Spring 2017
BY BRANDON KYLE GOCO
"What happened was a couple of people ran by and I realized, 'Oh, there's runners running,'" says Courtney Franklin, discussing what started out as a typical day as key 2nd AD on the ABC show How to Get
Away with Murder. "Well, it turned out that it was actually a marathon," she explains. "So we had to stop and let the marathon go by and then get back to our regularly scheduled programming formulating a scene where someone actually gets shot," Franklin laughs. "As much control as we have to be able to shut things down, you're not stopping a marathon in Downtown L.A."
While preparing for the unexpected is very much a part of the job, Franklin finds the most excitement in setting background. "As an AD, we deal mostly with the logistics...and there is a creative nature in that, but in terms of what actually gets on the screen, setting background is the one
chance as a 2nd AD to be creative," Franklin explains.
Franklin has been consistently involved in the Guild.
Currently, she is serving her first term as co-chair for the African American Steering Committee. "As an AD, the biggest thing for me is focusing on the team," says Franklin. "So coming in as a co-chair, I thought it really important to present a different voice from an AD's perspective, because I'm going to have the team mentality."