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Hello. This is Frank Spotnitz.
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I wrote and directed this episode.
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It's called "Alone". It was episode 18
of the eighth season of The X-Files.
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00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:17,154
And since this was
the first episode | directed,
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I gave a lot of thought as to what the story
should be and how I'd go about it.
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Just looking at all these shots
puts me right back in the moment.
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There's two schools of thought
when you first direct an episode.
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One is that you just try and come up
with something very simple,
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so that you get through it
and don't screw it up.
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00:00:38,480 --> 00:00:42,393
The other is that you just go for it
and give yourself a challenge
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00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:44,829
and show you can handle it.
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I took the latter approach. This episode has
guys in suits, and CG, and a rotating set,
13
00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:54,639
and all the stuff
that we'll talk about as the show goes on.
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These are two good actors. That old man,
who's not so old in real life, is James Otis,
15
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and playing his son there is Tony Ketcham,
a great guy, very funny guy.
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And they made my first-time experience
a really pleasant one.
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There you go. There's an interesting shot.
18
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When you're a writer,
you imagine these great shots.
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Then when you actually try and direct,
20
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you realise what the camera can do
and what lights can do.
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And there are limits.
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Not a lot of limits, but there are limits.
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That shot of the fireplace, usually
a shot like that, you would wait until later.
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You'd have the second unit
or the insert unit get a shot like that.
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It doesn't require principal actors,
and why take up your main unit's time
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with something so simple,
like a shot of the fireplace?
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But I was determined to try and get
all the inserts during main unit.
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I gave up on that eventually,
because it proved impossible.
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This is a hard shot.
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You imagine all these things, and when
you actually direct it's difficult to achieve.
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I had the camera rotating up
and above this man's head.
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And to have the camera do that,
to stay close to his face, to stay in focus
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and not have any shadows from the camera
was a challenge.
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Anyway...
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Here's the son hearing
something is wrong in the next room.
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I had never directed before so I didn't know
how to prepare as a director
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for shooting my material.
38
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So I sat with my script in my office,
39
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and ljust went and literally designed
every shot here in my head.
40
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And then when I came to the set,
I knew exactly what pieces I'd be shooting
41
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and how they'd out together.
42
00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:50,678
And more or less
I followed that plan perfectly
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through all the days
of shooting for this episode.
44
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And, really, what helped me the most
in preparing to direct
45
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was that I had spent years in editing rooms
46
00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:05,716
watching how film cuts together
and the problems you get
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00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:11,432
if the director hasn't anticipated the way
film is supposed to go together properly.
48
00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:17,031
Here | just wanted to show the audience
a little bit of the monster,
49
00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:22,592
enough to give your imagination
something to latch onto.
50
00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:26,598
And there you go. There was the teaser.
51
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The first thing I saw was the teaser.
52
00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:31,591
The editor of the episode,
Lynne Willingham,
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00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:35,719
who's been with The X-Files
since the fifth season, called me down.
54
00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:39,509
She was excited for me to see it,
because she thought it was so great.
55
00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:43,957
That cut is basically the way she cut it
from the very beginning.
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00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:49,273
And I was pleased with myself that
I had not completely screwed up the show.
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As a writer, it always helps to know exactly
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why you wanna tell a story.
59
00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:03,955
This was an episode
that had a lot of special requirements.
60
00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:09,273
It helped me focus very clearly
on why I wanted to tell it.
61
00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:12,628
It was the 18th episode
of the eighth season,
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and so I knew it would be
the last stand-alone episode ever
63
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for agents Mulder and Scully,
that David Duchovny was leaving the series,
64
00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:23,594
and so I wanted it to be special.
65
00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:29,915
And I came upon the idea
of having Scully leaving the X-Files office.
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00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:33,874
I knew if the show did go on, she would
not be assigned to the X-Files office.
67
00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:37,197
Agent Doggett
and his new partner Agent Reyes would.
68
00:04:37,280 --> 00:04:41,751
And it was a way to look back at the show
and some of the fond memories
69
00:04:41,840 --> 00:04:47,710
that we as writers and you as viewers
had of the show over the past eight years,
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00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:50,360
the Mulder and Scully era.
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00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:54,638
And so I had Scully moving out
and looking at these keepsakes
72
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and came up specifically with the idea
of her giving to Agent Doggett
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00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:02,513
this memento
that Agent Mulder had given to her
74
00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:06,309
in the two-part episode
called "Tempus Fugit" and "Max".
75
00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:12,752
Which I thought thematically
was just perfect and made a lot of sense.
76
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She's expressing my feelings
for Robert Patrick
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when she says to him
how much she owes to him.
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Robert Patrick really did get us
through the eighth year of the show.
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So it was easy for me to plug into the
emotion Scully was feeling in this scene.
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00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:34,116
More obviously in this episode,
| created a character
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00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:37,829
who could speak to the Mulder/Scully era
very directly.
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That is the person
you'll meet in a few moments,
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00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:44,595
Agent Leyla Harrison,
played by Jolie Jenkins.
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00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:49,151
And Leyla Harrison, as some of you
may know if you're X-Files fans,
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fans enough to have bought this DVD set,
was a fan of the show who passed away,
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00:05:56,000 --> 00:06:00,755
and I'd managed to correspond
with her once before she died.
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00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:05,158
I came up with the idea of a character
who was a fan of the show.
88
00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:09,313
Of course, this is a fictitious world
and there wouldn't be a fan of the show.
