runawaaay

new guy?

jls2971

Sort of. He was on Beyond Borders as a main character and will portray the same character on CM. He appeared in two CM episodes, one in season 10 (the intro for Beyond Borders) and season 12 (Spencer). But yes, he'll be a new series regular on CM.


Harry tweeted info about episode 2

Logan

Name of ep and location tells me it is going to be Walkers funeral . " A better place "

jls2971

I was thinking the same thing, Matt. The name "To A Better Place" definitely sounds like someone is dying.

Logan

The location photo could be a setting for spreading ashes ...

jls2971

Yeah, it could be.

I really hope they don't kill him. It's looking like they probably will, but I wish they would just have him leave or get injured.

jls2971

Logan

Life behind the cameras: an interview with John Hatchitt

Criminal Minds just started its path to season 13. And as the sets come back to life, we were able to get in touch with one of the most prolific CM crew members on Twitter, who posts a lot of BTS pics of his job.

Join us and get to know more about John Hatchitt and his 13 years of working on Criminal Minds.

Criminal Minds BR: In your Twitter profile, besides the pictures of your job on Criminal Minds, we can see a lot of bike rides. When and how did you start road cycling?
John Hatchitt: I raced bikes before getting into the Industry, but just so happened our Director of Photography, Greg St John’s, rode bikes for the first few seasons and lured me back in. Knowing what it takes to race, he allows me the time to train and travel, which is amazing.


John Hatchitt riding his bike on the road (photo: John Hatchitt)

CMBR: How did you start working in the entertainment industry?
JH: I got into the business when Disney studios in Florida were being built on what was a 1-week job. Almost 30 years later, here I am with my 3-boys 29, 28 and 26 working with me.

CMBR: Tell us about your job on Criminal Minds. What’s your usual daily schedule?
JH: Our daily schedule is pretty straight forward. My best boy and the guys are normally there 30-1 hour before to unload equipment. I arrive before the Director of Photography to make sure if we have camera mounts or camera cranes and they are set and ready for Greg and director to look at.


John Hatchitt and his team joking on Shemar Moore behind the scenes of episode 10×19 (photo: John Hatchitt)

CMBR: What is the difference between working in movies and TV? What is/are the biggest challenge(s) in each one?
JH: With TV you know it’s a Monday-Friday, where with movies your working days can be all over. Also, with Movies, you have a little more time during the day to get creative with moves/shots and camera rigs. Where with TV the fans really want to see their stars up close.

CMBR: How does the fact of having different director and writer every week affect your job on set?
JH: Having different directors/writers just adds a variety to our shooting. Harry and Glenn go out weeks before the director to find locations which then gives us a little idea as to what to expect before the scouting and helps us get one foot in the door on the episode. So if there is a chance to do a fun rig we have time to come up with the most efficient way to do it without taking time away from the shoot day.


John Hatchitt behind the scenes of episode 11×06 (photo: John Hatchitt)

CMBR: How has the technical evolution in the latest years affected your job on set?
JH: With the changing in technology, a lot less equipment is used in Day/Night shooting which helps speed things up. And as cameras are getting smaller, it is easier to rig in new places for different angles.

CMBR: Tell us about set safety and how does it affect/help your daily job on set, such as in a “normal” day or the ones with stunt/special effects sequences.
JH: Our set-safety is to walk around each day, wherever it is we are shooting and make sure all is good. With the stunts, Tom Elliott is in charge and has extra eyes around but we are there to assist when needed.


The view from a camera rail installed by Hatchitt’s team (photo: John Hatchitt)

CMBR: What is your favorite episode/unsub so far? Why?
JH: My favorite episodes were in Season 2 with Keith Carradine [who played Frank Breitkopf, on episodes 2×13 “No Way Out” and 2×23 “No Way Out: The Evilution Of Frank”]. It was very interesting and he disappeared with never finding a body.


Camera equipment set on an external filming (photo: John Hatchitt)

CMBR: For finishing, you guys just started filming season 13, what can you tell about what’s in stock for the next year?
JH: Thank you for allowing me to share this with you and your Criminal Minds fan base. And get ready to spend some time on the edge of your seats. I will share some behind the scenes on Twitter [@johnhatchitt] without giving away too much.

Writing and Editing: CMBR Team – Patricia Angelica & Dayana Alves Coelho

jls2971

Thanks for sharing! I hadn't realized John had been with the show since the beginning until Harry mentioned it on Twitter the other day.

BJ (the costume designer) has also been there since season 1. Would be kind of cool if someone did an interview with her.




CM schedule through March. Harry said the colors are for filming episodes. When the color changes, it means a new episode starts filming

Logan

Been years but SDCC is back ( San Diego Comic Con )
So many TV shows have panels , plus a lot of big name movie actors come from LA to the show. In the past I have seen pics of a CM panel . We even got a season from here we are at Garcia and read where at comic con seeing Rossi and Strauss come out of a hotel

jls2971

Yes, that scene with Reid and Garcia at comic con and seeing/finding out about Strauss and Rossi was funny! That was from the season 7 finale.

Criminal Minds had a panel at Comic Con in 2012 before season 8 started. All of the cast was there except Shemar. There were a lot of videos and pics. I remember a funny interview they did. I can't remember who did the interview. I have it on my tumblr though. But it was funny and they talked about random stuff like banana grams. I think they talked more about random stuff than the actual show. And they gave Shemar a shout out

Kirsten attended last year. The guy who plays Monty was also there as were a few other CBS crime show actors. They had a panel/group thing or something.

Aisha is there this year and Paget will be there as well. Not for CM though.

jls2971

Joe, Paget, Kirsten and Aisha are all at comic con. They should have had a Criminal Minds panel there since half the cast is there

Edit: Actually, Kirsten may not have been at comic con.

d18

Joe was at the Comic Con for The Simpsons. Kirsten was at Porteville, CA for her play Mess. I guess CBS was being thrifty this year, no panels at the Con even for their new shows.

Good to know that Josh still has time for Criminal Minds even with Shooter.

jls2971

Does CBS usually have panels? I know they've had some in the past, but have they had them every year recently?

I don't follow comic con much and usually only catch stuff when a show or people I like are there. I believe the original premise of it was comic related stuff. I know they've sort of changed that over the years, though it does seem like a lot of the fantasy and sci-fi stuff gets representation usually. It makes sense The Walking Dead is always there and Game of Thrones, and Once Upon a Time is there and Supergirl and other superhero related films/shows. I'm trying to think of what some of the new CBS shows are. Maybe CBS/Comic con felt those audiences might not be a typical comic con audience?

And thanks for the info on the cast. It makes sense Joe was there for The Simpsons. I sometimes forget he does some work for that show. And Aisha I believe was there for Archer.

I agree about Josh. It's always nice when the family of the team can show up every once in a while.

d18

I'm actually not sure if CBS does it yearly but they had the Fan Favorites panel last year with few stars from CM, CMBB, NCIS, NCIS:LA and MacGyver.

My mistake, CBS did have a panel this year with Star Trek: Discovery.