The directors of some of Netflix’s biggest hits of the year came together to discuss their creative processes and storytelling techniques in a conversation hosted by Variety in partnership with Netflix.
Antonio Campos directed “The Beast In Me.” Max Winkler in Monster: The Ed Gein Story. And Alexandria Stapleton, director of “Sean Combs: The Reckoning,” spoke with Variety’s Jazz Tankay about their visual language, the challenges of documenting unfolding stories and portraying real people.
Describing his show as “modern noir,” Campos said, “We’re playing with weird ideas… We’re always thinking about editing as the rhythm of the show, making it dynamic.” Campos and cinematographer Lyle Vincent often drew inspiration from 1970s paranoia thrillers like Gordon Willis and Michael Clayton.
Winkler also drew inspiration from films such as Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood in building the calm and stillness of the plains, with the aim of making Geine’s character appear smaller. Stapleton spoke about the confusion and challenges of tackling the story of Sean “Diddy” Combs as the grand jury trial unfolds in real time. “The other thing we were fighting against was that everyone was obsessed with the really scandalous details,” Stapleton said. “There’s a whole document out there about baby oil, so we wanted to really dig under the hood to understand the background, the timeline, the origin story of it all. How was this possible?”
Winkler also spoke about the extensive interview and research process that took place along the way, as well as the use of gain recordings to shape star Charlie Hunnam’s performance, and said Campos was also heavily involved in the production process, overseeing everything from color grading to sound mixing. Stapleton’s editing process was more complex, as the team did not know the outcome of the trial until the final episode, and was often faced with curveballs such as the need to find new footage or jurors to interview.
The Duffer brothers and Mark Munden also appeared in a separate conversation with Variety’s Michael Schneider, where they talked about Stranger Things and Lord of the Flies, respectively.
Ross Duffer began by acknowledging the 10-year process of making Stranger Things, saying, “Every year we learned something new, tried something new, and tried to challenge ourselves as much as we could.” Matt Duffer called the show’s ending “very emotional,” adding that he tried to “capture the feel of the first season.”
Munden explained the importance of staying as faithful as possible to the source material for Lord of the Flies, saying, “I think the main difference is that in some ways there are more characters than in previous adaptations. My take was to stay true to that time period in the 1950s at the height of the Cold War and incorporate all of those elements.”
The directors also discussed the challenges and joys of working with young actors. Ross Duffer said, “What we were looking for was kids that felt really authentic, but because they’re so young, we had to adjust their roles because they’re not necessarily going to play a scripted Mike or a scripted Dustin. They bring their own personalities to it, and I think that actually makes them more interesting.”
Munden revealed Malaysia’s difficult filming conditions, including uninhabited islands, monsoons, and dangerous wildlife. “We couldn’t shoot at night, but one-fifth of the script was set at night, so we ended up removing the infrared filter from the camera and shooting day and night, which turned the entire foliage pink and orange,” Munden explained. “Perhaps people won’t recognize it as nighttime, which might suggest something a little different, but that only enhances the hallucinatory atmosphere of the piece.”
All three directors spoke about the emotional experience of filming the show’s final episode and the pride and satisfaction they felt in seeing their vision come to life.
