You’ve served as your own DP on your last three films. Has that job changed anything about the way you direct when compared to your days with your longtime DP Larry Fong?
Don’t get me wrong, I loved my days with Larry, and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. But I was a director-cameraman in the commercial world for 10 years, and it was kind of the way I normally worked. So [being the DP] doesn’t change the way I [work], but the main thing is that I’m just much more present from moment to moment. I have to be. When you’re just directing, there’s time for self-reflection. As they’re lighting, there’s time to think about the way the scene is going to go and stuff. And in the current working conditions, I’m 100 percent in all the way, all the time, and there’s no resting or thinking. You have to be very prepared. It’s difficult to shoot a movie, and I thank God I have John Clothier, my camera operator. I operated the second camera and did plenty of operating. So it’s an exhaustive and difficult thing, but I really love doing it. I love lighting and it’s super fun.