

But basically I am in charge of the set, how it runs and moves and flows, all in the safest, most efficient and enjoyable way possible. “I’ve heard my job described as the manager, the organizer, the quarterback, the bus driver, the announcer, and the den mother.

On a rare moment when she’s not in motion, Jack reflects on her responsibilities. When we show up, I want everyone prepared for every single shot.” I also think in more selfish terms-what’s going to make our day go as easily as possible. “The DP, the producers, everyone else has their head in all the episodes, so I know what has to be dealt with right here. “Because we alternate shows, it allows me to be focused on this episode,” says Jack. At the same time, the rest of the directorial team, including 2nd ADs Joann Connolly, Louis Lanni, and 2nd 2nd Anna Ramey, are doing their part. While Jack works one episode, Benjamin Scissors is prepping the next. Like many episodic shows, Breaking Bad alternates 1st ADs. (Photo: Sony Pictures Television/Ursula Coyote) These questions are what I am constantly asking and answering, and that guides me through each scene.”ġst AD Nina Jack, with DP Michael Slovis, arranges the schedule to accommodate multiple moves, “Something I was taught as a trainee and never forgot was to always be asking: ‘Why aren’t we shooting right now?’ and then do what I can to get to where we can be shooting. “It’s just the strange way my brain works-I probably found the ideal job for me,” she says drolly. Juggling such disparate information would be daunting and even disorienting for many, but for Jack, it’s the norm. As much as possible, I try to use the time on set when we are not shooting to do this sort of prep work.” “Since the crane shot required some setup time and we were in the process of a company move and still waiting on some equipment,” explains Jack, “I decided that while we waited, we would take a look at the car.
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(They decide to cut off the back windshield and remove the trunk lid in order to install camera mounts.)
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While the crew sets up a crane shot for the next scene, Jack is discussing with prop masters and cinematographer Michael Slovis how to best carve up a vintage Ford Crown Victoria for a sequence that won’t be shot until next week. Once that three-scene sequence is shot, she’s quickly off multitasking at another location. On an arid June morning in Albuquerque, she’s on location at a local airport set, making sure that everyone on the crew is on the same page and that the background actors are getting their prop luggage. New directors have to know about the show’s heavy dependency on wide lenses used to capture the severe beauty of the desert surrounding Albuquerque, New Mexico the long, single takes used to build tension to the breaking point and the propulsively-edited action sequences that bring everything to a boil.Ĭonsider the cool presence of Nina Jack, one of the show’s two 1st ADs. Which means the ADs have a lot on their plates in terms of prepping incoming directors on the particulars of replicating the show’s idiosyncratic look. Twenty-two directors have directed the 46 episodes of Breaking Bad’s first four seasons, with 20 having helmed four or less. Not the chemistry that creates the pure yet deadly crystal meth cooked up by the show’s anti-heroes, but the chemistry between the directors and the directorial team that assists them in maintaining the show’s distinctive visual style, intensity, and darkly comic tone.
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(Photo: Sony Pictures Television/Ursula Coyote)īreaking Bad is a series all about better living through chemistry. 1st AD Benjamin Scissors (left), with 2nd AD Louis Lanni, makes sure the director understands the
