OCTOBER 18, 2007
SMILE

by Mike Smith

"Smile" is the second episode of Criminal Intent that I have directed ("Rocketman" being the first).  I have also been a producer on the show for the past three seasons.   Below are a couple of notes about directing the episode.

One of the most challenging scenes to shoot was the scene where Mrs. Borden was holding a knife to her young daughter.  Anytime you are working with kids, it can be difficult if the scene is heading into an emotional arena, as this one was.  For safety reasons we used a rubber knife, that was painted and touched up to look real.  We also had a stunt coordinator and a medic on hand for extra precaution.  I spent most of our rehearsal and set up time trying to make young Lissa as comfortable as possible.  I had the actress playing her mom talk to and comfort her before we began. I have two young children myself, and am very sensitive to how this business can affect young actors.  The cast was also very aware that we had a young girl in a very sensitive scene.  I think the scene is the most powerful one in the show, and the most powerful one I have directed so far.

The scene on the Staten Island Ferry had its own share of difficulties.  We had to shoot the entire scene in one round trip from Manhattan to Staten Island.  We had a total of forty minutes to load the equipment, rehearse, shoot and unload the equipment.  I tried to rehearse with Vincent and Amy Acker as much as I could before so we could begin shooting as soon as we boarded the boat.  We shot our wide shot and Amy's closeup on the way to Staten Island and we shot Vincent's closeup and some miscellaneous shots on the way back.  The crew was quick and efficient and the actors hit their marks and knew their lines. I am very proud of the production value we were able to get in such a short period of time.

I am very proud of this episode.  I feel like I was given a tremendous script from Charlie Rubin and Warren Leight.  My entire cast was excellent – especially all of the children in the episode.  As I mentioned earlier, the production value and the locations were especially nice.  

I was fortunate enough to screen the episode earlier tonight at a local college and get their input.  It was quite an experience watching an episode that I directed in front of a large audience.  The applause at the end followed by the positive response reminded me of why I got into this business in the first place.