FBI International: American Optomism 2021
FBI International
Season 1 - Episode 4
”American Optomism”
Synopsis
The team investigates an American citizen who is proclaiming his innocence after seeking sanctuary at Madrid's U.S. embassy while still covered in the blood of his murdered Spanish boyfriend. Also, Vo and Raines continue to grow their friendship.
I loved this episode of “FBI International.” Living in Budapest for this job and collaborating with the amazing international crew was like a dream coming true. I had done one episode of the show, the third, and we hit the ground running moving right into this fourth one, “American Optimism.”
Building Madrid in Hungary
I was floored by the work of our production designer, Michael Fleischer, when we found a town in Hungary that we would shoot for Madrid. What Michael and his team did was absolutely extraordinary, and beautiful, down to every detail. The episode opened with a chase scene, following a terrified and guilty-seeming American to the American Embassy, as he dodged cafe tables, pedestrians and bolted through a huge fountain, hotly pursued by the Spanish policia. Michael covered every possible angle with the correct Spanish design, which brought a contagious level of dedication and artistry to the set.
Guest Actors
I’m always amazed by the work of actors, especially when they only have a few scenes in a show, and it is my highest priority to create a concentrated and safe environment for all of the actors to do their best work, no matter the size of their role. It was important to me to cast a non white actor in the complicated and deep role of Drew Edmonson, and I love the heartbreaking performance that Ivan Mok gave, as well as the other dayplayers in this episode.
My Cinematic Eye
I love that, in keeping with the sweeping, plot twisting scope of each episode, the look of this show is both epic and intimate. That the imagery can be raw and real and also uniquely poetic. It was a thrill to step into and even have a role in establishing some of this look.
In this episode I embraced opportunities to artfully use parallax that uses foreground elements, shooting through objects and in the reflection of windows to not only create elegant transitions but continually reveal hidden truths. In the more private scenes between Forrester and his new love, Jamie, this felt like the perfect way to communicate the push and pull between their desire for one another, and their desire for their relationship not to get in the way of work.
It was also vibrant and fun to shoot the final scene at the Ambassador’s ball, where some of the agents step onto the floor with beautiful rhythmic dance moves. Here I wanted to incorporate as long of a shot as possible, to look like a choreographed single shot with subtle and organic movements that flowed like the music the characters were dancing to.