Cory Stillman
Deondray Gossfield and Quincy LeNear Gossfield first directed episodes of Showtime’s The Chi during season five. For season six, however, the directing duo took on new roles as producing directors on the series, overseeing the entire arc and tone for the season.
“We pitch our ideas to our showrunners and the network, and once they are approved, we then provide that guide to all incoming directors. During the season, we serve as a conduit for creative, production, and the directors, both ensuring that all of our directors are fully supported and set up for success while also making sure to keep the consistency and continuity of the series per director,” Quincy explains.
That consistency is key in any show, but especially on The Chi, which has significantly elevated its dramatic stakes in the back half of season six. As the narrative intensity increased, so did the demands of everybody on set. Deondray and Quincy, who were married live during the 2014 Grammys telecast, pride themselves on creating a safe environment, one which is supportive and conducive to that kind of intensity.
“We kinda operate as the Vice Principals of a school, with our most important job being to inspire and motivate our team to operate to the best of their ability and create a safe space for them to do it in,” Quincy says. “Our industry isn’t necessarily known for creating safe and supportive spaces. We want to set a different example. Making art should be joyful.”
Deondray and Quincy’s leadership has given way to several jaw-dropping performances in The Chi, including Kadeem Hardison’s work as Professor Gardner in S6E12 “City of Gold.” The Gossfields had admired Hardison for a long time, and count their collaboration with him among the highlights of their career.
“I tried to play it cool but ended up telling Kadeem that he was my hero and couldn’t believe that I was working with ‘Dwayne Wayne,'” says Deondray. “He smiled and said thank you, then we got to work. He was very deliberate about how he said his lines and had some tweaks here and there that made the dialogue better. Quincy and I were lock and step with him.”
Deondray and Quincy’s reverence for their heroes can be felt throughout their work on The Chi. As a pair of stylish storytellers, they embrace the role that homage can play in the filmmaking process, even incorporating a nod to Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple into “City of Gold.”
“It’s a nod to the scene where Celie, played by Whoopi Goldberg, read letters from her sister in front of a window,” Quincy explains. “That moment became the image used for the iconic movie poster. We placed our character in front of a window and backlit him with a beautiful warm light, creating a similar silhouette.”
Check out our full conversation with Deondray Gossfield and Quincy LeNear Gossfield below. We discuss their strategies for getting the best performances from their actors, as well as their collaborative dynamic as a directing duo.
How does your workflow change when you take on the role of Producing Directors compared to when you solely serve as Directors?
QUINCY: Directors only have to be concerned with prepping, shooting, and editing their one episode. The Producing Director oversees the full season. On The Chi, we are first responsible for providing an overall look, tone, and visual direction for the season. We begin by working with our Director of Photography to establish a style guide and a lookbook. This happens during the season’s prep. We pitch our ideas to our showrunners and the network, and once they are approved, we then provide that guide to all incoming directors. During the season, we serve as a conduit for creative, production, and the directors, both ensuring that all of our directors are fully supported and set up for success while also making sure to keep the consistency and continuity of the series per director.
We have a hand in every department, helping to create, manage, support, and problem-solve to create a better and more efficient production each season. We’re heavily involved with creatively overseeing post-production, from editing, sound-mixing, score, and color correction. We kinda operate as the Vice Principals of a school, with our most important job being to inspire and motivate our team to operate to the best of their ability and create a safe space for them to do it in. Our industry isn’t necessarily known for creating safe and supportive spaces. We want to set a different example. Making art should be joyful.
What motivated you to shift your focus towards the characters’ performances in the remaining episodes of the second half of season six?
DEONDRAY: The second half of the season ramped up storywise. We had a new visual language for the show that reflected that new tone, so we had to make sure that we had performances that matched. We checked in with our actors weekly to make sure they were preparing and ready to give us their very best. We had them dig deeper than they ever had before. We had them go to very painful places and scary places. We wanted to challenge them and break them out of their comfortable choices and go for something more raw and visceral. I have to say, they all got the assignment. I watched the entire season back and saw all the hard work manifested. I am so proud of the work they all did. It really took the show to a new level.
Could you provide us with insights into episode 12, “City of Gold”? What were some of the creative decisions you made?
QUINCY: We often like to pay homage to directors, directors of photography, and movies that inspired us. One of those directors is Steven Spielberg and The Color Purple. We wanted the moment of Bakari writing at his desk to be an homage to The Color Purple. It’s a nod to the scene where Celie, played by Whoopi Goldberg, read letters from her sister in front of a window. That moment became the image used for the iconic movie poster. We placed our character in front of a window and backlit him with a beautiful warm light, creating a similar silhouette.
It was definitely a nod to Spielberg and the late great Allen Daviau.
We are also very intentional about creating mood through production design, lighting, and camera movement. One of the scenes I loved in “City of Gold” was when our character, Poppa, comes to visit Pastor Ezekiel, whom he idolizes. We had an idea of revealing the pastor standing in front of a giant cross with his hands outstretched in the form of the crucifix as Poppa enters his office. I made a mockup in Photoshop, and we worked with our production designer, Kendall Bennet, to create a giant cross window on the pastor’s office wall.
