SEVERANCE PRODUCTION
IN THE LIMELIGHT Severance has gained a huge following of fans constantly looking for clues – which the creators are happy to indulge
audience to 50 minutes of well-earned backstory about the couple. “I saw the synopsis, and to me it was obvious that it was the one I was meant to do,” Gagné begins. “I felt a calling to it. I was afraid of doing the whole director thing, but for some reason with this one, I felt like I could do it.” While she initially wanted to hire a cinematographer, she ended up being director and DOP for the bulk of the episode. It’s one of the series’ most visually ambitious and affecting segments, as we watch Gemma and Mark struggle to have children combined with Gemma on Lumon’s testing floor crying out for her husband. “To me, it was super important that a woman do this episode,” adds Gagné, in order to bring a sense of authenticity to Gemma’s perspective, especially as she’s dealing with the heartbreak of a miscarriage. “The most important part of episode 7 was getting people to feel for her as a human,” she continues, and for people to believe in her and Mark’s love story. “That’s what makes episode 10 so bittersweet,” Gagné explains. “It’s not going to be a happy ending.”
While Gagné shot most of Chikhai Bardo , she did have some help from an additional cinematographer, Max Goldman, for the flashback sequences shot on film. “That was too much – working on film while also having to pay attention to lighting changes and fluctuations. I just wanted to be with the actors at that moment,” Gagné admits. “Goldman was amazing. He had to deal with me transitioning away from
being a cinematographer, which was challenging. He was always reminding me that this was my thing, and it was okay when I wanted something.” CORPORATE CHAOS While Severance is at times intense and emotionally devastating, it has its silly moments too – with jabs at the often- patronising nature of corporate culture. From throwing waffle parties and
43
DEFINITIONMAGS
Powered by FlippingBook