89
00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:13,916
I made her an accountant at the FBI who had
followed Mulder and Scully's adventures.
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ltjust seemed like a perfect tribute to her
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to name the character after Leyla Harrison.
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This is also nicely played.
93
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These are just two wonderful actors.
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Some people give wonderful performances
on TV but they've been created editorially.
95
00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:35,274
But these are two people
who are just terrific all the time
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00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:39,717
and make myjob as a director
incredibly easy.
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00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:43,952
l was moved shooting this scene.
On the day it brought tears to my eyes.
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Actually, I was more moved shooting it
than lwas when it out together.
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It was really just the power
of the real-world ideas in this scene,
100
00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:56,990
Robert Patrick and Gillian Anderson.
101
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lt affected me.
102
00:06:59,880 --> 00:07:03,919
So here's a nice ironic moment
for the character of John Doggett.
103
00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:06,639
How did he end up alone
in the X-Files office,
104
00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:09,996
this cop, sceptic, who never had
any desire to be on this unit?
105
00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:13,914
Now here he is,
the standard-bearer for the X-Files.
106
00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:16,514
That's a funny place
for his character to end up.
107
00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:21,754
This is very revealing. It tells you how much
he likes Scully and how much he misses her.
108
00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:28,753
And it's not Scully he sees.
It's this very cute, young, eager agent.
109
00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:31,434
I got lucky with the casting of Jolie Jenkins.
110
00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:35,274
The casting director and his assistant
brought her in
111
00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:40,070
and I knew as soon as she came in she was
perfect. And she was great from day one.
112
00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:42,276
Really understood the character
113
00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:45,079
and brought a lot of humour
and humanity to her.
114
00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:48,311
She brings out the Clint Eastwood
in Robert Patrick here,
115
00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:51,312
which is really what makes
for so much of the comedy.
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00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:55,552
l was so charmed by her performance
that I did something you don't normally do,
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00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:59,872
in a show like ours, which is | end the scene
with her, with a guest character.
118
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She has this nervous look
at the end of the scene.
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I really enjoyed that.
120
00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:13,790
There's a lot of fluid camerawork in here,
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which is inspired very consciously
by so many of the fine directors
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that we've had on the show - Kim Manners
and Rob Bowman and David Nutter -
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00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:27,676
who were always moving the camera,
finding interesting frames.
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Notjust to be moving the camera
but to help tell the story
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and create a visual interest.
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It's never too showy, I hope,
or too self-conscious.
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This is supposed to be Ellicott, New York,
which is a real town,
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near where a former assistant of mine,
Michele Fazekas, grew up.
129
00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:50,470
She grew up in Buffalo,
and this was my little inside tribute to her.
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As was the character of Leyla Harrison.
131
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Some of the way she speaks is kind of
like the way Michele speaks or spoke.
132
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Actually, we're in Topanga Canyon.
133
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This house is on stage six
at 20th Century Fox in West Los Angeles.
134
00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:10,635
But the exterior was Topanga Canyon,
135
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which anybody who knows Los Angeles
knows is near Malibu.
136
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This is an exposition scene.
lt's relaying the clues for the mystery here.
137
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But I gotta say, to me, the monster was
the least interesting part of this episode.
138
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I came up, deliberately,
with a very simple classic monster here,
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just a guy who turns into a salamander man.
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Because I wanted it to be about the X-Files,
about Mulder and Scully leaving,
141
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about Doggett taking their place
but having to do so alone.
142
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And I wanted the sort of elegiac quality
to this episode. It was the end of an era.
143
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Some complicated monster story
144
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would've taken screen time away from
my ability to express all those other ideas.
145
00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:02,999
One thing viewers
probably don't think about
146
00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:06,078
is that these shows
have to come in on time.
147
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There's a format,
and it must be adhered to, to the second.
148
00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:14,513
My first cut of this episode
was nine minutes longer
149
00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:16,870
than the version you're watching here.
150
00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:21,869
And, with help from some of my fellow
producers, David Amann and John Shiban,
151
00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:27,472
I got it down to two minutes over
and was still fairly happy.
152
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But the last two minutes I took out
were painful.
153
00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:33,197
There are things that
l was sorry to take out.
154
00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:36,392
I don't think they made it better,
but you gotta do it.
155
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Sometimes there are things explained in
our scripts, but on the air it's not explained.
156
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It's simply because we didn't have time
to use all the footage we shot.
157
00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:50,115
This is another Clint Eastwood moment
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for Robert Patrick's character here,
which I liked.
159
00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:02,557
To me, the scariest ones work better
if there's humour to offset the fear,
160
00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:06,759
if there's lightness against the darkness.
161
00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:12,079
And it's so easy to build empathy
for Jolie Jenkins' character here
162
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cos her heart is so clearly in the right place.
163
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Again, we're in Topanga Canyon here.
164
00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:24,193
Robert Patrick's gonna walk up the hill
after seeing the Salamander Man
165
00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:28,512
and magically end up in Encino,
which is where the mansion exists,
166
00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:33,594
where we shot the exteriors
for the next part of the story.
167
00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:44,110
This episode works on one level -
if you've never seen The X-Files,
168
00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:47,715
you gather that she's a follower
of Mulder and Scully's adventures.
169
00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:51,793
But if you are a die-hard fan,
I think the rewards here are much richer
170
00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:54,713
because you know
all the things she's alluding to.
171
00:11:54,800 --> 00:12:00,636
It makes you laugh, cos it rewards you
for having followed the show.
172
00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:09,156
There's a dry look from Robert.
