The Directors’ Take Podcast

E131 - The Art of Cinema Part 1 with Film Guru Ian Sellar

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by Ian Sellar, a Director, Screenwriter, Script-Editor and tutor from the National Film and Television School. He has had a key hand in the development of all the major success stories you have seen that have passed through the halls of the NFTS, such as Rose Glass, Nick Rowland, Mahalia Belo and our most recent guest Lewis Arnold to name but a few. Often cited as a genius, we brought him on for a chat to break down the building blocks of cinema so that you can interrogate it more clearly as an art form. This conversation includes:
 
-How did he find himself working in film?
-What is his perspective on perspective in film?
-Is there a formula to making a film?
-Films as information.
-How do you choose where to place the camera?
 
Ian Sellar is a Scottish director, screenwriter, Script-Editor and tutor of Fiction at the National Film and Television School. He began his career as an assistant to Bill Douglas, after which he went on to directing shorts and studying at NFTS. His first features, 'Venus Peter' and 'Prague', were in official selection at Cannes and went on to be distributed worldwide. He runs feature writing and directing workshops internationally.
 
Credits
Music by Oliver Wegmüller
 
Socials
Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast
Twitter: @DirectorsTake
 
If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.
 
 

E130 - Lewis Arnold Part 2: The Craft of Directing TV

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by Director Lewis Arnold, whose directing credits include MISFITS, BROADCHURCH, DARK MONEY, CLEANING UP featuring Sheridan Smith, DES featuring David Tennant, TIME featuring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham, SHERWOOD with Adeel Akhtar and he has most recently directed all seven episodes of the newly released ITV series based on the victims of the Yorkshire Ripper, THE LONG SHADOW. There aren't many better working directors in the UK that we could bring on to discuss how you can become a successful jobbing director in this industry. The second part of our conversation includes:
 
-What's the first thing you do when you get a new directing job?
-What does casting look like?
-How do you construct sequences for work you haven't written?
-How do you schedule?
-How do you run the edit process?
-How do you manage the work/life balance as a working director?
 
Lewis Arnold has just finished directing all 7 parts of THE LONG SHADOW for New Pictures/ITV.  Prior to this he directed James Graham’s SHERWOOD for House Productions/BBC1 and Jimmy McGovern’s TIME, for BBC Studios starring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham. Both shows were nominated for multiple TV BAFTAs in 2022/23. TIME went onto win Best Mini-Series and Best Leading Actor for Sean Bean whilst SHERWOOD picked up the award for Best Supporting Actor for Adeel Akhtar.
In 2020 he directed and executive produced DES for New Pictures and ITV, having created the three-part drama with writer Luke Neal. The series won the International Emmy Award for Best Performance By An Actor in 2021, and was also nominated for Best TV Movie/Mini-Series. The first episode had consolidated viewing figures of 11.4 million making it ITV’s biggest new series since the launch of series CLEANING UP in January 2019, a show which he developed with writer Mark Marlow, directing the first four episodes for Sister Pictures.
It was on graduating from the National Film and Television School in March 2013, that Lewis embarked on directing his first TV project, directing with two episodes of the final series of BAFTA-winning C4 show, MISFITS. He followed this up by directing the first four episodes of Russell T Davies’s new E4 show, BANANA, and was named a Broadcast Magazine Hotshot 2014 for his work on both shows.
Other credits include BROADCHURCH and HUMANS, which became Channel 4’s most successful original drama in over 20 years when it aired in 2015. After directing two episodes on series one, he was asked back a year later to direct the lead block of the second series for Kudos and AMC.
Lewis is also represented in the US by Matt Greenberg and Jon Cassir at CAA.
 
Nuggets of the week
Oz: Lucy Prebble posts her intro to the Succession Season 3 scripts book
Marcus: Under the Skin - Behind the scenes
Lewis:  Jeff Thompson - We all get the same amount of time in a day
BFI NETWORK: Directing for TV with Lewis Arnold
Directors' Now
 
Credits
Music by Oliver Wegmüller
 
Socials
Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast
Twitter: @DirectorsTake
Lewis Arnold: Twitter (X) & Instagram
 
If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.
 
 

E129 - Lewis Arnold Part 1: Breaking into TV Directing

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by Director Lewis Arnold, whose directing credits include MISFITS, BROADCHURCH, DARK MONEY, CLEANING UP featuring Sheridan Smith, DES featuring David Tennant, TIME featuring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham, SHERWOOD with Adeel Akhtar and he has most recently directed all seven episodes of the upcoming ITV series based on the victims of the Yorkshire Ripper, THE LONG SHADOW. There aren't many better working directors in the UK that we could bring on to discuss how you can become a successful jobbing director and we'll spend the next two episodes breaking down just that. The first part of our conversation includes:
 
-What is the job of a director?
-What was his journey into directing?
What does he see the pathway into the industry looking like now?
-His resource Directors Now.
-How does he interview for projects?
-The differences between first and second block directors.
 
