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Written By: Jami Attenberg
Daniel Attias (Director) has worked with Six Feet Under since the second season. In addition to directing "Tears, Bones and Desire" (#34), Daniel also directed "Back to the Garden" (#20).
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Daniel received a BA in English literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA in film production from UCLA. He then entered the film business through the Directors Guild's Assistant Directors Training Program, and worked as an Assistant Director for, among others, Steven Spielberg, Francis Coppola, Wim Wenders and Sam Fuller. His first directing assignment was for the feature film Stephen King's Silver Bullet, and has since worked as a Producer and Director on Party of Five. His other directorial television credits include multiple episodes of The Sopranos, Alias, The Practice, Northern Exposure, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Read more on Daniel Attias.
In "Tears, Bones and Desire," David and Keith venture onto the paintball field, along with David's chorus friends, Terry and Patrick, and an assortment of more experienced players. While David, Terry, and Patrick initially feel out of their element in a place with playing fields named "Waterloo" and "Omaha Beach," Keith tells David, "Welcome to MY party, baby," and uses the afternoon as an opportunity to work out his aggression. Shot in 16mm, the paintball battle scenes are reminiscent of a war film, complete with a slow motion death sequence.
What strategies did the production team use to tackle this difficult location shoot? And what challenges did they face? Director Daniel Attias explains the process behind Six Feet Under's first foray into the war genre.
The first challenge, according to Daniel, was that the production faced limited daylight hours.
"We filmed in early January when the amount of daylight hours is less than at any other time of year," explains Daniel. "Coupled with that was the challenge of our paintball 'course' being nestled into a canyon setting, which further diminished our available sunlight."
So while most Six Feet Under production days are budgeted for approximately twelve hours of shooting, the production team only had eight hours each day to complete their work.
"What we decided to do was to provide food all day, but never formally break for lunch...to keep shooting while the sun was up. This strategy is sometimes called 'French hours'."
In addition, according to Daniel, the production had to plan the scenes very carefully, consolidating locations wherever possible, and varying the "look" by moving set dressing, like the large wooden spools, or the sandbags used for bunkers. This strategy enabled the production to move the company as little as possible, which also maximized shooting time.
"For example," explains Daniel, "An early draft of the script had the initial arrival of David, Patrick and Terry take place in the parking lot. But to shoot it there would have required an hour to move to the interior of the course for the body of the work. So we simply introduced them already inside, creating a yellow-taped corridor to suggest a path to other courses. The scene where the guys meet the character of Boo is actually just a few feet from the next scene where teams are chosen."
Beyond time constraints, the production also faced the challenge of shooting the paintball "splats" safely.
"The plastic pellets which are shot from air-guns travel at great velocity, and being struck by them is both painful and potentially dangerous. In fact, the paintball establishment has rules which required headgear be worn at all times by those in the line of fire. So the actors and the working crew had to suit up (in the required headgear) whenever 'live' ammo was used. In those sequences where actors lifted their visors for dialogue, no paintballs were actually fired."
He continues, "We resorted to a trick when we introduced David, Terry and Patrick first being assaulted. The camera sees paint splats on a tree, then on a barrier, which the camera then moves behind to find our three heroes talking about wishing they were at Magic Mountain. We had to have them remove their headgear in the slight interlude between seeing the splats and coming around the tree, during which time the shooting ceased, although sound effects create the illusion that they were continuing."
The decision to use 16mm film also presented a few challenges, though Daniel felt it was important to the success of the sequence. "We wanted to approximate that documentary, grainy style associated with war footage," says Daniel. The production benefited from Director of Photography Alan Caso's past experience as the camera operator on the television series Tour of Duty.
They also chose to use a hand-held camera wherever possible. "'Whip-panning', or running with a hand-held camera, can be more jarring and help to create the sense of discomfort and uncertainty associated with a warlike situation," he says.
He adds, "We also elected to shoot in slow motion where it might assist in subjectively recreating the guys' grandiose fantasies of their heroism and drama. We had some fun introducing the character of Sarge in a lingering slow motion shot, and of course the ending 'blood-bath' was shot in slow motion as well."
And finally, the crew faced an overall challenge simply in the fact that they were shooting on location.
"Shooting on location can be a little like a war game itself," says Daniel. "The crew is your army, the location is the objective, and time is your enemy."
The main difference between location shooting and studio shooting, Daniel explains, is how subject the production is to variables largely out of their control.
'The weather plays a factor, as does traffic noise, airplanes, unruly neighbors, looky-loos, and scores of other considerations you would never otherwise think about," says Daniel. "I love location shooting both because it is such a challenge and because you can incorporate 'the world' into your show. No matter how big the budget, it's tough to beat nature or life itself for production value."
And how does this paintball sequence play a role in David and Keith's relationship?
"It feels to me to be the other shoe dropping from the previous week's party at Terry's house. David was more comfortable in the effete setting of the 'Leading Ladies' game - where Keith was the fish-out-of-water - and Keith is clearly more comfortable in the macho war-game setting, which is a stretch for David. I suppose both sequences advance the relationship in the sense that now each partner has shared more of himself, as well as experiencing more of the inner life of the other."
He adds, "Perhaps most significantly it introduces David and Keith to Sarge, with whom they engage in their first 'three-way' sexual experience. We tried as best we could not to tip that Sarge had gay leanings, and I hope that someone out there was surprised when he showed up in Keith's and David's bedroom."
Of his experience on the show, Daniel says, "Working on Six Feet Under is a great privilege. Although the expectations are high, the process seems remarkably free of stress. This is similar in my experience to working on The Sopranos, and I think it has largely to do with two things. One is the presence of a strong series creator whose vision is clear and communicated, and the other is the respect accorded to all the creative partners, who are encouraged to bring along their own points of view and talents."
He adds, "I also really enjoy getting to work with material which is complex, ambiguous, and not afraid to leave questions unresolved. So much television appeals to the lowest common denominator, but Six Feet Under respects its audience enough to challenge it. As much work as generating a television show always is, the experience on this show is enlivening, which I think ultimately makes it a better experience to watch."
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