173
00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:13,068
He's an intense guy, I'll tell you.
A great guy, but very intense.
174
00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:20,550
This is, I will freely admit,
a steal from Planet of the Apes.
175
00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:26,390
There's that moment in Planet of the Apes
when the astronauts are skinny-dipping
176
00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:28,994
and their clothes disappear from the shore.
177
00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:35,275
That's one of my favourite movies
and I very self-consciously stole.
178
00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:38,909
I think it's always a good thing to steal.
179
00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:44,791
If something works, it's likely to work again.
The context is so different,
180
00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:48,517
I don't think it spoils anyone's enjoyment.
181
00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:50,431
This man here, David Duchovny,
182
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was also a big reason
why I ended up directing this episode.
183
00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:55,756
I had been reluctant to direct
184
00:12:55,840 --> 00:13:01,790
because my duties as producer and writer
were pretty demanding as it was,
185
00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:06,351
and also I saw these amazing directors
come in and barely make the schedule.
186
00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:09,352
I wasn't sure I wanted that kind of hardship.
187
00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:13,638
David encouraged me to direct
before it was too late.
188
00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:18,475
And I finally decided that I would be sorry
if I didn't direct before he left the show.
189
00:13:18,560 --> 00:13:21,472
And so ljust barely made it under the wire.
190
00:13:21,560 --> 00:13:24,711
He is great to work with,
because he's not only a fine actor,
191
00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:28,879
but he really stimulates your thinking
and challenges you to do better.
192
00:13:28,960 --> 00:13:31,428
This scene was improved immeasurably
193
00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:35,798
by some ad-libs that he came up with
on the set.
194
00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:41,477
Very funny and charming and very strange
to see Mulder and Scully in this situation.
195
00:13:41,560 --> 00:13:45,838
At this point we still had not revealed
the paternity of Scully's baby.
196
00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:50,152
Mulder and Scully presumably knew
if they had consummated their relationship.
197
00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:55,394
And so this scene is meant as a tease.
Did they or didn't they?
198
00:13:55,520 --> 00:13:59,672
It could well be that Mulder is just a good
close friend helping her go to Lamaze
199
00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:01,990
or it could be more.
200
00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:05,550
Later we found out that it was more.
201
00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:11,275
But for the actors,
they had to play on that fine line.
202
00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:15,913
l was always struck by the chemistry
between Mulder and Scully.
203
00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:19,589
And watching it now,
as I am, with the sound off,
204
00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:24,796
and see that chemistry.
205
00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:33,751
Here we are no longer in Topanga Canyon
but in Encino, and this is also in Encino.
206
00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:37,713
We had to take very, very good care
of this house.
207
00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:41,110
We lost a lot of time taking good care of it
208
00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:46,314
and making sure we didn't
so much as scuff a hardwood floor.
209
00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:53,474
This was a painful cut I made right here.
That scene originally had much more to it.
210
00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:54,993
There's a complicated camera move
211
00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:58,795
that went up to the wall
and found the creature there.
212
00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:02,236
Now we're back on stage six, or five,
213
00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:08,395
one of the two stages where we primarily
filmed The X-Files on the Fox lot.
214
00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:12,553
Our production designer, Corey Kaplan,
did a beautiful job as usual.
215
00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:15,990
And the set decorator, Tim Stepeck.
216
00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:23,000
Here I got another insert from main unit.
217
00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:25,156
Watch this.
218
00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:33,829
As we open the book, there you go.
219
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That's main unit.
That's Robert Patrick's blurry head.
220
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This shot is quite a shot.
221
00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:43,113
It goes by really fast,
but this was a big old deal.
222
00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:46,875
We had a huge crane
rushing down that hallway.
223
00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:49,269
I'd say the crane was about 100 feet long.
224
00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:54,639
And we had the whole camera crew
running with that thing.
225
00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:59,430
Had to practise it a few times
to get itjust right, make it stop.
226
00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:03,951
We were all really proud of ourselves
for that shot. That was pretty cool.
227
00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:06,634
There were more cuts in this scene as well.
228
00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:11,111
Originally, we saw a blurry,
out-of-focus monster behind Agent Doggett.
229
00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:14,038
It wasn't just that camera point of view.
230
00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:17,795
We literally saw there was a monster there.
231
00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:23,557
It works just fine this way.
But, again, the constraints of time.
232
00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:27,076
And the suspense. It's not the monster.
233
00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:30,310
"Agent Harrison."
234
00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:36,917
Just love the lighting here.
Bill Roe, director of photography.
235
00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:41,391
I like the deep black on the right side
of Agent Doggett's face.
236
00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:45,830
Rim lighting around his eyes and nose.
237
00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:57,238
This was late at night. This was like
2.30, 3am, the end of a long week.
238
00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:02,511
These actors have gotta act like
they're perfectly fresh and wide awake,
239
00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:09,597
even though it's the fifth day
of a 16-hour—a-day week.
240
00:17:14,360 --> 00:17:19,878
A charming little moment here.
She doesn't have her safety off.
241
00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:26,112
Jolie Jenkins had never had to carry
a gun before in any part she'd played.
242
00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:30,034
l was struck by the reality
of what a frightening thing a gun is to hold.
243
00:17:30,120 --> 00:17:35,638
It was so heavy for her. But it actually
worked great for the character.
244
00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:40,550
And here's another shot
that proved to be hard to achieve.
245
00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:43,791
This, coming up to her face,
246
00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:48,994
and then even more difficult
was this, zooming down at her.
