Directors UK Podcast

The latest episode of the Directors UK podcast comes from our members’ masterclass with BAFTA-award winning multi-camera director Nikki Parsons.

We take a deep dive into Nikki's work directing Strictly Come Dancing and the Eurovision Song Contest, exploring how the full process from rehearsals to live performances comes together.

Moderated by award-winning live entertainment and multi-camera director Tim van Someren, we also discuss how multi-camera directors manage creative leadership on set, collaborate with crew and talent, and work with new technology such as CuePilot to help them navigate complex live broadcasts.

Watch Layton and Nikita's performance on Strictly Come Dancing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTEoUFtTp8k&t=34s

Watch the Strictly Come Dancing group dance in Blackpool:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-klD_VVve6g

Music: Loyalty Freak

This episode features director Alexander Payne, who joined us to discuss the making of his latest feature film The Holdovers.

Alexander spoke to film journalist Wendy Mitchell about his approach to shooting to establish a strong sense of place, how he found the visual tone for the 1970s setting, and getting the balance right between creating a period piece and building a lived-in authentic tone.

This episode features directing duo Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, who joined us to discuss the making of their latest film and first narrative feature Nyad.

Listen now to learn about their transition from documentary to drama, the challenges of shooting in and underwater, and portraying the real Diana Nyad.

Sofia Coppola sat down with fellow director Emerald Fennell to discuss her latest film Priscilla, a biopic of Priscilla Presley.

Hear the two award-winning directors discuss the challenges of portraying a household name, translating Priscilla’s 1985 memoir to the big screen, and conveying the worlds of teenage girls.

For our final In Conversation members event of 2023, Andrew Haigh sat down with Sandra Hebron to discuss his latest film All Of Us Strangers, a beautiful and poignant film about love and loss.

Andrew spoke about capturing vulnerable performances from his cast, including Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal, and creating a calming environment on set. He also dived into how approaches his craft as a director, such as his decision to shoot on 35mm for the film.

Please note: this podcast contains some strong language.

(Image credit: Christopher Andreou)

As part of our In Conversation season, Todd Haynes returned to Directors UK and spoke to fellow director Harry Wootliff about his latest feature film, May December. Todd spoke about how he created the film’s distinct style of comedy, working with actors Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton, and a director’s responsibility.

This episode of the Directors UK podcast comes from our In Conversation event with Bradley Cooper and Shawn Levy, who went behind-the-scenes of the Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro.

Bradley discussed cinematic tools he used to depict the marriage of Leonard and Felicia Bernstein, the importance of collaboration, and his evolution as a filmmaker from his debut feature A Star is Born to Maestro.

Listen to their fascinating conversation now!

This episode of the Directors UK podcast was recorded at our members' masterclass with director, producer and editor Thomas Meadmore and documentary story consultant Nic Guttridge.

Thomas and Nic were joined by award-winning documentary director Sophie Robinson to discuss the making of gripping true crime ITV feature documentary 'The Real Vanishing Act — Missing Millionairess'. They shared a great insight into how they used story mapping to create the documentary's structure and narrative, the importance of trust-building when gaining access to contributors and how they blended archive content with current events to create the tone and pace of the documentary.

We hope you enjoy this deep dive into the craft of feature documentary making!

(Image credit: Fremantle)

As part of our In Conversation season, James Hawes sat down with fellow director Jessica Hobbs to discuss his theatrical feature debut One Life, the true story of Sir Nicholas 'Nicky' Winton, a young London broker who rescued 669 children from the Nazis in the months leading up to World War II.

James and Jessica had a brilliant deep dive into James’ approach to his craft, discussing shooting on location in Prague, collaborating with key creatives to create a particular visual tone and establish an authentic period setting, and preparing the cast and crew for filming some of the film’s most sensitive scenes.

James also touched on the responsibility he felt when showing the final edit to Nicholas Winton’s family, and the complexities of representing real people on screen.

(Image credit: Hollie Forson)

This episode of the Directors UK podcast was recorded at our masterclass with Emmy-nominated director Peter Hoar, who gave us insight into his critically acclaimed episode of HBO's The Last of Us.

Peter was joined by fellow director and his Directors UK Inspire mentee Stephen Gallacher for a deep dive into the making of Episode 3, 'Long, Long Time', discussing the importance of collaboration with everyone on set and breaking down key scenes to explore Peter's approach to his craft.

A lively conversation between mentee and mentor, Peter and Stephen also explored tackling imposter syndrome and understanding your responsibility as a director.

In this episode of the Directors UK podcast, Peter and Stephen discussed three scenes from The Last of Us, Episode 3 'Long, Long Time', with a brief overview of two of these scenes included in the podcast.

The third and final scene discussed by Peter and Stephen appears approximately an hour and 10 minutes into the episode and takes us through to the final shot of ‘Long, Long Time’.

Please note: this podcast contains some strong language.

(Image credit: Sky/HBO)