The Directors Take Podcast

This is Episode 13 in the second season of The Directors Take Podcast.

In this week’s episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad are joined by Sebastian Thiel, who is one of the directors on Netflix’s global number one show, SUPACELL. Sebastian is also a writer, producer and all-round creative, so we brought him on to talk us through his journey toward Directing the phenomenon that is SUPACELL.  

This conversation covers the following…

-What is directing?

-How did he come into storytelling? 

-The story of how he made his first projects and web series. 

-The jump between making films as a self-starter to working within the TV system. 

-A discussion on development hell and getting the first directing gig.

-How to direct comedy.

Our wonderful sponsor for this episode is THE NATIONAL FILM and TELEVISION SCHOOL.

We’ve also partnered with SCRIPTATION to offer our listeners an EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT on their software, which you can find on the link below… 

http://scriptation.com/thedirectorstake 

Biography

Sebastian Thiel is a director, writer, producer. Born in Zambia and raised in North-West London, 

He started his own production company, Upshot Entertainment, at the age of 17 and made his  2014 TV debut on London Live with his documentary Trap Town which he created, wrote and directed. 

His first drama Just A Couple began life as a YouTube series before being picked up by Big Talk Productions for BBC Three.

Sebastian went on to direct the International Emmy-nominated BBC Three comedy Dreaming Whilst Black, and the recent hit ITVX and Amazon Prime drama Riches.  

Most recently, Sebastian directed Rapman’s Supacell, the number 1 superhero drama show in London for Netflix.

Sebastian continues to produce content through Upshot Entertainment, a subset of which produces professional and dynamic showreels, under Upshot Reels, for some of Britain’s greatest talent including Letitia Wright (Black Panther, Small Axe).  

He is also the founder of Dope Black Art, which is dedicated to championing black culture through visual art.

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

Socials

Sebastian: Twitter (X) & Instagram

The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Oz: 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 [email protected]

This is Episode 12 in the second season of The Directors Take Podcast.

In this week’s episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad are joined by Brian Gilbert, a BAFTA and Oscar Nominated Director and one of the lead tutors at the National Film and Television School, who specialises in the art of performance and working with actors. 

This is the second part in our conversation with Brian, as we break down the fundamentals of working with actors and how you shape their performances for screen. 

PART 2 covers…

-How do you create motivated blocking in a scene?

-How should you use rehearsal time with actors?

-Having helped develop some of the best filmmaking talent in the UK, has he seen any similarities between them?

-Brian talks us through how he met Stanley Kubrick on the set of 2001.

Our wonderful sponsor for this episode is THE NATIONAL FILM and TELEVISION SCHOOL.

We’ve also partnered with SCRIPTATION to offer our listeners an EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT on their software, which you can find on the link below… 

http://scriptation.com/thedirectorstake 

Biography

Brian Gilbert started out his career as a child actor, appearing several times on Australian television before earning a scholarship to read English Literature at Oxford University, where he began directing plays. After this he travelled for a while as an actor, before being accepted into the National Film and Television School where his graduation film, THE DEVOTEE won several awards and got him industry attention. From here he went on to make several feature films such as Sharma and Beyond, The Frog Prince, Vice Versa, Not without my Daughter, Tom and Viv which starred Willem Dafoe and Miranda Richardson and picked up two Oscar and two BAFTA nominations before making WILDE. A Biopic on Oscar Wilde starring Stephen Fry and Jude Law amongst others.

In 2004 he began working at the National Film and Television School and became a key figure there as it went on to establish itself as one of the top 15 film schools in the world as said by The Hollywood Reporter. As a lead tutor he has overseen the development of some of the UKs most exciting filmmaking talent such as Nick Rowland, Mahalia Belo and Rose Glass, and he specialises in the art of performance on screen.

NUGGET

Marcus: A Quote from Stanley Kubrick taken from the book The Film Director as Superstar by Joseph Gelmis.

‘A director is a kind of idea and taste machine; a movie is a series of creative and technical decisions, and it’s the director’s job to make the right decisions as frequently as possible. Shooting a movie is the worst milieu for creative work ever devised by man. It is a noisy, physical apparatus; it is difficult to concentrate - and you have to do it from 8:30 to 6:30, five days a week. It’s not an environment an artist would ever choose to work in. The only advantage it has is that you must do it, and you can’t procrastinate’.

Oz: Shot Designer App

Brian: The Homecoming (theatre) directed by Matthew Dunster and starring Jared Harris, Joe Cole and Lisa Diveney.

Emily Dickinson Poem - The Brain -  is wider than the Sky

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

Socials

The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Oz: 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 [email protected].

This is Episode 11 in the second season of The Directors Take Podcast.

In this week’s episode your hosts Marcus Anthony Thomas and Oz Arshad are joined by Brian Gilbert, a BAFTA and Oscar Nominated Director and one of the lead tutors at the National Film and Television School, who specialises in the art of performance and working with actors. 

Your ability to draw performances from actors is at the heart of the directors’ job, so we brought on an absolute expert in Brian Gilbert to break that all down for you all. 