Once our DP Christian “Tico” Herrera put his magic on it, the scene looked and felt exactly as we had imagined. It only lasts a few seconds, but it illustrates the ego and self-importance this pastor carries.
You incorporated a lot of color theory, symbolism, and Easter eggs in this half of the season. How did you ensure that the use of symbolism and visual techniques enhanced the narrative without overwhelming it?
DEONDRAY: We made sure that all the symbolism worked seamlessly to push the story along. They weren’t gimmicky or distracting. When Pastor Ezekial (Daniel J. Watts) hands Papa (Shamon Brown Jr.) his share of the church tithes that were collected, we made the bag gold to symbolize the Judas-like and poisonous nature of Papa and Pastor Ezekial’s relationship. The pastor has ulterior motives, and the gold bag symbolizes this. You’ll also notice from time to time that when there’s a low-angle of Papa under a light, it will take on a halo-like appearance as we enhance the light rays in post. There’s also a moment when Papa is speaking at the church, and viewers will notice how we placed the logo on the LED screen behind Papa’s head directly above his head as another form of a halo. When Papa first goes to Pastor Ezekial’s office, the pastor is standing in front of a glass window in the shape of a cross with his hands outstretched as a tailor measures him. The pastor is silhouetted in his darkly lit office, looking like a dark, eerie and menacing sacrilegious version of the crucifixion. All of the symbolic easter eggs are done in a way that moves the story and weaves quite nicely into our overall visual language. If it ever removes you from the story, then it’s not being used effectively.
Can you discuss any specific challenges you faced in integrating these visual and symbolic elements into the show?
QUINCY: I don’t think we faced many challenges specific to integrating our visual and symbolic elements other than typical production challenges. There are often ideas that every director has that simply can’t be achieved at the end of the day due to a myriad of challenges and Murphy’s Law. You then have to prioritize what’s most important, which is the story. The story trumps style. The story trumps symbolism. Make sure to tell the story. We may have missed out on a few visual accouterments, but we always get the meat and potatoes. However, I think the episode went rather smoothly.
What was your favorite scene to direct in episode 12? Why does that scene stand out to you?
DEONDRAY: My favorite scene to direct was the scene with Professor Gardner (Kadeem Hardison) and Bakari (Ahmad Nicholas Ferguson). I have been a hardcore fan of Kadeem Hardison since A Different World. I was a bit star-struck and nervous to work with him. There were also a lot of technical things to consider at the location that could easily make the shoot fall apart: shooting Winter for Spring with leafless trees outside of every window, limited time to shoot in what was an actual residence, limited areas to hang lights and some other stuff I can’t remember now. I just know we were under the gun, and my nerves were really bad that day. I tried to play it cool but ended up telling Kadeem that he was my hero and couldn’t believe that I was working with “Dwayne Wayne.” He didn’t react to the foot I had just put in my mouth. He smiled and said thank you, then we got to work. He was very deliberate about how he said his lines and had some tweaks here and there that made the dialogue better. Quincy and I were lock and step with him. The scene was beautifully acted by him and Ahmad. Their mentor-mentee relationship was palpable on screen. The lighting was beautiful, and we couldn’t tell that the trees were bald in the BG windows. It was a simple scene, but so fulfilling on so many levels and gorgeous. Afterward, Kadeem walked over and asked us, “How did I do?” There was a knot in my throat. I played it cool and smoothly replied, “Very nice.” He smiled. We smiled. It was incredible.
How do you divide responsibilities between each other?
QUINCY: As a directing team we are two minds and one body. We don’t divide. We work in a really singular way most of the time. That is possible because of the level of prep we do ahead of time. We divide in prep. We each read the scripts, break them down, and find our subtext, story arcs, and our visual approaches. Then we come back together to discuss our takes and 98% of the work is the same! The other 2% we may duel out. People think it’s funny, but we actually audition our disagreements with storyboards, animatics, or outright shooting and editing scenes with our iPhones, to prove which idea is the best. In the end, the idea that best serves the story wins.
There can be no ego in it. It’s not “the best man wins,” but what’s best for the story wins. That took years of personal growth and development. (laughs) When we arrive on set, we pretty much speak with the same tongue and there’s little to no confusion.
Are there any other creative choices or techniques that you used in the second half of the season that you found particularly impactful?
DEONDRAY: We were very deliberate with our LUTs (Look Up Tables) this part of the season. The entire tone of the show grew much darker in part two of season 6, so we wanted to capture that visually. Every pivotal character this season had their own LUT. Douda’s (Curtiss Cook) was dark, shadowy and crunched the blacks a lot to help sell his dark, diabolical nature. Emmett’s (Jacob Lattimore) was a bit more optimistic with some yellow hues but still laden with darker temperatures to help illustrate the dichotomous nature of his character this season; teetering between the good and evil sides of his neighborhood. Victor (Luke James) had blue hues that gave way to more red ones, symbolizing that his stability was in danger. The entire season was washed in sepia tones to symbolize the fading away of safety and to emphasize that these few moments of peace would soon be gone. The new visual language was integral to our show’s elevation. This, coupled with our actors’ deeper performances, created an elixir that was magical. The show’s storylines jumped off the screen in a much more rousing way. We are super happy with the way it all came together.
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