Clarice: Add-A-Bead 2021

Clarice
Season 1 - Episode 8
”Add-a-Bead”

Synopsis

ViCAP investigates what appears to be a suicide of a medical student; Krendler secretly collects a DNA sample from the man he suspects attacked Clarice at Woodhaven.

Relationships

One of the most meaningful and valuable relationships that came out of working on “Queen Sugar” was with one of my colleagues DeMane Davis, who was a director, showrunner and executive producer on “Queen Sugar” as well as a number of other shows. DeMane is a ray of light, creating such stability and support, elevating every set she’s on. And because of the “Ava Effect” she extended an opportunity to me to direct “Clarice,” a new show created by Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet that focused on the life of Clarice Starling just after her experience with Hannibal Lecter that we all know from “Silence of the Lambs.” This opportunity was thrilling and high stakes, because of how much that film meant to me. I was obsessed with the story, the performances, how it was shot… and the chance to pay homage to this iconic piece of work demanded I bring my best. It was an honor to take the reins on this episode and bring the perfect combination of a director’s vision and a collaborative ethos.

Reflections

In addition to the performances and themes of the story, I wanted to connect cinematic elements from “Silence of the Lambs” to “Clarice,”. One shot I wanted to reference was in the middle of the film, when Hannibal is asking Clarice about her past and giving her insight into Buffalo Bill. It’s a close up of Clarice, but Hannibal’s reflection in the glass appears next to her face as he speaks to her. We had the chance to reflect this in a scene where our Clarice was observing an interrogation, outside of the room. In between the subject, a frightened young man, and the detective questioning him, we were able to achieve the reflection of Clarice’s face, perfectly haunting the scene with her depth of perception, the way Hannibal haunted and revealed his perceptions with her in the film.

Macro

I love using macro lenses to delicately and viscerally capture the sensuality of emotion and human flesh. There were plenty of opportunities with this episode to do so, starting with our very first shot, where we went in extremely close on the skin of a roasting duck over an open flame, fat dripping, following the wafts of it through vents until we reach Clarice in her therapist’s office, saying “I know that smell.” The effect of this felt perfect for the tone and horror elements of the show, and which is a style I frequently use in my films. Later when Clarice is delving deep into her past with her therapist, she recalls her father giving her an “add-a-bead” necklace, and the traumatic memories that are caught up in the beads themselves. When one falls, we again used a macro lens to follow it in extreme close up, tumbling down into a grate. It added a layer of gravitas and surreality to Clarice’s experience of her memory, which felt like the right way to handle the moment. It was such a pleasure to be able to execute my ideas with the creative team and cinematographer, Brendan Steacy on “Clarice.”