You have to examine a scene on the page first. Then you get into the basics of acting: Who are you? Who are you talking to? How do you feel about that person?
Even when you have a big budget, you can't just shoot everything.
The biggest challenge was that we had to shoot so quickly and with such a limited budget.
Michael Ralph brilliantly plays the street prophet, a West Indian who foreshadows the Harlem riot.
I use something that is a real staple in the directing world. It's called a dance floor. You lay it down so that it's so smooth you can roll around, and you can put furniture on top of it. It's seamless and you don't see it.
Making this movie was a great opportunity for me to explore high-definition. I'm glad I got to see what the challenges are, what makes it better. It works wonderfully.
The riot isn't seen in the movie, but it is alluded to. He has this one speech that gives a great sense of texture and paints a picture of what was happening in Harlem then.
It goes back to a style of moviemaking I remember seeing as a child, in movies like The Man With The Golden Arm, which I think was shot all on a sound stage.
As far as pacing the shoot is concerned, I know when I've got it. I don't think there's any reason to take ten takes unless you need them.
A director just pushes them a little this way or that way.
The production team's first meeting took place at my house. I had ideas and a color scheme in mind, how I wanted the movie to look, because that has to be a real collaboration.
There are some scenes that work beautifully in a moving, sweeping master, which is how I like to work.
Time management is a big part of the director's job.
