EPISODE · Dec 28, 2015 · 1H 10M

Alex Buono and Rhys Thomas

from Alison Rosen Is Your New Best Friend

Writer, producer, cinematographer Alex Buono (SNL, Documentary Now!, Bigger Stronger Faster) and writer, director, producer Rhys Thomas (SNL, Documentary Now!, Staten Island Summer) head up Saturday Night Live's film unit which means they're responsible for shooting all those funny filmed bits you see on the show. They also handle SNL's opening credits every year—a discovery which led to my learning two of my favorite new terms: "lens whacking" and "pixel sticking."  On this episode we talked about the experience of working on SNL and the process of shooting the filmed pieces, holding panic at bay, how they met each other, racing against the clock, working with Lorne, Alex commuting to NYC every week, how they each got their start, the process of directing, producing and shooting Documentary Now!, early films they made, other projects they're working on and so much more. We also took your questions over Twitter and did a round of Just Me or Everyone.