyes, think about the set, and picture the folks transferring by way of it. And so we got here up with proposals.
We knew that that window was essential, that nice massive image window, was an essential window to the surface. I knew the helicopter was coming in. We knew it was the lake outdoors, so we had the inexperienced display screen or the backdrop; it is really a backdrop on the market for a lot of it.
Some of it was a inexperienced display screen or a blue display screen.
We had limits on how massive we might go and all that stuff. So, to a sure diploma, we needed to work backward from that view. Then it was, “Where does the story want us to be?” I knew I wished a giant room as a result of, with the entire dialogue, we would have liked locations for Andy and Danai to maneuver in the event that they so desired.
So, that complete first rounding, rounding across the desk and round and all that stuff, was one thing I inspired once we received there. I’m a giant “There are no mistakes” particular person. I actually prefer to get there.
And my course of is we get there, we learn the phrases, after which we simply throw them in, and I’ll begin with one thing humorous or to interrupt the ice, I’ll go, “Let me impart the vision on you that I have in my head, the perfect movie,” which you by no means get, however you begin right here and perhaps then see the place it takes you.
And then I name myself a nudger as a result of in the event that they go there a little bit bit, I’ll say, “Maybe a little further, maybe a little left.”
And due to my background in digital camera, I’m at all times fascinated with how I’m placing it collectively, the place they transfer. And Andy and Danai are such professionals and have completed this for therefore lengthy.
I can say one thing to them that is a mix of story and pragmatism, “If you don’t go this way and if you go that way, it will make our day. That way and not this way.” This will get a little bit powerful, however I by no means do it to at all times be straightforward, to make it straightforward on me. I do it as a result of it tells the story correctly.
And I’m trying on the total day.
Working on an episode like this, you are primarily working with simply two actors, and there are some scenes with walkers, however it might be simpler pondering from the surface like, “Oh, it must be easier. You don’t have to worry about so many moving parts and different people.”
But I’ve to think about it is also difficult to have simply the 2 actors. What was it like working with Andy and Danai for many of that episode?
Well, to start with, any two different actors, I’d most likely nonetheless be taking pictures it, however these two, who knew their characters so properly and are so expert and so trusting of one another, after which in bringing me into their fold, it was actually attention-grabbing.
And it was an honor to be there to see it because it advanced.
And I began off pondering, certainly, it was a two-hander, however I’ve come to the conclusion that it is actually a three-hander as a result of I feel that area was a personality within the present, and it wanted to be. And due to the way in which that we ended up constructing that area and designing it, it helped the story get advised.
How did this episode assist arrange the remainder of the season? It’s that midway-ish level.
I have a look at this because the fulcrum level of the story, if you recognize what I imply. To me, they need to get by.
That’s what Danai at all times meant this episode to be. We need to get by way of that time. Whitney, she says it. She says it once they’re in that mattress, and he is standing by the facet of the mattress, and she or he goes, “We’re not going anywhere until we get past this moment.”
Which is so acquainted to anyone who’s been in love or in a relationship or in a friendship or as a guardian or something, that has any individual that you simply care about, “We need to deal with this now in order to move forward.”
And I at all times checked out that second because the breakout second, which is why I got here up with the thought once they exit into the corridor.
I went to the stunt coordinators and the battle coordinator and stated, “What I want to do is I want to do a single shot of them coming down the hall, fighting in sync, and helping each other.”
If you have a look at that piece the place, after they escape to the corridor and after they’ve resolved, at the very least began to resolve their relationship, it is only a single shot of them. We simply moved the digital camera they usually did a dance, a little bit pas de deux, the 2 of them, which was essential to me structurally.
***This interview has been edited for size and readability.***
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live airs on Sundays on AMC at 9/8c.
Whitney Evans is a senior employees author for TV Fanatic. She is a lover of all issues TV. Follow her on X.
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