Lewis Arnold has just finished directing all 7 parts of THE LONG SHADOW for New Pictures/ITV.  Prior to this he directed James Graham’s SHERWOOD for House Productions/BBC1 and Jimmy McGovern’s TIME, for BBC Studios starring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham. Both shows were nominated for multiple TV BAFTAs in 2022/23. TIME went onto win Best Mini-Series and Best Leading Actor for Sean Bean whilst SHERWOOD picked up the award for Best Supporting Actor for Adeel Akhtar.
In 2020 he directed and executive produced DES for New Pictures and ITV, having created the three-part drama with writer Luke Neal. The series won the International Emmy Award for Best Performance By An Actor in 2021, and was also nominated for Best TV Movie/Mini-Series. The first episode had consolidated viewing figures of 11.4 million making it ITV’s biggest new series since the launch of series CLEANING UP in January 2019, a show which he developed with writer Mark Marlow, directing the first four episodes for Sister Pictures.
It was on graduating from the National Film and Television School in March 2013, that Lewis embarked on directing his first TV project, directing with two episodes of the final series of BAFTA-winning C4 show, MISFITS. He followed this up by directing the first four episodes of Russell T Davies’s new E4 show, BANANA, and was named a Broadcast Magazine Hotshot 2014 for his work on both shows.
Other credits include BROADCHURCH and HUMANS, which became Channel 4’s most successful original drama in over 20 years when it aired in 2015. After directing two episodes on series one, he was asked back a year later to direct the lead block of the second series for Kudos and AMC.
Lewis is also represented in the US by Matt Greenberg and Jon Cassir at CAA.
 
Nuggets of the week
BFI NETWORK: Directing for TV with Lewis Arnold
Directors' Now
 
Credits
Music by Oliver Wegmüller
 
Socials
Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast
Twitter: @DirectorsTake
Lewis Arnold: Twitter (X) & Instagram
 
If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.
 
 

E128 - Demystifying the art of Production Design with Jacqueline Abrahams

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by Jacqueline Abrahams, a BAFTA and BIFA winning Production Designer who has worked with directors such as Michael Winterbottom, Yann Demange and Yorgos Lanthimos. We used this conversation to tap into their creativity and to dig down into the collaboration that can happen between a Director and Designer to ultimately create the best work. This conversation covers:
 
-What is a Production Designer?
-What was her journey into the industry?
-How do Production Designers inform their process?
-How do Production Designers elevate story and character?
-What is the relationship between the Designer, the DoP and Director?
-What makes a good Director?
-What is the nature of art, creativity and authenticity?
 
Jacqueline Abrahams originally trained in Fine Art, specialising in performance and live art. She worked as a scenic painter for four years before moving into design where she has worked to design feature films, shorts, TV dramas, theatre, performance and live art. She is experienced working with scripts, on improvised pieces and with artists in a less conventional context. 
She has designed productions that have large ambitious studio set builds, completed location-based work and has experience working within very strict budgets too which is always good. She won the BAFTA in 2009 for best production design for TV series Wallander, was nominated for a BAFTA in 2010 and won the RTS Best Production Design award in 2010 also.
Jacqueline’s notable credits include TV series Wallander, Diary of a Call Girl and the original series of Topboy and feature films such as The BIFA winning The Look of Love (2013) from Michael Winterbottom, The Lobster (2015) by Yorgos Lanthimos, as well as Lady Macbeth (2015) by William Oldroyd and His House (2018) by Remi Weekes.
 
Nuggets of the week
 
Oz: Greta Gerwig's Official Barbie Watchlist
Marcus:  BIFA Insider: The Lobster with Jacqueline Abrahams
Kwellin: You can't live life without taking risks.
Capitalist Realism: Is there no alternative? by Mark Fisher (Book)
 
Credits
Music by Oliver Wegmüller
 
Socials
Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast
Twitter: @DirectorsTake
Kwellin: She doesn't have socials, she just lives life... so should you.
 
If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.
 

