PRODUCTION/POST


HETV TRAINING


Now nearing the end of its third cycle, the Directors UK High-End TV Drama Directors Programme, run in partnership with ScreenSkills, is funded by the high-end levy. It targets directors with


experience on continuing drama or success with shorts, to give them a step-up. “There’s not a shortage of directors, but there is a shortage of those opportunities to move forward,” says Andrea Corbett, the head of skills and career development at Directors UK.


So far, across the three


cohorts, 19 directors have received on the job training with leading drama directors, working on some of the biggest titles of the last few years, including Bentley Productions’ Midsomer Murders, Neal Street Productions’ Call the Midwife, World Productions’ Bodyguard and BBC Studios’ Silent Witness. While not promoting the scheme specifically as a diverse initiative, Director’s UK is committed to ensuring full representation behind-the-scenes of HETV. Fourteen of the selected candidates have been women and six have been of colour. The programme started with


a pilot in 2015, with five directors. While the concept worked well, “the crux of the matter was that the second and third versions of the scheme needed a long placement,” says Corbett. The subsequent two cohorts have seen participants placed in paid placements for around ten to 14 weeks, including prep and shoot time, ideally adding post production, “to immerse themselves with the production,


right the way through to the edit,” explains Corbett. Embedded on a shoot, the


directors work closely with the lead director on a production. Where possible, they direct a second unit and land a valuable credit on the show. Taking part in the 2018/19 scheme, Katherine Churcher worked on the second series of Sid Gentle Films’ Killing Eve, directing second unit and working alongside director Damon Thomas. “He was happy for me to be by his side from day one of the shoot,” says Churcher. “That meant being present from line runs through blocking and rehearsing to shooting, and it gave me 360-degree access to the experience of directing this level of series.”


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televisual.com Summer 2021


High end TV drama directors


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