247
00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:51,958
Watch this.
248
00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:55,552
That. Because of the constraints
placed on us
249
00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:59,076
by the gentleman
who owned this house in Encino,
250
00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:01,754
we couldn't put a proper crane
on that sidewalk.
251
00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:05,310
He didn't want the weight of a crane
on the pavement.
252
00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:10,315
So we had to use a very short crane,
which didn't really achieve my objective.
253
00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:14,758
So I shrunk the image of Jolie Jenkins there,
254
00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:18,276
and had John Wash and Mat Beck,
our visual effects producers,
255
00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:21,830
extend, paint additional scenery
around the edges,
256
00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:24,115
and then blow up the shot.
257
00:18:27,360 --> 00:18:29,476
This was a big old deal.
258
00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:33,440
We had to dig this hole here.
259
00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:38,036
You can miss this. It's a blink,
but there's a shot here, overhead, vertical,
260
00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:40,879
of Agent Doggett falling into the trap.
261
00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:42,951
It was actually shot on stage.
262
00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:46,430
We got way high up
into the permanents, they call them.
263
00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:48,471
It just went by there.
264
00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:56,478
Shot straight down
so you could really see him going down.
265
00:18:56,560 --> 00:19:01,076
A lot of little pieces when you have action
like that make it exciting and convincing.
266
00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:06,194
Cos the hole that we dug at the mansion
was only a few feet deep.
267
00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:09,158
You couldn't have actually fallen into it.
268
00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:12,440
Back in Topanga Canyon, with Mitch Pileggi.
269
00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:15,990
l was sorry I wasn't able to give him
more to do in this episode.
270
00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:19,914
ljust put him in cos I wanted to be able
to work with Mitch, finally.
271
00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:24,915
So I found things for him to do. It can't have
been that demanding for him as an actor.
272
00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:29,152
I didn't want to miss the opportunity
cos I didn't know if I'd be directing again.
273
00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:35,475
This scene with Gillian Anderson in her
apartment was the first scene that I shot.
274
00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:38,358
There's that moment
when you direct for the first time
275
00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:40,908
when you describe the camera move
276
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,673
and you just wonder, are they gonna buy it?
277
00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:45,671
Are the actors and crew gonna say
278
00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:48,320
"We're not gonna do that.
You're out of your mind"?
279
00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:51,676
l was very relieved that I got away with it.
280
00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:53,159
And she's thinking.
281
00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:03,714
Virtually all of the filming inside of this cave
was done with the second-unit crew,
282
00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:05,916
which is the smaller crew.
283
00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:08,150
We have two units working on The X-Files:
284
00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:11,312
the main unit,
which shoots for eight days every episode,
285
00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:16,918
and the second unit, which shoots
the final three days and most of the inserts.
286
00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:20,436
We had lost our usual second-unit crew
at this point in the season.
287
00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:22,795
Most of them had gone off to do a movie.
288
00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:27,556
So I inherited an outside cinematographer,
a talented gentleman named Robert Primes,
289
00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:31,872
who did a greatjob with the stuff and was
a big fan of the X-Files lighting style
290
00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:36,994
that Bill Roe had practised
so beautifully for so many years.
291
00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:44,390
So I owe him a big debt for so much of this,
which looks very much like our show.
292
00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:49,873
There were a lot of challenges shooting in
this set. First of all it was very constricted.
293
00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:54,636
If you've ever seen what a camera crew
looks like, it's a lot of people,
294
00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:59,555
and it's very hard to shoot in a tight space
like this and it slows you down quite a bit.
295
00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:01,949
But also how do you light it?
296
00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:04,952
There are some
practical light sources there.
297
00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:10,672
But Bob came up with a lot of clever ways
to throw light on these walls
298
00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:13,513
to give the scenes
more depth and visual interest.
299
00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:18,355
That shot you just saw of him
looking up at the grate was actually CGI.
300
00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:21,079
That was just a hole with green fabric.
301
00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:23,879
And John and Mat extended it
302
00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:29,592
to make it look like he was looking up
at the grate that he had fallen through.
303
00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:34,110
Here's David and Gillian.
304
00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:40,679
lwished I could have given them
more screen time in this episode.
305
00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:45,788
There are so many objectives in a show
like this and you can only achieve so many.
306
00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:50,670
And, again, this is David,
307
00:21:51,360 --> 00:21:56,798
such a smart actor,
not wanting to play this sentimental.
308
00:21:56,880 --> 00:22:00,077
And it gives tension to the scene.
309
00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:03,516
He doesn't want her to be here.
He wants her to go home.
310
00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:09,869
And so he's gonna go out and help find out
what happened to Agent Doggett.
311
00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:16,279
These two actors
play off each other so well.
312
00:22:16,360 --> 00:22:19,158
Poor Jim Otis, having to play dead.
313
00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:22,520
Lying half-naked on an aluminium table.
314
00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:33,588
When you're shooting these things,
they're completely out of sequence.
315
00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:36,478
You're on a sound stage
and you've gotta get interiors
316
00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:39,836
of wherever you are in your episode
on certain days,
317
00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:45,751
and then other days you're all exterior or
all nights or all days, so it's all mixed up.
318
00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:49,674
So when you're preparing to shoot,
you've gotta be very clear in your mind
319
00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:52,911
about where the characters are
at that point in the story
320
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:57,949
and what your transitions are going to be,
visually, in and out of scenes.
321
00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:00,152
I like this one.
322
00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:07,350
I'm always very conscious
of things like that, visual transitions.
