BETTER NATE THAN EVER

Better Nate Than Ever
Walt Disney - Dir. Tim Federle
Storyboard Artist - Chris Wolfgang Mauch

Here is a behind-the-scenes look at a conversation (13 mins) with the director and the thinking that goes into building a sequence like “BIG TIME,” a big-budget marquee musical number that kicks off Nate’s initiation into the glory of NYC, as only a theater die-hard from Pittsburg could imagine. Worth watching just to take in Rueby Wood's performance.

I worked to find ways to maximize as many emotional story beats as I could edit in there. Trying to provide good options, but not overwhelm.

RUEBY WOOD - BIG TIME (BETTER NATE THAN EVER) - (4mins)

Nominated for 8 Emmy Awards

Winner: Outstanding Cinematography for a Live Action Single Camera Program.

“Visually, there are many highlights. Federle and editor Katie McQuerrey show great craft and care instilling the picture with a snappy sense of brightness and flexibility. Quick cuts and whip pans help to convey the perspective of the perky protagonist. The filmmakers have clear gifts for mining the most out of a scene’s comedic timing. Transitions between sequences that get the characters from point A to point B (like getting to school, New York City and the Natural History Museum) spotlight a witty visual dexterity, while Declan Quinn’s saturated cinematography shows notable depth. Nate’s grandiose “Guys and Dolls”-inspired dream sequences and fantastical asides are polished and pristine. Handheld camerawork during Nate’s first audition adds to the immediacy, speaking to the pressure he’s feeling. Camera positioning and framing, specifically when Nate feels intimidated, also aesthetically augment the subtext.”

— Variety

Tim Federle’s screenplay won me over by page 10. hah Great humor baked into every dialogue change. The kids were constatly cutting each other up brutally. I felt like i was back on the bus filled 9th graders growing up with my friends in Long Island. All served with a smattering of “ Ferris Bueller’s Day Off/ coming-of-age vibes” all over the place.

There was a poignant moment that occurred for me half way through. After completing the opening sequence and a bunch of stylized scene transitions. Tim got really slammed. We are 3 weeks out from shooting… At this point he is an accomplished director, writer and showrunner with High School Musical, but also a first-time feature director. He began writing notes and hit from all sides with a hundred other things(shooting all over NYC, and COVID is in full swing.) The first shooting schedule is sent out. And I jumped into his shoes, just imagining what I’d be juggling if I were dealing with all that-

“What would I be really wishing for at this moment if I were Tim, What would actually be the most helpful?”

“How bout some initiative? What might happen if I boarded some options out, what if got a couple of scenes ahead?”

I surprised him by getting into the nuance of the comedy he had written. In particular, I did a sequence where Nate comes home and his older brother is non-challantly, doing thigh stretches at the kitchen table, and I shot it under his leg, giving a nod to another famous coming-of-age story, you are already thinking of, “THE GRADUATE” but instead of thinking, about sex, you’d be thinking about a sweaty older brother’s gym shorts… and maybe by subconsciously thinking of the graduate and that moment, his shorts and Nate’s reaction mighr even be more gross.

He dug it and it made it into the movie.

From there he gave me the green light and said,

”Go to town on each scene! See if you can find at least one good comedic moment to hone in on with each scene.”

I was stoked.

“This is what I want!”

I mapped out the shoot days and stayed ahead of the production. That’s a hell of a game. Like a train coming down the tracks. It was awesome. I loved the pressure, and I loved that I was being helpful in a really niche way. This gig gave me an opportunity to continue to create some meaning with this artform… for me, getting in deep and really serving a huge team like this is where it’s at. At the end of the day, this culminated in drawing over 1000 frames, Including scenes like this crazy 3.5 min. musical number, above.

“When I saw the nominations and read the review above. I see someone directly describing my work. I never read anything like that. It felt awesome to see that the ideas behind the drawings worked and helped to set up the crew for success. It's a beautiful, fun film you can watch with the whole family.”

-cwm