E127 - How to make a movie at Film4 with Amy O’Hara

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by Amy O'Hara who is a Development & Production Exec at Film 4. We began this podcast as people who are actively working at making our own TV and Feature Film projects, but the pathway towards this goal is extremely rocky, murky, difficult etc... So we brought Amy on to help break this process down for us/you all. This conversation includes:
 
-What are Development and Production Execs?
-How do they find, develop and nurture new and emerging talent?
-What do they look for in filmmakers and projects?
-How do you submit projects to Film4?
-What does payment look like when developing a feature with Film4?
-What does a good development process look like?
-We also cover a bunch of listeners questions too!
 
Amy O'Hara is a seasoned Development and Production Executive who joined Film4 in October 2021. Her career in the film industry has been marked by a strong commitment to nurturing new and emerging talent. Prior to her current role at Film4, she held the position of BFI NETWORK Talent Executive at Film Hub North, where she closely collaborated with aspiring writers, directors, and producers, overseeing a diverse slate of films. 
Amy previously worked at Film4 company from 2013 to 2016, serving as the assistant to the late Sue Bruce-Smith, who was the deputy director at the time. Between her two tenures at Film4, Amy gained experience at the International Distribution company STX, where she served as a Marketing Executive, focusing on UK Productions. 
With a track record of championing innovative projects and diverse voices, Amy O'Hara continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of UK storytellers at Film4.
 
Nuggets of the week
Oz: Guy Ritchie's Kingdom: Master Your Life and Own Your Game
Marcus: The Deepest Breath - Netflix/A24 Documentary
Amy: Sharon Van Etten - Quiet Eyes | Past Lives (song)
Annie Dillard - The Writing Life 
'How we spend our days is of course how we spend our lives.'
 
Credits
Music by Oliver Wegmüller
 
Socials
Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast
Twitter: @DirectorsTake
Amy: Twitter (X)
 
If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.

E126 - Demystifying Intimacy Co-ordinators with Louise Kempton

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by Louise Kempton, who is an intimacy co-ordinator that has worked on projects such as The Great, Gangs of London and the upcoming feature film Hoard. Intimacy co-ordination is a relatively new role and directors may feel that they are losing control of intimate sequences with this being a barrier between them and performers... So we brought Louise on to help demystify the process of working with an intimacy co-ordinator so you can get the most out of this collaboration. This conversation covers:
 
-What is an intimacy co-ordinator?
-Why are they so important?
-At what point are they brought onto a project?
-What is their process in constructing intimate scenes?
-How are directors involved in rehearsals?
-Can you still tweak things on the day as a director?
-How do you do intimacy with low budget work?
 
Louise is a freelance intimacy co-ordinator working in TV, theatre & film. Louise trained with Intimacy on Set under the mentorship of Ita O'Brien, and has worked extensively as an associate member. Louise regularly facilitates workshops and seminars, introducing the Intimacy on Set guidelines and safe practises to trainee actors and directors, film crew and production. Louise's work enables the creation of dynamic and exciting choreography, within a safe and supported environment.
 
https://www.louisekempton.co.uk/intimacy-coordination
 
Nuggets of the week
 
Oz: Weekend Read (App)
Marcus: Meet the Producer - The Production Guild (Podcast series)
Louise: Try to connect with your inner child and take time to reflect on the beautiful moments and people that surround you.
 
Credits
Music by Oliver Wegmüller
 
Socials
Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast
Twitter: @DirectorsTake
Louise: Instagram & Twitter
 
If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.
 

E125 - Demystifying Online Releases with Short of the Week’s Rob Munday

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by Rob Munday, who is the current Managing Editor of Short of the Week and co-founder of Directors Notes. As a director looking to break into the industry, you may think that gaining laurels from physical film festivals is what you need in order to gain industry recognition, but this isn't necessarily always the case. So we've brought Rob on to help demystify releasing your short films online and the decision-making process that goes into it. This conversation covers:
 
-How he got into the industry.
-Why he founded Directors' Notes.
-How he got involved in Short of the Week.
-What happens when you submit your film to Short of the Week.
-What makes a good short film in his eyes.
-What the difference is between online release and physical film festivals.
-What the selection process is.
-What he feels about the pathway into the industry.
 
After co-founding Directors Notes in 2006, Rob Munday joined the team at Short of the Week in 2009 and has been championing short film on the platform ever since. Looking to help a new generation of filmmakers share their stories on a larger stage, Rob believes short film is more than a playground for narrative and craft and is constantly excited and surprised by the new work being made in the format. The only British based member of the Short of the Week editorial team, Rob is particularly passionate about supporting emerging talent from UK & the rest of Europe.
 
Nuggets of the week
 
Oz: Film Riot - Amazing Effects in Classic FIlms - How Did They Pull it Off?
Marcus: Light & Magic - Disney+
Rob: Pod Save the UK - Podcast
 
Credits
Music by Oliver Wegmüller
 
Socials
Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast
Twitter: @DirectorsTake
Rob: Instagram
Short of the Week: Instagram, Twitter & Facebook
Directors Notes: Instagram, Twitter & Facebook
 
If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.
 

