BELOW THE LINE PODCAST

Executing a well-timed oner is hard. Building a whole show around long, continuous takes? That’s another level.

This week on Below the Line, Skid is joined by First Assistant Director Donald Murphy and Camera Operator Mark Goellnicht to go behind the scenes of The Studio, the Apple TV+ comedy that blends big laughs with an ambitious visual style. Directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the show follows the fictional chaos of Cont...

How do you bring a game world to life for the screen — especially when that world already has millions of devoted fans? Cinematographer Catherine Goldschmidt knows firsthand — and her work on The Last of Us reveals just how complex that challenge can be.

Catherine Goldschmidt joins Skid to discuss her work on the second season of HBO's The Last of Us, with co-host Gianni Damaia bringing the perspective of a longtime fan and gamer. ...

What does it mean to "edit for emotion" in a show built around crime, identity, and betrayal? Eric Litman knows — and his work on Dope Thief proves it.

Eric Litman returns to the cutting room — this time, with Skid and co-host Christopher Angel — to share how he approached the editorial storytelling in Apple TV+’s Dope Thief, a show that lives or dies by its tonal precision and dual-lead structure.

Guided by Chris’s thoughtful ques...

What does it take to keep track of iconic props across the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Assistant Property Master Travis Bobbitt would know—he’s been doing it for over a decade.

In this episode of Below the Line, Skid and co-host Gianni Damaia sit down with (returning guest) Travis Bobbitt to talk about his journey through the MCU, culminating in his latest work on Thunderbolts. From organizing massive prop warehouses to navigating t...

How do you turn New Jersey into 1960s Greenwich Village — while navigating strikes, rewrites, and a lead performance that hinges on live music? That was the challenge behind A Complete Unknown, the 2024 Bob Dylan biopic directed by James Mangold.

This week, Skid is joined by three key crew members behind the film: Set Decorator Regina Graves, Property Master Michael Jortner, and Second Assistant Director Brad Robinson. Together, th...

With shifting plans, a writer’s strike, and a new creative mandate, Daredevil: Born Again became one of Marvel’s most fluid productions — and one of its most cinematic.

This week on Below the Line, Skid is joined by Cinematographer Pedro Gomez Millan and co-host Gianni Damaia to discuss Pedro’s work on the Disney+ reboot. Together, they break down how Pedro helped shape the show’s visual identity — through strike delays, rewrites, ...

Editing a character-driven crime series is never just about pacing — it’s about stitching together time, tone, and memory.

This week on Below the Line, Film Editor Matthew Barber joins Skid and co-host Gianni Damaia to talk about Matthew’s work on Long Bright River, the eight-episode adaptation of Liz Moore’s novel. From subtle flashback reveals to emotionally charged cross-cutting, Matthew shares how he and the creative team shape...

For today’s conversation, Assistant Directors Robert Scott and Kevin Koster reminisce about their time on “JAG”, the long-running legal drama that aired 10 seasons from 1995 to 2005. Robert was there for Season 1, which aired on NBC, and Kevin joined the AD team for Season 2, when CBS picked up the show. Both ADs were there at the end, and have stories to share about the various studios that hosted production, how the show’s relati...

Amazon Prime’s “The Sticky” is a clever bit of storytelling: the tale, inspired by the real-life heist of $18 million worth of maple syrup from Quebec’s national reserves, combines drama, suspense and comedy in equal parts. Helping knit together these disparate elements is the work of Score Composer FM Le Sieur, who joins us today to discuss his musical influences, his composing process and the specific inspirations for this very C...

Kevin Bacon returns to the small screen with “The Bondsman”, and today we welcome back two veterans of the podcast, Production Designer Eve McCarney and Costume Designer Liz Vastola, to discuss the challenges of a show that’s balancing genre spectacle and family drama. Co-host Gianni Damaia has some good questions, but primarily he wants to know what it’s like working with Kevin Bacon (he has a “Tremors” image on his wall). All eig...

“The Bikeriders” is an ambitious film: star-studded cast, set in Chicago during the 1960’s and 1970’s, and - of course - lots and lots of motorcycles. My guests, 1st Assistant Director (and Producer) Don Sparks and Key 2nd Assistant Director Pete Dress, tackled these challenges head-on and helped deliver this underrated film on a tight schedule with a limited budget.  It’s an impressive accomplishment, which you’ll appreciate even ...

Season 23! Episode 251! Long-time listeners: thanks for sticking with us. New listeners: welcome! We’ve got a lot to offer you.

This episode is about “Last Breath”, the based-on-a-true-story film currently in theaters. My guest is Alex Parkinson, who directed both the feature film and the documentary which inspired the movie. First-time director stories! Check. Exploring the transition from documentary to film! Check. Is Woody Harr...

Our sixth annual Academy Awards series — with panels of film professionals discussing the Oscar nominees in their category of expertise — concludes with Makeup and Hairstyling. Podcast veterans Angela Nogaro (Makeup) and Yvonne Depatis-Kupka (Hair) return to offer their assessment of this year’s slate of nominees. It’s a lively set of reviews to wrap up the series! I hope you’ve enjoyed these episodes as much as I’ve enjoyed publis...

Film professionals discussing the nominees in their area of expertise: that’s Below the Line at the Academy Awards. We’re in the home stretch (episode 11 of 12!), and today we’re talking about the Oscar nominees for Cinematography. My returning guests — Patrick Cady and David Tuttman — are directors of photography (and directors in their own right!) with a keen eye for what makes these films worthy of the nomination. It gets a litt...

It’s a wild and woolly episode of the podcast as editors Christopher Angel and Amy Duddleston return to discuss this year’s Oscar nominees for Film Editing. In all the years I’ve hosted these conversations, this pair has always complained about films being too long. Given that the shortest film on this list clocks in at two hours, I was anticipating some blistering critiques, but their assessments surprised me. Did we agree about a...

Costume Designers Helen Huang And Liz Vastola offer their insights on this year’s Academy Award nominees for Costume Design. This one runs a little longer than usual, but we take some time to discuss how costume design is different from fashion design, the role actors play in the shaping of their costumes, and other challenges of the craft. With the ceremony less than two weeks away, we’re in the home stretch, and I hope you’re kee...

Oscar season continues here at Below the Line, where film professionals discuss the nominees in the category of their expertise. Today’s animated conversation about the nominees for Animated Feature Film benefits from returning guests, Kent Seki and Camille Leganza. We also take a brief side quest to discuss the challenges currently faced by the Animation Industry.

The 2024 Nominees for Animated Feature Film:

• “Flow”

• “Inside Out...