PART 1 covers…

-How did he get into filmmaking as a practice?

-How did he get his first break as a working director? 

-How does he work with high profile actors?

-How should you communicate with actors?

-How can you change the energy of a performance?

Our wonderful sponsor for this episode is The National Film and Television School.

Biography

Brian Gilbert started out his career as a child actor, appearing several times on Australian television before earning a scholarship to read English Literature at Oxford University, where he began directing plays. After this he travelled for a while as an actor, before being accepted into the National Film and Television School where his graduation film, THE DEVOTEE won several awards and got him industry attention. From here he went on to make several feature films such as Sharma and Beyond, The Frog Prince, Vice Versa, Not without my Daughter, Tom and Viv which starred Willem Dafoe and Miranda Richardson and picked up two Oscar and two BAFTA nominations before making WILDE. A Biopic on Oscar Wilde starring Stephen Fry and Jude Law amongst others.

In 2004 he began working at the National Film and Television School and became a key figure there as it went on to establish itself as one of the top 15 film schools in the world as said by The Hollywood Reporter. As a lead tutor he has overseen the development of some of the UKs most exciting filmmaking talent such as Nick Rowland, Mahalia Belo and Rose Glass, and he specialises in the art of performance on screen.

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

Socials

The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Oz: 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 [email protected]

Episode 10 of The Directors Take Podcast is AVAILABLE NOW on all major platforms.

In this week’s episode your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by absolutely no-one, as they break down how they became Writer/Directors… With a special emphasis on the writer part. Writing is one of the first skills we learn as humans and writing stories is a craft that can be learnt just like any other… So we will tell you how we did it.

This chat covers:

-How did we both start writing? 

-How do you select which ideas to pursue? 

-How do you get through a first draft? 

-What are the rules you try to stick to whilst writing, if at all?

Nuggets of the week

Pandemonium, Inc. (Website/Resource)

Scriptnotes (Podcast)

The Screenwriting Life (Podcast)

The Annual Blacklist (Script Archive)

The Annual Oscar Nominee Scripts (Script Archive)

BBC Writers Script Library (Script Archive)

Lessons from the screenplay (YouTube Channel)

Teach yourself screenwriting by Ray Frensham (Book)

Into the Woods by John Yorke (Book)

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

Socials

The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Oz: 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 [email protected].

This is Episode 9 in the second season of The Directors Take Podcast… and we’ve hit a very special milestone as this is our 50th Episode overall!

To mark this special occasion your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by one of the directors of HBO’s HOUSE OF THE DRAGON and our mentor Clare Kilner. She is an exceptional filmmaker whose craft has allowed her to direct shows such as Pennyworth, The Alienist, Snowpiercer, Gen V and the other recent smash hit show, FALLOUT. 

Clare is working at the absolute pinnacle of the High-End TV game right now and as ever we break down her journey and process for you all to enjoy. This chat covers…

-What is directing?

-What made her want to become a storyteller?

-How did she learn to work with actors? 

-How does she break down a script?

-How do you enter a show with such a distinct world? 

-How she plans her shots and blocking from within locations.

-Her process in working out blocking with the actors.

-What ideas she brings to the table in order to elevate it from the script.

-Her approach to creating a coherent visual language. 

-How she works with writers and execs on set. 

-Her approach to the editing process. 

Our wonderful sponsor for this episode is The National Film and Television School.

Nuggets of the week

Clare: Marina Abramovic - 420 seconds of silence at Glastonbury

Oz: Eye Candy - Visual Language library

Marcus: The House that Dragons Built - Crafting a Royal Funeral - S2, Ep2

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

Socials

Clare Kilner: Instagram

The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Oz: 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 [email protected].

This is Episode 8 in the second season of The Directors Take Podcast.

In this week’s episode your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by Writer & Showrunner Lauren Sequeira. A BAFTA nominated writer and a member of the BBC’s Hotlist, they wrote on Kiss Me First and seasons 1 & 2 of Gangs of London before Showrunning their very own show, BBC3’s original series Domino Day.

As ever we break down Lauren’s journey and craft to uncover those delicious nuggets of information. This chat covers…

-How Marcus and Lauren met… (lol)

-Lauren’s journey toward becoming a writer

-How she got her agent and how they helped shape their career.

-What did her first paid writing jobs look like? 

-Writing on Gangs of London.

-How she got her very own show commissioned.

-Setting up a series, interviewing directors and building those relationships.

-What is her writing process?

Our wonderful sponsor for this episode is The National Film and Television School.

Bio

Lauren Sequeira is a writer hailing from South London, earning her first TV Credit on Kiss Me First, which was a show plucked from the mind of Bryan Elsey, the creator of Skins. From here Lauren created the digital Spin-Off series to BBC’s The Dumping Ground, called Sasha’s Contact Meeting, which earned her a BAFTA nomination and she was named on the BBC’s hotlist for emerging talents tipped as future stars. 

She also went on to write for Gangs of London, on both Season 1 and 2, before getting her very own show commissioned, the Original Series Domino Day which aired on BBC3 in February of 2024. Domino Day is a show which follows Domino, a powerful young witch who is haunted by her need to feed on the energy of others… And she uses Dating apps to find her new prey.

