NO FILM SCHOOL: How did you get involved in season 2 of The Old Man? What was your process like when you first signed on to the project?
Ben Semanoff: I think I had met with the Littlefield Group at some point. I can’t recall if it was a general or specifically about The Old Man, but we had a nice conversation. Then my manager reached out to me while working in Vancouver on season 2 of Yellowjackets to let me know that the folks over at The Old Man were interested in talking with me about season 2. So we set a meeting, which are all on zoom these days, and I connected with Dan Shotz. Ironically, Dan was also in Vancouver at the same time (probably three blocks away) working on their other show, Percy Jackson. Dan and I hit it off right away! We just seemed to be speaking the same cinematic language. And, just as we are ending the call he asked where I was from. Turns out, Dan and I, along with Jon Steinberg (one of the creators of The Old Man) all grew up in roughly the same area, just outside Philadelphia.
Once I signed on, as with most shows I’ve guest directed, you’re at the mercy of when scripts are ready. This really determines if you’ll be able to do much work ahead of any formal prep. Being that the second season started filming a couple months prior to the writers strike, they had worked diligently to get ahead on scripts. So I had my script for a few weeks prior to my formal prep which gave me lots of time to sit with the material which is quite the luxury.
This episode is quite unique. What was your process like when you first signed on to the project?
My process tends to be similar on most shows. First, I try to read the script purely as an audience member because this is the first and only time I’ll get to enjoy the material as an audience member. It is, for lack of a better term, unadulterated. Once you start to formulate a plan, discuss the plan, have heaps of meetings about the plan, try to execute the plan and on the day run into hurdles and obstacles that try to prevent you from succeeding with your plan, and finally come out the other side, the show is permanently tied to that experience! There is never reading or watching your episode ever again without all those memories being activated! So, once I finish my first read, and have gotten to enjoy the show as an audience member, then I start breaking down the script. As I revisit scenes I think about how I initially visualized them, which is a great jumping off point, but then I start to question the why. In my mind's eye, I explore blocking ideas, story relevance, relationships between characters, and decide whose perspective I want to anchor the story or particular scene to. Once I’ve worked through those ideas, I visualize the various approaches I might take towards photography. And as I do, I remind myself of whose perspective I’m in, and of what story I’m trying to tell with the photography.
Could you share more about the meaning of water in the episode?
Originally, the script only featured the water heater leaking in the basement. But I loved this metaphor. The idea that Harper had tried to keep his personal life sheltered from his former life in the CIA, and even from what he currently did in the FBI, and that barrier had cracked and was leaking. But Harold wasn’t the only character dealing with kinks in their armor. Chase’s relationship with his daughter Emily was strained by her learning that Hamzad was her real father. And Harper was still grappling with the fact that Angela was actually Emily. And Emily was coming to terms with Hamzad being her real father, having been stolen from her family as a toddler, and then the passing of Hamzad before she could make peace with any of it! So I suggested weaving the theme of water throughout the episode. We added rain, as if Harper’s & Chase’s worlds weren’t just breaking from the inside out, but it was as if the dam was collapsing all around them. But there’s water in the first scene, running from the found in the Hamzad residence as the family gathers. Water is used when Hamzad’s body is washed and prepared. And even when Chase washes his hands after torturing the assassin. Water connects everything!
There is a sequence when the characters are sitting around with Emily on the other side of the phone. I heard that you changed some things by, for example, moving the conversation to the living room. Can you walk us through the sequence and your approach to it?
In the script, this scene had been staged in the study. There were a few scenes in this room in season 1. Harold playing legos with his grandson is one that comes to mind. But this room is rather small, and only has one window. And I knew it would be limiting when it came to blocking. Of course, on paper the scenes scripted for this room were simple, but they took place over several pages of script. Which means holding the audience’s attention over a long bit of screen time in a small room with four actors on a phone call, and never seeing the other side of the phone call! So I pitched moving the scene to the living room. This would offer two walls of floor to ceiling windows to push moonlight through during the power outage and much more room to block action. I just couldn’t imagine gluing the performers down during such an emotional scene, they needed some room to move and express how they were feeling beat by beat. And of course, this added flexibility was welcomed by my amazing cinematographer, Jules O’loughlin. But the windows were a blessing and a curse. This episode is entirely night, but the cast and crew would have revolted if we suggested shooting this all night for night. So we tented the house. But that meant the wall of windows that was going to allow us to motivate light, also became a black hole when we looked at them. So thankfully, the idea of introducing the rain helped create texture for those windows and combined with shears I think Jules was able to create a mood that you felt, and one that supported the story. But in addition to motivating the ambient through the windows, I really wanted to feel the light from the cell phone. It was almost Emily’s presence. I wanted the performers to huddle over it and feel the light on them… almost like a campfire. And since I was trying to lean into the horror a bit… this uplighting worked perfectly to help set the mood.
Hamzad’s funeral sequence is another significant scene, and afterward, we see Emily saying goodbye separately. Emily also didn’t get to say goodbye to her mom. How did that and cultural circumstances affect your approach to the sequence?
Good question! Well, I mentioned earlier that my approach has a lot to do with determining perspective. I think anchoring a characters’ perspective is critical to filmmaking. It really helps the audience connect to the story. In Hamzad’s funeral we see all of the men carry Hamzad’s body to the grave. We had some great cultural advisors on the show that helped ensure the nuance was captured correctly. That the ritual was honest and true. But the main character here was Emily, and being that she was a woman. She wasn’t participating in the funeral in the same way as the men. So as much as I wanted the rituals that the men were following to be accurate, it was more important to me to capture Emily’s experience as she watched from several hundred yards up the hill with the other women. So you’ll notice the photography is rooted in her perspective.
Do you have any advice for aspiring directors or someone who also wants to transition from another department?
The path to directing is different for everyone, and many directors have former lives in various crafts throughout the industry. These experiences help build a knowledge base that can be invaluable when it comes to finally getting your shot to direct. So in the short term, focus on the opportunities that are right in front of you. They’ll only make you a better director when the time comes.
Another bit of advice would be to keep your goal of directing to yourself until you’re on the precipice of an opportunity. Focus on being the best you can be at the job you’re doing at the moment. Employers want to hire people that are excited about the job they are being hired for, as opposed to hiring someone that’s excited about someone else’s job. And when it comes to getting that opportunity to direct it will be given to those that are great at their current job!
