\u201cWireless\u201d is probably the best showcase so far for Quibi\u2019s Turnstyle technology.
\nThat\u2019s the technology that allows the streaming video app to switch seamlessly between landscape and portrait mode depending on the orientation of your phone. With other Quibi shows, you\u2019re essentially getting two views of the same footage \u2014 but with \u201cWireless\u201d (which is executive produced by Steven Soderbergh), you\u2019re switching between traditional cinematic footage (in landscape) and a view of the protagonist\u2019s phone (in portrait).
\nIn this bonus episode of the Original Content podcast, director Zach Wechter told me that he and his co-writer Jack Seidman wrote the initial script \u2014 about a college student played by Tye Sheridan who gets trapped in the snow after a car crash, with only his iPhone to save him \u2014 before they decided on the phone-centric format. But when they heard about Turnstyle, \u201cIt just felt like a match made in heaven that would allow us to facilitate this idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
I wondered whether that required going back and adding a bunch of phone interactions to the story, but said Wechter said, \u201cIt was quite the opposite. One thing we found in testing was when the phone plot moved really fast, it would be hard, because there are these two perspectives happening at once.\u201d
\nSo that actually meant \u201creducing some fo the intriacy of the plot happening on the phone\u201d to ensure that viewers didn\u2019t get lost.<\/p>\n
And if you\u2019re wondering which mode to focus on as you watch, Wechter has some simple advice: \u201cGo with your gut.\u201d He said he had a \u201croadmap\u201d for when he was hoping to nudge viewers to turn their phones \u2014 like when there\u2019s a notification sound or Sheridan focuses on his phone \u2014 \u201cbut I think the most important part of the experience is that we\u2019re not indicating when our viewers turn, that it becomes this sort of passive-but-active viewing experience.\u201d
\nWechter described making the show \u2014 essentially a feature length film divided into episodes of 10 minutes or less \u2014 as shooting \u201ctwo films that had to dance together\u201d in just 19 days. And he made things even more challenging by insisting that all the phone\/FaceTime calls and even the text messages be filmed live, rather than just recording both ends separately.
\n\u201cWhen I think about directing and my job, really the most fundamental part of it to me is making the actorss comfortable, and I think that having a scene partner is paramount,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a long conversation about why we couldn\u2019t just have them act off of a recording and shoot it separately \u2014 because it took a lot of logistical effort and resources to do it \u2014 but it really makes the scenes feel very alive and realistic.\u201d
\nYou can listen to the full interview in the player below, subscribe using Apple Podcasts\u00a0or find us in your podcast player of choice. If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review on Apple. You can also follow us on Twitter or send us feedback directly. (Or suggest shows and movies for us to review!)<\/p>\n