Keep the Door Open

“You have to plan, but you can’t plan too precisely, because then you get thrown if the timing changes or the sun is not falling well on your outdoor set,” Motty Berkowitz explains.

Despite the myriad moving parts, the director has to stay cool, calm, and collected, so that the performers and actors can relax.

“I’m aware that Hashem is pulling the strings, and a lot of last-minute things turn out for the best,” Motty says.

That string-pulling can sometimes change things drastically from the original plan. The “Charosho” video, for example, was supposed to be filmed in Russia. The Rivkin Media team and Benny Friedman were due to travel to Moscow immediately after Pesach 2020, but Covid put everything on hold and brought that shoot to Staten Island, a lot closer to home.