In the next couple of years, part of every film's process is going to be to adjust the images. And it'll be to change the color of an actor's tie or change the little smirky thing he's doing with his mouth. Or you can put in more clouds or move the tree a little bit.
All my films have been larger-than-life. And since I've sat on almost all the scripts of the films I've produced, I do not compromise on aesthetics and visuals that could add to a scene.
You have to write a song around this specific character or to enhance a specific scene. A lot of other craft goes on.
You can put a dog in a scene and everyone's going to be better, I guarantee it. And if they're not better, just shoot the dog.
The cool thing about directing is, whatever cool thing works in the scene, it's still making the episode be a great story, and everyone's working toward that goal, so it doesn't much matter where it's coming from.
I think music is just a wonderful ingredient that helps us understand a scene better. And certainly you can overuse music, and you can use the wrong music. I probably have been guilty of these things over time. But if you use music correctly as a friend of the theme, a friend of the narrative, ou can lend some terrific connective tissue to a film.
Good actors can make a huge difference to a scene that might sound or read flat.
The only reason for using another cut is to improve the scene.
As for the herbal cigarettes, for the most part I don't smoke as much as the guys do. I'm usually just strutting around a bit more so I don't actually have to be inhaling it. I'm lucky because I do have scenes where the cigarettes work beautifully to punctuate certain things I'm saying.
We taped all this and then got it transcribed and picked the best lines or ideas or ways to take a scene. I've done that many times, and it can improve the script but also wreck a perfectly good scene.
A lot of times, the choice of the right song will save a scene. Or there will be a scene that's a little flat and you put in the right song and somehow it just comes alive.
