CHRIS CARROLL - Assistant Director

CHRIS CARROLL - Assistant Director

From Team Deakins by James Ellis Deakins, Roger Deakins

May 6, 2026 · 1h 5m · Season 2 · Episode 192

About this episode

Chris Carroll discusses his role as an assistant director and shares insights from his experiences in film production.

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 192 Chris Carroll - Assistant Director In this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with assistant director Chris Carroll (THE MASTERMIND, YELLOWSTONE, NIGHT MOVES). Throughout the episode, Chris shares how he juggles the many duties of the role, and we learn how an early-career run-in with assistant director Michael Lerman (Season 1, Episode 85) set him on the path to becoming one himself. Chris also frequently collaborates with director Kelly Reichardt and cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt (Season 2, Episode 179), and he reflects on making films such as MEEK'S CUTOFF and NIGHT MOVES on limited budgets in remote locations. We later discuss the challenges of building out the schedule for production, and Chris shares how he tries to balance the needs of every department with the realities of the shoot. We also learn how Chris monitors and manages the crew's mood, and we discuss where he physically is on the day. We also learn how Chris works with extras, and he reveals how different his job can be on a television series like YELLOWSTONE. - This episode is sponsored by Aputure

People in this episode

Hosts: James Ellis Deakins, Roger Deakins

Guest: Chris Carroll

Topics covered

  • assistant director
  • film production
  • collaboration
  • budget challenges
  • crew management
  • television series

Keywords

  • assistant director
  • film
  • production schedule
  • crew management
  • television
  • YELLOWSTONE
  • budget

Sponsors

Aputure

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: THE MASTERMIND, YELLOWSTONE, NIGHT MOVES, MEEK'S CUTOFF

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