My experience on the BBC Writersroom Directing Scheme 2017
Miranda Howard-Williams
Director
This year was the second year that I applied for the BBC Writersroom New Directors Scheme on Doctors - last year I got to the final round of interviews but was pipped to the post. At first I was gutted I hadn’t got it - but then I went away and got working on improving my portfolio. I completed post on my funded short film, sent that off to festivals, got some shadowing experience on TV dramas, attended Berlinale Talent Lab (after four years of applying) and of course watched lots of Doctors!
So I was thrilled that my perseverance paid off when I got one of the coveted spots on the BBC Directing Scheme this year. I say this because I think that how you come back from rejection is such a vital part of getting where you want in the end - and so that all those who are feeling battered by rejections can feel that this is, unfortunately, all part of the game and that if you keep working, keep showing your passion then in the end someone will say “yes, show us what you can do!”.
The process of the BBC Writersroom Scheme has been really supportive and well structured. The three of us trainees went up to BBC Birmingham, where Doctors is filmed, in the summer for three days. Here we saw how the Doctors machine operates and got to film a test scene so that we could see just how fast you need to shoot and how to work with two cameras. This really gave me confidence when it came to then directing the real thing when I headed back up to Birmingham for a month in October to direct my first episode.
I was working alongside a very experienced Doctors director, Gary Williams, who was my mentor for the month showing me the ropes. Gary was brilliant - getting the balance just right between being supportive, but giving me the space to be my own director as well.
My episode had a great script - although I was a little worried when I read it to discover that one of my key guest actors was in fact a dog! What I particularly loved about the whole process was the two and half weeks of prep time you get as a director. Previously on my shorts I have always had to crush prep in gaps between the rent-paying jobs, doing bits here and there. This was the first time I had been given real time and space to prep - it was so satisfying to really focus on the work and not worry about juggling anything else.
During this time we did castings, recces, meetings with HoDs, shot planning, blocking planning and so on. It meant that when the shoot came round I felt really well prepared and ready to go – which, given how tight the schedules are, is vital to ensuring you get everything shot each day.
I know it sounds like a cliché, but the whole team up at Doctors were so supportive, helpful and friendly. They all want you to succeed and know that it¹s a tough job - especially on your first episode - so they are all working with you to make the show the very best it can be. There is a really lovely atmosphere on set - even if the last two hours of every day feels like a mad dash to the finish line where everything is pretty hectic!
I’m very proud of my first episode and excited for it to be aired in February when I will see my name up on the telly for the first time. I am hoping to be back in Brum directing my first full block of Doctors in 2018. I am also developing a sci-fi tv series at the moment that I am hoping gets commissioned and would eventually love to be directing for shows such as Doctor Who and Sherlock. The BBC Writersroom Scheme has been amazing so far and I hope just the start of my working relationship with the BBC.
Miranda Howard-Williams is a director
