BEHIND THE LENS #268: Featuring Brian Barsuglia

It's a fun show thanks to writer/director BRIAN BARSUGLIA, who joins us live at the midpoint of the show to talk about a film I'm very excited to be a part of – SOCIAL DISTANCE. Plus, we've got our exclusive prerecorded interview with cinematographer SEBASTIAN THALER talking about his latest film, the riveting nail-biter 7500. First up is our exclusive conversation with SEBASTIAN THALER talking about 7500. This is a film not to be missed and Sebastian's lensing melded with a powerhouse emotional performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes 7500 the riveting, jaw-dropping, edge-of-your-seat thriller that it is. With a pedigree that includes working with his father, European cinematographer Wolfgang Thaler, as well as working as an assistant to the legendary Ed Lachman, the excellence of Sebastian's work comes as no surprise. Take a listen as we dig deep into his process for 7500 as we talk about camera and lens selection, lighting, working within the confinement of an actual airplane cockpit, shooting two crews simultaneously – Sebastian inside the cockpit and a camera operator in the galley area – so that we see the action unfolding essentially in real time on a cockpit monitor, shooting exteriors at the Vienna airport with set-ups on the runways visible through the cockpit windows, the challenges of shooting in the confined space, capturing the emotion and action as it's unfolding, and more. And then it's time for BRIAN BARSUGLIA, writer/director/sound designer and all-around filmmaking guru talking about his latest project, SOCIAL DISTANCE. Regular listeners have already heard me talk about Brian and his last film, IMPACT EVENT. The Universe may not have given me an E.L.E. yet, but Brian did with IMPACT EVENT! And now he tackles SOCIAL DISTANCE. Now in the post-production phase, SOCIAL DISTANCE was filmed during the complete stay at home lockdown in California. Listen as Brian talks about the idea for the story and his approach to filming (and no, it is not a Zoom conference call), developing a story and script to take advantage of the lockdown situation and the accouterments cast members had in their homes which he worked into the storyline and visuals, casting, working with his cast to turn them into "crew" as they did their own lighting, camera set-up, hair, make-up (with some help from family members and friends quarantining with them), editing process of collecting and assembling footage which was sent to Brian by his actor/filmmakers, and so much more. It's an interesting conversation with some great insight for filmmakers currently frustrated by quarantine and craving creative expression. http://behindthelensonline.net http://eliasentertainmentnetwork.com