The Disney|ABC Directors Program has been great. I shadowed on Episode 1320 and had the opportunity to see how fellow Program (and NYU alum) Nzingha Stewart worked. It’s always a pleasure to see the process of different directors and compare it to your own while surely finding strategies that can elevate your own process.

The Grey’s Anatomy cast and crew were incredible. Stars Kelly McCreary and Caterina Scorsone introduced themselves and were super warm and inviting. Kelly has a very compelling storyline going on right now and kills it in every scene.

Ellen Pompeo was amazing, too. She was coming off directing her very first episode and generously invited me into the edit suite to view some of her footage and her editing process. It was great to see how the talent on this show values collaboration for the best creative outcomes.

The glue that held my entire experience together was the incomparable Executive Producer, Ms. Debbie Allen. Each and every day Debbie asked how I would shoot, block, direct, adapt, etc to every given scene. She posed probing questions that challenged my approach in an effort to make sure I’d thoroughly considered all the ramifications of every creative choice. In all honesty, it may have been more focused learning and interplay than anything I did over my 4 years at NYU. I could write 1,000 words on how amazing she is, but I’ll leave it with the statement, though often overused as a platitude, that Debbie Allen Is The Best.

I’ll be continuing to watch the show as it moves into it’s 14th season and will definitely drop by the set to check more happenings out when I can. Below are a bunch of photos that I snagged on set in between set-ups, shots, and conversation.


[Video Village]

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[Location Scouting Using the Artemis App for Lens Choices]


[I had the opportunity to direct a photo shoot for images within the show]


[Shotlisting Via the Hollywood Shot Designer App]


[The Breezeway, where so many locations are set up that extend beyond the sets]


[On Set for the Sister House]


[RIP to this mannequin…designed to hold all the fake stuff for surgeries]


[Director Victoria Mahoney swung by to say what’s up while she was on the lot]


[Customary coffee cart paid for by the director and writer to thank the crew!]