This interview was originally conducted on March 25, 2007.

Now a co-executive producer on House and an Emmy award winner for directing the episode “House’s Head”, three years ago Greg Yaitanes was an executive producer on the short-lived FOX series Drive.  Here he discusses his role in the show.

Pasha: There are three executive producers on Drive, two of whom are writers.  As the non-writer one, what do your duties consist of as an executive producer?

Greg Yaitanes: My role as a Non-Writing EP?   Teacher.

Drive’s late pick up meant that most of the original crew was unavailable to come to the show.  They had booked other jobs.  While we designed a hell of a pilot, it was a road map of how to do the show on an episodic schedule.  The original pilot was 14 days of shooting with a very long prep.  Normal episode schedule is 8 shooting days and 7 prep days.

So.

Two things happened.  We recast a lot of the pilot (with everyone we made offers to originally) and redeveloped the material.  So most of old pilot was out the window.  Meaning someone new would have to come in and try to recreate what we had done (production wise) or I had to come back and shoot it.  And if I was going to do that, why not stick around and help the show get off the ground.

That all said, I see the role on a show like this as a teacher.  Since I designed the look of the show, I need to teach the new production how to think about the show.  What things to look for.  How to break a script apart and physically make it.  This is NOT to say I was teaching anyone how to do their job.  We have talented filmmakers at every level of our production.  I simply need to teach everyone how to get their heads around this particular show since the needs of it are very specialized and unlike anything on TV or even movies for that matter.

I also wanted the crew to learn a pace and an economy to how to get such an ambitious show done in such a short schedule.  So I did that by staying on to direct not just the new pilot but also the first episode that followed.

Once the production is up and running then my next job is to teach the show to the directors.  Again… NOT teach anyone how to direct.  We have FANTASTIC directors coming to the show.  Creative talents that will bring new and fresh ideas to Drive. I help the directors understand the needs of the series.  What to look out for on this particular show.  What elements are 2nd unit or visual effects. How the show is photographed.  How it’s not photographed.  What the tone of the show is.  Help them get ready during their prep.  Answer any questions they may have.

Tim is also extremely busy with the scripts and post production.  So I am the hands on when he wants or needs something at a creative level.  He comes with an idea and I translate that into how physically we are going to accomplish it.  I work with our producer John Moranville on accomplishing that.

Since Tim and I spent days upon days in the edit room together on both pilots we collaborate on the cuts.  Both on my own episodes and other directors.  Since we are all here to ultimately serve Tim’s vision of the series I try to be the other half of his brain since he can not be in all places at all times.

Other things I handle is making sure the crew is taken care of and keep up morale since they are working so hard and often late into the night (we are shooting an episode right now that is all at night).  I also stay plugged into our amazing actors and make sure they are also getting what they need.

As someone says in the new pilot “it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”  We have to keep everyone going at a steady speed and not burn them out.

So that’s it in a nutshell.  If I have done my job right Drive will have a solid stable of directors that know the show and a production that can pull off innovative episodes of TV every week.

That said I’ll be back at the end of the season to direct episode 11 and 13 to enjoy the fruits of my labor.  An amazing team that gels.

P: The original pilot had very frenetic camera work unlike a lot of other TV shows at the moment.  What was the thought process that went into creating that style for the show?

GY: Three things.

First.  I took a cue from The Fugitive, which always felt like a chase even in the non-chase moments.  If you watch again you’ll see we are always traveling with the main charter.  Same for Drive.  The camera is not passive.  We are participating in the scenes along with everyone else.  We are in the race.

Second.  The idea of using a lot of stedi-cam was also inspired by trying to keep a large group of people interconnected who didn’t know each other.  The camera had to be able to move around a room to find people who were otherwise not talking to each other.

Third.  Tim’s writing lends itself to a fluid and beautiful camera.  When I read Drive it reminded me of what I loved about Spielberg’s movies.  They were entertaining and the camera work supported the buoyancy of the writing.  Drive is fun.  The camera work should support that feeling and not work against it.

Chris Manley is our director of photography and he has the challenge of lighting a show that sees 360 degrees most of the time and still make it look amazing.  Bud Kremp is our hero stedi-cam operator.  Both make a huge contribution to the look of Drive.

P: What challenges have you faced when directing actors who are spending most of their time in cars in front of a green screen?

GY: None.  It is the easiest part of the show.  Everyone knows where they are at and what they are doing.  We can just work on performance.  Production wise we move very quickly.  Up to 14 pages a day (twice the days work on a normal TV show).  The idea behind it is that the characters, acting and writing will hold our interest.  Plus when the show gets out of the cars the camera work and locations get big.  When you are inside of a car the world is just what you see out the window.  If there is any challenge it’s remind yourself and the actors about the urgency of the race.  It’s easy for everyone to forget that while they are doing pretend driving.

P: How has directing Drive differed from directing other shows?

GY: It exercises every creative muscle you can think of.  The show is enormously ambitious and does not follow a set formula.  Each week presents completely new relationships, conflicts and obstacles.  Every week we are making the pilot.  Meaning every week we are making a unique story.

Our cast is fifteen main characters.  The closest I’ve come to a cast that big is Grey’s Anatomy, which is twelve.  A show like that is more performance oriented than visual.  Whereas shows that I have done for Bruckheimer are more visual than actor friendly.  Drive needs and has it all.  Compelling characters and the fun visuals.

Drive is also enormously technical.  Nesting the characters into the action and danger is something no other TV show can boast.  To do this however takes a lot of teamwork.  We have an amazing visual effects company in Zoic and an amazing special effects team that work with us.

P: In an interview Tim Minear said Drive would be a different show each week depending on who the central character was that episode.  Will this be reflected in the directing style?

GY: Yes and no.  Each episode will reflect the tone of the script but the show will still be shot like the show; the characters still in character.  For example episode five that we are shooting now has some dark tonal elements.  We are supporting this by introducing some new visual elements.  Drive always remains organic and honest to the situation at hand.  Tim is also a master of changing tones on a dime.  So the directors and direction needs to support that as well.

Kevin: How do you plan to show changes in location as the race progresses?

GY: We evolve the look of the series each week depending on what state of the country we are in.  Every state has a unique look.  In the new pilot you get a tease of different parts of the county that we will return to in series.  Also if you watch them all on DVD back to back you’ll feel the journey even more.  But still watch on April 15th and 16th.

P: How easy is it co-coordinating with a second unit that is traveling around America while you’re in California with the actors?

GY: Everything is shot in LA.  After directing Alias I was convinced you can make any look from any state or country here in LA.

That said, Spiro Razatos is our 2nd unit director and brilliant.  He shoots the driving sequences.  Loni Peristere designs our visual effect sequences, which integrate with Spiro’s driving work.  They are a great team.

P: Finally, from the moment you receive the script from the writers, what is the process you go through in preparing it for filming?

GY: We scramble! Seriously, the show is so ambitious it’s like prepping a movie in seven days.  When the script comes out we have to get it cast, find locations that reflect the part of the country we are in.  Nail down the visual effects.  Break it up as to what 2nd unit is going to shoot.  See what the director or “first unit” is going to shoot.  Each week is a huge task.  We do not have any standing sets other than the cars.  We do not have “headquarters” or a “hospital” to count on.  So it keeps us on our toes.  One thing is the same every week.  Each script is a page-turner.  And you are dying to find out what happens next.