323
00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:13,994
This set is the main set,
324
00:23:14,120 --> 00:23:17,590
and there were
actually multiple versions of it,
325
00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:22,800
because one of the challenges I mentioned
I set up in this episode was a rotating set.
326
00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:28,392
One version of this hallway
rotated about 200 degrees.
327
00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:33,354
And I'll show you the shots
that made that necessary.
328
00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:36,352
They're coming up very soon here.
329
00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:43,039
Agent Doggett's looking around,
hears something.
330
00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:47,953
Look at the lighting here. This is
what I was talking about with Bob Primes.
331
00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:51,191
He had this pattern light shining.
332
00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:54,750
I don't know where it came from,
but it works, you buy it.
333
00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:56,910
Now watch this.
334
00:24:02,120 --> 00:24:05,749
Creature.
Now this is the rotating set right there.
335
00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:10,954
That's a guy in a suit and a wire.
Right there, all that stuff.
336
00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:15,238
The set was rotating. It's like the
Fred Astaire dance routine in Easter Parade,
337
00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:19,916
to make it look like he could walk
up the side of the wall and onto the ceiling.
338
00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:26,030
And I intercut between
Salamander Man on the rotating set
339
00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:30,272
and Robert Patrick
on the real nonrotating set.
340
00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:36,318
And then I also had a shot or two in there
that were visual composites,
341
00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:40,393
that seemed to put the Salamander Man
and Robert Patrick in the same frame,
342
00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:43,313
even though that's physically impossible.
343
00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:47,234
You couldn't have a man
moving like that, across a wall.
344
00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:51,472
The set had to rotate because
if I'd tried to pull him across the wall,
345
00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:54,996
he wouldn't move naturally or quickly.
346
00:24:55,920 --> 00:24:59,595
There's one shot there where it was just
the tail and Robert Patrick.
347
00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:01,955
It wasn't the whole thing.
348
00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:04,110
Here's poor Tony again.
349
00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:09,836
A little aside here is that
I named this character, Gary Sacks,
350
00:25:09,920 --> 00:25:12,514
after my oldest friend
from Phoenix, Arizona.
351
00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:15,797
Gary Sacks, who I've known
since the second grade.
352
00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:19,589
I thought it was a nice tribute
to kill him in this episode.
353
00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:23,719
I didn't think it would be nice to
kill his father, so I named his father Arlen,
354
00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:27,429
instead of Gary's real dad's name.
355
00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:33,277
But I think Gary got a big kick
out of dying in this episode.
356
00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:35,510
In a number of episodes, over the years,
357
00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:41,789
I've put the names of people
I went to school with, former employers.
358
00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:46,632
Just in-jokes that I myself know,
and a few others do.
359
00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:50,474
This is like a Vaseline thing on the lens.
360
00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:53,870
There's another fancy director's shot.
361
00:25:55,120 --> 00:26:00,672
Those are the things that eat up your time,
of course, but they're fun.
362
00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:05,556
Agent Mulder returning
to Ellicott, New York.
363
00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:13,554
Mulder's always such a troublemaker.
364
00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:18,475
I enjoy seeing him go afoul
of the bureaucracy and the protocol...
365
00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:24,671
which he does with so little concern.
366
00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:33,034
They timed this just right, this shot here.
367
00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:36,989
Says his line, and then off camera.
368
00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:38,593
You spend a lot of time
when you're directing
369
00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:41,752
trying to make things time outjust right.
370
00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:44,070
This was a hard sequence.
371
00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:46,668
This has a lot of pieces to it.
372
00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:52,676
Climbing, climbing. And, again,
shooting in a tight space is very hard.
373
00:26:52,760 --> 00:27:00,519
And so I had to get angles up and down and
across the stunt man and Robert Patrick.
374
00:27:03,360 --> 00:27:08,195
Here's Mulder almost literally
following in Doggett's footsteps.
375
00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:16,397
There was a lot of wire removal
from the visual effects team,
376
00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:20,109
cos for safety reasons
both Robert Patrick and the stunt man
377
00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:24,791
had to be wired
in that vertical tunnel for the climb.
378
00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:35,230
Nice gunk falling down toward camera.
379
00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:46,159
Back in Encino.
380
00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:49,312
That's the moment when Agent Mulder
discovers the Apollo medallion.
381
00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:53,075
We don't know it yet. We'll realise later
that's what he found there.
382
00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:56,869
Now we introduce Herman Stites.
383
00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:01,670
Another wonderful actor, with a great face.
384
00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:05,196
And, again, I wasn't really
interested in the mystery
385
00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:09,432
and spending a lot of time
talking about the monster.
386
00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:12,830
I think you know from the moment
you meet this guy, he's the bad guy
387
00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:14,552
and he's got some connection
to the monster,
388
00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:18,872
whether you realise yet
that he is the monster.
389
00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:23,954
It's much more about
Mulder and Scully one last time,
390
00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:28,431
pursuing their investigation
in an unorthodox manner,
391
00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:32,109
and about Doggett
and his inexperienced partner.
392
00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:39,518
Again, here's one of my fancy transitions,
which I was eager to do.
393
00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:44,634
I guess the newer you are as a director,
the fancier you wanna be,
394
00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:47,188
to show people you know
what you're doing.
395
00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:52,553
We went magically
from stage five back to Encino.
396
00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:56,394
That was actually a piece, that grate,
397
00:28:56,480 --> 00:29:00,519
and some sod that we lay down at an angle,
398
00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:03,996
so the sod sort of rose up
above the ground toward the set piece
399
00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:06,469
and the camera could go right behind it.
