BTL Radio Show - 09/16/2024 with ALYSSA RALLO BENNETT and our exclusive interview with BOB SALERNO

Behind The Lens

Interesting conversations and filmmaker insights on this episode of BEHIND THE LENS as director ALYSSA RALLO BENNETT joins us going in-depth about her new film THE ARRIVAL, and you’ll hear my exclusive interview with producer-turned-director BOB SALERNO discussing his feature directorial debut HERE AFTER.

First up is my exclusive interview with longtime producer now turned director, BOB SALERNO, talking about his feature directorial debut with HERE AFTER which stars Connie Britton. Some great perspective from Bob as we dive into the diversity of his prior films as a producer to give depth and context for what he now tackled as a director with HERE AFTER. Digging into “the making of” HERE AFTER, Bob discusses the challenges of a limited budget, shooting in Italy, limitations on work hours, casting in Italy and finding actors to embody the supporting characters, visual grammar and developing a visual tonal bandwidth and working with his cinematographer Bartosz Nalazek, working with editor John Lyons, the film’s score with composition and orchestration by Fabrizio Mancinelli, lessons learned even by a seasoned producer once he puts his director’s hat on.

Then we are joined by director ALYSSA RALLO BENNETT to discuss her new film THE ARRIVAL. Very interesting story with intriguing personalities and plot points that speak to various social themes as we are dropped into several conversations taking place within an upscale bar restaurant. Honing in on each pairing of individuals, we discover the purpose of each in being there and are along for their individual journeys filled with intersecting people and tales. Characters are interesting and engaging thanks to being well developed on the page and brought to life with nuance in the performances. Listen as Alyssa talks about being an “actor’s director”, casting and rehearsal, and how this script was written by Grant O. Bennett and developed and tailored to specific actors in the story. With visuals as important as the story and acting, Alyssa hones in on the multi-level location and working with her cinematographer Michael Junari, making use of the entire space to provide various POVs with some metaphoric and telling camera angles. And, of course, we also dig into the sound design and undercurrent of a score, and more! Plus, some great tips on distribution and on working with Gravitas Ventures on this film.