A paramedic is tasked with training his eager but inexperienced replacement in Director Christopher Leone’s action comedy, Code 3.

Leone’s film follows an overworked paramedic named Randy, who is so burnt-out by the job that he is forcing himself to resign. On his the last 24-hour shift, he must train his replacement Jessica, but what starts as a routine night quickly spirals into a chaotic, citywide odyssey that tests their endurance, instincts and sense of humor as they race from one emergency to the next.

On September 14, after the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles, Leone discussed the making of Code 3 during a Q&A moderated by Director Etan Cohen (Get Hard).

During the conversation, Leone revealed how he used story boards on the film and how his background as a pre-vis 3D animator helped him through that process.

“It really helps me think through the blocking almost more than anything. I doodled the entire movie just as like stick figures. I was a 3D animator, so I did a lot of pre-vis and figured out how to shoot a lot of stuff for other Directors. But the theory of the movie was the camera is the fourth paramedic, so a lot of the camera decisions were based on that. For instance, in the beginning, I wanted the camera to feel as much like Xolo [Mariduena], the newbie. So, when that girl sits up and pukes, it pukes on us. It’s puking right at us. And so that’s forcing you to always be in that position with them. Forcing you to be in the back of the truck or hopping out the back of the truck. Drawing it helped me think it out.”

Leone’s other directorial credits include the feature Parallels; and episodes of Bite Size Horror, Suit Up, Wolfpack of Reseda and Bar Karma. He has been a DGA member since 2011.