Stargate Origins – Our Amazing Director

Mercedes Bryce Morgan – Stargate Origins Director

Trust me, you are going to love Stargate Origins director, Mercedes Bryce Morgan on IMDB. Let me count down just a few of the reasons why….

Vision

A director must have a vision. Not just any vision. A clear, strong vision with the power to lift a bunch of words off a bunch of pages and bring it to life on screen. A vision that will shape and drive every image and moment captured on camera.

And in our special case, that vision must honor, support, and expand the Stargate Universe.

Enter Mercedes Bryce Morgan.

Mercedes Bryce Morgan on Stargate Origins set

Let’s be honest. I know many Stargate fans may be worried about any addition to the Stargate world. This is new territory. And old. (See what I did there?!)

And I’m not the final judge… but as an actor on set, from every interaction I had with Mercedes, Stargate Origins is going to be amazing. Here are a few reasons why.

Her Director’s Eye Rocks

Watch any of the behind the scenes footage. The sets, the props, the costumes, the makeup, it’s all phenomenal. And they haven’t even revealed any of the crazy-cool stuff yet!

It’s a team effort, of course, with all the departments working together in concert… but truly the director has the last say. And believe me, everything looks incredible.

Mercedes is truly talented. And she has an amazing career ahead of her.

She’s a Stargate Fan

Here’s a moment from my first day on set. Let me paint the picture.

The actors are scattered about. Reading. Texting. Preparing.
Nicole, the 1st A.D. (or Assistant Director) calls us in for rehearsal with Mercedes.
We arrive on set and I see her.

I’m thinking:

What’s that metallic glimmer around her neck? Hmmm.
Mercedes is wearing a chevron necklace. I get it. A chevron!
Wow. She’s a real Stargate fan.
This is going to be awesome.

She’s Collaborative

In my experience, some directors want everything done their way. Period.
Other directors know what they want, but actively create a space for the cast and crew to expand their vision. Mercedes fits this 2nd category beautifully.

During a blocking rehearsal (rehearsing in the space on set to set everyone’s movements), one of the actors would say something like:
“I’m having an issue. My character wouldn’t do that.”
More often than not, she would say “O.k. What do you think your character would do?”

She would then work with the actor to find something they liked that also fit into her vision of the scene.

Don’t get me wrong. Several times after an actor made a suggestion, she would say something like:
“Its important in this scene that we understand (yadda yadda yadda, spoiler spoiler spoiler). We need to make this clear now so it works for episode 8 later on. So how can we make it work?”

This flexible guidance created new solutions that just made things better.

She’s Easy to Work With

At one point, several of us were on camera during a tense scene. In the script, we all needed to look in the direction of a sudden, ominous sound. Of course, the sound would be added later during editing. So we were reacting to the verbal cue ‘now’.

So when the cue came, we all looked up intensely, but in completely different directions. Oops!

Mercedes laughed, which made us all laugh, and the crew as well. Camera still rolling, she got us all on the same page, and we got the shot as needed, without the laughter.

Matt Miller, Ellie Gall, Mercedes Bryce Morgan, Lincoln Hoppe at LA Comic Con

She’s is Just So Nice to Be Around

In all my days on set, in all the stress, unforeseen situations, shooting in that crazy, old, hot warehouse, I never saw Mercedes look the least bit stressed or upset.

She always had a pleasant smile, or a relaxed look while working through any issue. Of course, I never knew what she was really thinking, but she showed such calm, ease, and professionalism.

You may wonder how the this would affect the Stargate Universe. Think of it like this: everything captured on camera is filtered through the eyes of the director. And put simply, Mercedes brought a real love for Stargate… and it shows.

Keep smiling, Mercedes!