400
00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:09,711
But it looked like
we were rising up out of the earth.
401
00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:22,718
David, interestingly, doesn't like when
Mulder is too smart or knows too much.
402
00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:26,549
I remember our discussion that day
403
00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:32,710
was how to make this interesting
and not too easy for Mulder.
404
00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:39,516
You won't hear that often from leading men,
405
00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:42,717
that they don't want
their character to be too smart.
406
00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:47,078
I think that's part of
what's made Mulder so appealing
407
00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:49,152
and so lasting as a hero,
408
00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:55,356
is his humanity and his frailty
and his imperfections in so many ways.
409
00:29:56,200 --> 00:30:01,479
He's not James Bond,
although I love James Bond.
410
00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:05,791
This is many different things.
411
00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:10,908
lt's Robert Patrick on stage,
it's somebody else's fingers in Encino,
412
00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:16,433
it's Zach against a blue silk on stage,
Zach actually at the house in Encino.
413
00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:19,996
It's a very complicated piece.
414
00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:21,911
And falling.
415
00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:25,310
Lots of pieces.
416
00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:32,754
We're halfway through the episode already.
417
00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:34,910
So now we know for sure
418
00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:41,997
that man and monster are together,
or whatever's going on here.
419
00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:46,756
I think we might have suspected that
when Agent Doggett fell through the trap,
420
00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:49,559
but now there can be no doubt.
421
00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:52,154
I stole again, while I'm being honest...
422
00:30:56,760 --> 00:31:00,753
I'm not sure whether it was Bill Roe's
or one of the camera operators' idea,
423
00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:06,995
or Steven Buck, the first assistant director,
to have that manhole shot, which I liked.
424
00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:11,358
Anyway, I stole again,
as l was being honest about stealing.
425
00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:15,672
The idea of Agent Doggett's fingers
being stepped on
426
00:31:15,760 --> 00:31:22,029
is taken directly from North By Northwest,
which is a wonderful movie.
427
00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:25,032
If you haven't seen it,
you will definitely enjoy it.
428
00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:28,669
If you like The X-Files, you'll love that.
429
00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:36,156
This scene was much longer and it was
all good, and it broke my heart to shorten it,
430
00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:39,994
but time being what it is...
431
00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:42,594
I felt very guilty throughout all these scenes
432
00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:47,196
because poor Robert and Jolie
had to wear these miserable contact lenses,
433
00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:51,273
very uncomfortable, but they make
their eyes look like they're screwed up.
434
00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:55,876
They're made for the movie business
by an ophthalmologist.
435
00:31:56,960 --> 00:32:02,956
And neither one of them
is a contact-lens wearer.
436
00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:06,999
After shooting for hours,
they became very uncomfortable,
437
00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:11,756
and their eyes were bloodshot,
and this went on for days and days.
438
00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:18,718
Now the plot thickens.
439
00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:23,476
Gary Sacks, my old friend, is missing.
Where did he go?
440
00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:33,758
Sunflower seeds.
Another nod to those who know.
441
00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:40,231
spitting out sunflower seeds.
442
00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:43,949
l was trying to find as many of those things
as I could for this episode.
443
00:32:44,040 --> 00:32:47,271
I had another thing
that ended up on the cutting room floor.
444
00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:50,312
I had Scully call Danny in this episode,
445
00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:53,517
and you gotta be a die-hard
to know what that's about.
446
00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:58,469
Mulder and Scully used to call Danny
all the time for research and help in the FBI,
447
00:32:58,560 --> 00:33:01,757
and we never once met Danny or saw him.
448
00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:03,637
But no time.
449
00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:13,508
This combination, we had David
actually out in Encino at night,
450
00:33:13,600 --> 00:33:17,673
but then this stuff, the close-ups,
was actually on a sound stage.
451
00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:20,228
I hate to spoil the illusion.
452
00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:24,869
These scenes were much longer
and more charming, funny stuff.
453
00:33:27,320 --> 00:33:32,030
And here's an insert coming up
that I also shot with main unit on location.
454
00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:38,036
Very eager to hold up this medallion and see
the real background out of focus behind.
455
00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:42,676
I know. It sounds crazy. You're thinking
"Who would ever know the difference?"
456
00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:50,591
Lisa Kaseman played
the pathology assistant here.
457
00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:58,231
These scenes are the stock in trade
of The X-Files, these tech explainer scenes.
458
00:33:58,320 --> 00:34:04,077
It's always a challenge
to make them somewhat interesting.
459
00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:08,995
| always try to find - we all always try to find
real scientific research and principles
460
00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:13,437
to support the fiction
we've created in the episode,
461
00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:15,909
and this scene was no exception.
462
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:20,391
Everything I'm saying here
is scientifically accurate.
463
00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:22,630
I can't remember what I said,
464
00:34:22,720 --> 00:34:28,590
but if you watch the episode again
and check with a biologist,
465
00:34:28,680 --> 00:34:32,639
they'll tell you at least in theory
it was sound.
466
00:34:34,200 --> 00:34:36,555
This is where Scully went off to call Danny,
467
00:34:36,640 --> 00:34:41,270
but because you've seen the DVD,
you know.
468
00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:48,636
Here we go. The blind leading the blind.
469
00:34:48,720 --> 00:34:51,075
This, to me, was a very important scene
470
00:34:51,160 --> 00:34:57,235
in the shape of Doggett
and Harrison's relationship.