Nuggets of the week

Lauren:  The sun (not the newspaper). Being outside and enjoying the sun.

Oz: The rap beef between Kendrick, Drake and J. Cole.

Marcus: Thelma & Louise - Screenplay

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

Socials

Lauren Sequeira: Twitter (X) & Instagram

The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Oz: 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 [email protected].

This is Episode 7 of our brand new season of The Directors Take Podcast.

This week's episode is a conversation with Producer Oliver Kassman from Escape Plan, who have made waves in the genre space in creating films such as SAINT MAUD, OUT OF DARKNESS and the recent feature LOVE LIES BLEEDING starring Kristen Stewart, Katy O’Brian & Ed Harris. 

Oliver is a champion for first time filmmakers having made the above work with Rose Glass and Andrew Cummings, and there are absolutely many more on the way. In this chat we cover…

-What is producing?

-His journey into the industry.

-The importance of mentors early on in your career. 

-What does development look like? 

-How does he choose the filmmakers and ideas to pursue? 

-How important is it to attach cast to a project? 

-How do you navigate creative vision through sales and distribution?

-What does the Producer/Director relationship look like?

-How does he see the future of film?

Our wonderful sponsor for this episode is The National Film and Television School.

Nuggets of the week

Oliver Kassman: Work: What Just Happened? Bitter Hollywood Tales from the Front Line by Art Linson

Creative: Orville Peck - Pony (Vinyl)

Oz: Anker Powerbank

Marcus: Music for K (Polish Jazz Vol. 22) by Tomasz Stanko Quintet

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

Socials

Oliver Kassman: Twitter (X) & Instagram

The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Oz: 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 [email protected].

This is Episode 6 of our brand new season of The Directors Take Podcast.

This week's episode is a conversation with Dr. Thomas Curran, a renowned Psychologist and Associate Professor in the esteemed Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics and Author of ‘one of Bloomberg’s best books of 2023’, The Perfection Trap. 

In this chat we cover…

-What is perfectionism?

-Where does perfectionism come from?

-How is perfectionism linked to mental health? 

-How is perfectionism linked to ‘deficit thinking’ or ‘imposter syndrome’.

-Is procrastination linked to perfectionism?

-How do social environments breed perfectionist traits?

-How do factors such as race, gender and class play into this?

-How can we combat perfectionism?

Our wonderful sponsor for this episode is The National Film and Television School.

Nuggets of the week

Dr. Thomas Curran: Dr. Gabor Maté on Alienation - YouTube Video

Oz: Rate my takeaway - YouTube Channel

Marcus: Shadow of the Colossus - Playstation Game

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

Socials

Dr. Thomas Curran: Website & Twitter (X)

The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Oz: 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 [email protected].

This is Episode 5 of our brand new season of The Directors Take Podcast.

This weeks episode is a chat between Marcus and Oz, where they talk about their experience as Director Shadows/Mentees on House of the Dragon for the very first time.

-What was the scheme and selection process?

-Our first few weeks on the production.

-Reading the scripts.

-Creating our workflow.

-How we helped the production.

-How we constructed our learning.

Our wonderful sponsor for this episode is The National Film and Television School.

About us

Marcus and Oz are both described as ‘rising stars’ in the film industry and both met whilst shadowing the directors and showrunners on Season 1 of HBO’s House of the Dragon for 16 months. Having both seen up close exactly what is required of a director when working at the highest level and understanding the gap between what is taught about filmmaking up to that stage… They created The Directors’ Take Podcast to help fill in the gap, so that early-career directors right through to mid-level career professionals can get the most out of themselves and their collaborators.

Nuggets of the week

Oz: Louaista - YouTube Channel

Marcus: Blood, sweat & chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

Socials

The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Oz: 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 [email protected].

This is Episode 4 of our brand new season of The Directors Take Podcast.

This weeks episode is with the exceptional Costume Designer, Cynthia Lawrence-John. She has worked with some of the biggest brands in the world such as Adidas, Samsung, Amex and with a slew of directors such as Melina Matsoukas (Queen & Slim), Kibwe Tavares (The Kitchen) and Nicholas Winding Refn (Drive). She also recently earned herself a BIFA nomination for her work on the beautiful RomCom RYE LANE and helped to elevate the film’s colourful aesthetic. In our chat we cover:

-What is Costume Design?

-Her journey into the film industry. 

-What is it about her work that keeps bringing people to her door?

-Transitioning from commercials into film. 

-Storytelling through costume. 

-What do her conversations with directors look like? 

-How do you work with other Heads of department to create a unified aesthetic?

Our wonderful sponsor for this episode is The National Film and Television School.

Nuggets of the week

Cynthia: Tony Allen: An Autobiography of the Master Drummer of Afrobeat.

Oz: BaByliss Pro Cordless Super Motor Skeleton Trimmer

Marcus: The Cinema Cartography - YouTube Channel

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

Socials

Cynthia: Instagram

The Directors' Take: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Marcus: Twitter (X) & Instagram

Oz: 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 [email protected].