Fall 2018

Dana Zolli

For Zolli, the End Justifies the Means

BY BRANDON KYLE GOCO

My favorite thing about the job is wrapping," reflects New York-based 2nd AD Dana Zolli. She's only half-joking. "Just seeing it all come together, you kind of forget how many moving pieces there are. It's pretty magical."

Zolli recently wrapped as Key 2nd on USA's The Sinner, a series set and largely shot in upstate New York. "Lately, my typical day begins with driving in the middle of the night to a location near Westchester," she says. "Because we've been shooting in the woods, we do our best to make sure the set is as safe and as easy on the crew as possible."

This means more safety memos and more communication. "Oftentimes, our base camp is quite far from where we're shooting," says Zolli. "I make sure I arrive first on the set, meet the local crew and figure out what sort of crowd control we're going to have."

At the end of the day, Zolli looks forward to sending the trailers home. "I think I take it for granted sometimes," she says. "At any moment something could go wrong and surely, it sometimes does, but most of the time, everything just comes together—and that is all because of the work."

(Photo: Marcie Revens)