471
00:34:59,120 --> 00:35:05,468
Doggett's really come to care for her,
and she has been so cheerful and...
472
00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:08,751
can-do.
473
00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:14,039
And this is the first point
when you really sense she's afraid.
474
00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:20,874
I always try and want characters
to play against what they're feeling.
475
00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:23,679
It creates a nice dynamic in the scene.
476
00:35:23,760 --> 00:35:26,593
Somebody's afraid
but doesn't want you to know,
477
00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:30,309
or somebody loves you
but doesn't want you to know they love you.
478
00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:33,113
lt's two levels instead of one.
479
00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:37,193
This monster stuff...
480
00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:41,871
There you go. There's the rotating set again.
That's how he was able to do that.
481
00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:46,317
Monsters - you wanna see enough
to have your imagination
482
00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:50,473
latch onto something specific
that's scary and creepy and icky.
483
00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:55,554
But, on the other hand, if you see too much
it's just cheesy and ridiculous.
484
00:35:55,640 --> 00:36:02,557
It's always the fine line you walk, and
hopefully I didn't cross it or fall off it here.
485
00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:05,877
And that's what became of Gary Sacks,
486
00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:10,475
his guts sucked out by the Salamander Man.
487
00:36:10,560 --> 00:36:13,836
My crew gift to the crew for this episode
was a bottle of wine,
488
00:36:13,920 --> 00:36:20,155
real wine from Stites, a private reserve,
harvest red, liquefied for easy digestion.
489
00:36:20,280 --> 00:36:23,590
And it had a little salamander on it
and a little X-Files logo.
490
00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:26,399
Collector's items now on eBay.
491
00:36:29,240 --> 00:36:34,075
You just look at that shot. The director
of this episode tried to make it interesting,
492
00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:39,075
of her picking up the file,
and these angles, the verticality of them.
493
00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:44,280
The second episode | directed,
I took a completely different approach,
494
00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:49,832
but here l was trying to goose it up
to make it as interesting as possible.
495
00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:54,755
Again, this is a classic example
of how little you see.
496
00:36:54,840 --> 00:37:00,312
You wanna capture the imagination of
the audience, make them wanna see more.
497
00:37:00,400 --> 00:37:03,517
And now Mulder is on the run.
498
00:37:03,600 --> 00:37:07,957
And David is a very fast runner,
very good athlete.
499
00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:15,278
That night he was joking about
how he could catch this guy, no problem.
500
00:37:15,360 --> 00:37:17,237
And the truth is, he could.
501
00:37:17,320 --> 00:37:19,993
That's a CGl monster,
in case you couldn't tell.
502
00:37:20,080 --> 00:37:23,993
That's a guy on a skateboard,
I hate to tell you.
503
00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:29,953
David jokingly called
Salamander Man Lawnzilla.
504
00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:34,079
That's CG, against the real house.
505
00:37:34,160 --> 00:37:38,073
That's a set piece composite
with David at the real place,
506
00:37:38,160 --> 00:37:42,631
but the roof was on-stage,
with our Salamander Man.
507
00:37:44,120 --> 00:37:48,989
| just remember shooting this.
It was cold and late on a Friday night.
508
00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:52,192
So was this.
And we were running out of time.
509
00:37:58,120 --> 00:38:01,635
That's CG. That's amazing.
510
00:38:01,720 --> 00:38:06,510
And then he changes mostly off-screen
into Herman Stites.
511
00:38:06,600 --> 00:38:10,718
Visual effects like this,
you realise how quickly the art has evolved.
512
00:38:10,800 --> 00:38:15,749
You couldn't have done this when we began
The X-Files. Now we do it on a weekly basis.
513
00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:20,675
This was Zach's idea,
this little goop on the cheek.
514
00:38:20,760 --> 00:38:24,116
Wipe it off, which was a nice detail
to end the episode.
515
00:38:26,400 --> 00:38:31,872
Whenever you can find specific details,
it makes things so much more memorable.
516
00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:35,157
That's the advantage
people making features have.
517
00:38:35,240 --> 00:38:39,199
They have more time to find details,
to find little moments.
518
00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:43,353
You're rushing sometimes on a television
schedule just to get through the work.
519
00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:49,151
Some of my favourite things in movies
and TV shows are tiny, idiosyncratic details.
520
00:38:50,560 --> 00:38:53,757
This is great Bill Roe lighting again.
521
00:38:53,840 --> 00:39:00,678
He has the lights down low, which
makes everything kind of creepy and scary.
522
00:39:00,760 --> 00:39:05,834
You don't think about these things
consciously, but itjust works.
523
00:39:05,920 --> 00:39:10,869
So now it's Act Four.
This was a very important moment to me.
524
00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:16,034
Agent Harrison, the risk was
that she was a lightweight character,
525
00:39:16,120 --> 00:39:21,638
just a flake and a fan who really did nothing
but get Agent Doggett into trouble.
526
00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:26,957
And lwanted her
to have the moment of realisation here.
527
00:39:27,040 --> 00:39:31,556
In truth, I think she's solved
the mystery before anyone,
528
00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:35,719
which validates her character in a way.
529
00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:41,195
You can really see the Bob Primes lighting
here, the spray of light against the walls.
530
00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:45,353
It really enhanced
what was already a great set.
531
00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:50,630
And now he's gone.