E124 - The Director/Actor Relationship with Henpocalypse! Star Callie Cooke

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by Henpocalypse! and general TV star Callie Cooke to help break down what the relationship between a director and an actor can look like. This conversation covers:
 
-Callie's journey from Northamptonshire to the Film & TV industry.
-How she got her first acting gig.
-The preparation she does for a role.
-The conversations she has with directors during preparation.
-The relationship with directors on set.
-How to give notes to actors.
-What the future looks like.
 
Callie Cooke is an actress born in Leicestershire, England. Born on 23rd October. She trained at the Arts Educational School London before landing her first professional role in Sky Atlantic show Britannia. She is known for The Stranger, Wedding Season and Cheaters. Callie starred alongside Maxine Peake in BBC drama Rules Of The Game.
 
Nuggets of the week
Oz: People say this tool will replace me, so I made a movie with it by Corridor Crew.
Marcus: The Filmmakers’ Podcast - How to Direct & Adapt a Stephen King classic with The Boogeyman’s Rob Savage.
Callie: Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola
 
Credits
Music by Oliver Wegmüller
 
Socials
Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast
Twitter: @DirectorsTake
Callie's socials: Twitter & Instagram
 
If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.

E123 - Composing for Heartstopper with Adiescar Chase

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by composer Adiescar Chase, to talk us through her journey into composing and how she ended up as the lead composer on Netflix's hit coming of age TV show Heartstopper. This conversation covers:
 
-How Adiescar got into composing music for TV & Film.
-The journey into the industry.
-How she got her first break as composer on Heartstopper.
-The relationship between a director and composer.
-The do's and don'ts of communicating with a composer.
-The purpose of music in films.
-How to make the most out of music.
 
Adiescar Chase is an exciting, emerging and very distinctive composer and multi-instrumentalist based in the UK, composing and performing in a wide variety of contemporary, musical styles.
With a diverse collection of projects in her portfolio ranging from video games, tv drama, short film and animation, Adiescar is the composer for Netflix’ YA drama HEARTSTOPPER, directed by Euros Lyn for See-Saw Films. She is the composer for Rope Ladder Fiction and Wall to Wall Media’s WATERLOO ROAD drama series broadcasting on BBC.
After graduating with a first class B.mus (Hons) degree in composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2017, Adiescar went on to study for a Masters in Composition for Film and Television at the National Film & Television School graduating in early 2021.
 
Nuggets of the week
Oz: BetterSnapTool
Marcus: 3-Iron by Kim Ki-Duk
Adiescar: Composer Henry Jackman and TV show The Flatshare with Composer Nitin Sawhney.
 
Credits
Music by Oliver Wegmüller
 
Socials
Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast
Twitter: @DirectorsTake
Adiescar's socials: Twitter & Instagram
 
If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.

E122 - Directing Dreaming Whilst Black with Joelle Mae David

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by director Joelle Mae David to talk us through her journey into the industry and how she went about directing the middle block of the hit BBC and A24 show, Dreaming Whilst Black from creator Adjani Salmon. As ever this is a craft focused conversation which covers the following:
 
-Joelle's journey into the industry.
-The challenges of making her first narrative short film, Greasy Spoon.
-Setting up and running her own production company.
-How she got her first TV credits.
-How she works within a tough filming schedule. 
-How to direct comedy.
-The difference between being a middle block and lead block director.
-Managing work/life balance as a working director.
 
Joelle Mae David started making her own short documentaries that shone a light on undiscovered talent from marginalised backgrounds which ultimately got featured on BBC3. She has since set up a company Bluebird Pictures with a focus on more narrative storytelling, that will further help give marginalised talent a chance and to tell stories that challenge the status quo. 
 
She’s obviously a filmmaker on the rise, having success with her short films Greasy Spoon and Cycle, before most recently landing the role as second block director on the wonderful Dreaming Whilst Black created by Adjani Salmon who stars in it too, Max Evans and Natasha Jatania. She’s also currently working as Lead director on Queenie from Showrunner Candice Carty-Williams for Channel 4.
 
Nuggets of the week
Oz: Oppenheimer (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Ludwig Göransson
Marcus: Documentary - The Phenomenon
Joelle: The Firm by Sydney Pollack
 
Credits
Music by Oliver Wegmüller
 
Socials
Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast
Twitter: @DirectorsTake
Joelle's socials: Twitter & Instagram
 
If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.