532
00:39:51,720 --> 00:39:54,473
I haven't talked about Mark Snow,
but let me say
533
00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:57,313
what a greatjob he did on this episode,
534
00:39:57,400 --> 00:40:02,349
and does virtually every week,
always makes these things so much better.
535
00:40:02,480 --> 00:40:04,516
It's my favourite part of the job,
536
00:40:04,640 --> 00:40:08,315
going to his house and just hearing
how much better the show gets,
537
00:40:08,400 --> 00:40:11,278
without me having to do anything.
538
00:40:11,360 --> 00:40:17,913
All of Mulder's points of view here of the
Salamander Man are on the set that rotates.
539
00:40:18,520 --> 00:40:23,958
I ran out of time here. I wanted
to have more shots that were tie-ins.
540
00:40:24,040 --> 00:40:28,113
Again, that's the trade-off you make,
time and money.
541
00:40:28,200 --> 00:40:33,035
A lot of ad-libbing went on here
between David and Robert,
542
00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:35,191
the only way to make it exciting.
543
00:40:35,280 --> 00:40:41,594
You can't script this shouting back and forth
and hope for the spontaneity that you need.
544
00:40:46,040 --> 00:40:48,349
Here we go. Fire.
545
00:40:48,440 --> 00:40:52,797
Interestingly, as I said,
I was a little reluctant to direct
546
00:40:52,880 --> 00:40:55,553
because of all my duties
as a writer and producer.
547
00:40:55,720 --> 00:40:58,109
In fact, I had no idea how it was gonna end.
548
00:40:58,200 --> 00:41:01,590
I had not written Act Four,
which you're watching now.
549
00:41:01,720 --> 00:41:06,396
It was while I was prepping as a director
that I figured out how to end this show.
550
00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:08,550
I thought this climax was good,
551
00:41:08,640 --> 00:41:11,518
because both Mulder and Doggett
had to be heroic
552
00:41:11,600 --> 00:41:13,955
and it played on the scary nature
of this monster,
553
00:41:14,040 --> 00:41:19,637
which was that it could come from
anywhere, it could come from above you.
554
00:41:19,720 --> 00:41:25,556
And there's a morph,
accomplished by John and Mat.
555
00:41:28,760 --> 00:41:31,274
And there you go.
556
00:41:32,560 --> 00:41:35,552
But the episode's not quite over yet.
557
00:41:37,400 --> 00:41:40,710
One more important note to play.
558
00:41:40,800 --> 00:41:43,917
Again, I wanted the elegiac feeling
559
00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:47,276
and the awareness
that a baton was being passed.
560
00:41:47,440 --> 00:41:53,072
We were leaving the Mulder and Scully era
for the Doggett and question mark era.
561
00:41:53,160 --> 00:41:55,833
One last allusion to Scully's pregnancy.
562
00:41:57,440 --> 00:42:00,512
Doggett wondering if they are
at the hospital because of the baby,
563
00:42:00,600 --> 00:42:02,192
but they're not.
564
00:42:05,120 --> 00:42:10,478
And this scene was longer, too.
Had to be cut. Still plays fine.
565
00:42:14,600 --> 00:42:18,036
This last scene with Leyla Harrison.
566
00:42:18,120 --> 00:42:21,795
I think she plays it great.
She's charming and winning.
567
00:42:23,040 --> 00:42:26,555
It's an ad-lib. l'd scripted
what they were gonna talk about,
568
00:42:26,640 --> 00:42:31,760
this issue in the feature film
that I had seen many people wonder about,
569
00:42:31,840 --> 00:42:35,992
which was how did Mulder and Scully
get back when his snowcat ran out of gas?
570
00:42:36,120 --> 00:42:41,035
Thought it was fun and self-deprecating
to bring it up here.
571
00:42:42,480 --> 00:42:45,711
But I had Mulder and Scully,
obviously, ad-lib
572
00:42:45,800 --> 00:42:50,999
because they have wonderful comic timing
and ljust thought it would play better,
573
00:42:51,080 --> 00:42:54,550
rather than trying to script
every word they said here.
574
00:42:54,640 --> 00:42:59,794
So I had more than one camera running, so
I could use different angles of their ad-libs.
575
00:42:59,880 --> 00:43:04,874
But as it turned out,
it played bestjust in a two shot.
576
00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:07,878
And David gave me
some great directing help here.
577
00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:12,676
I had Jolie smiling and laughing
while they bickered.
578
00:43:15,680 --> 00:43:18,638
And he said
"Do one where she doesn't smile,
579
00:43:18,720 --> 00:43:22,110
where she's just wondering
how to react to these people."
580
00:43:22,200 --> 00:43:25,476
It was funnier,
because you had that tension,
581
00:43:25,560 --> 00:43:31,078
instead of releasing it
by letting her smile and laugh along with us.
582
00:43:31,920 --> 00:43:34,639
Some people said
it was weird to watch them bicker
583
00:43:34,720 --> 00:43:39,350
but I thought it was exactly right
for where they were in the relationship,
584
00:43:45,920 --> 00:43:48,992
Coming up on the final shot
of the show and Robert Patrick,
585
00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:54,677
and what a wonderful,
empathetic actor he is.
586
00:43:54,760 --> 00:43:59,709
And used a wide lens and tried to
make that hallway look really big.
587
00:43:59,800 --> 00:44:01,870
And that was the end.
588
00:44:01,960 --> 00:44:05,316
I had a great time directing
and I hope you enjoyed the show.
589
00:44:39,600 --> 00:44:40,919
(child) I made this!
590
00:44:41,920 --> 00:44:43,911
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