Eleri Jones behind the monitor while directing an episode of Hollyoaks.
Recently, we partnered with Stage Directors UK, ScreenSkills and Lime Pictures on From Stage to (small) Screen — an opportunity for theatre directors to gain valuable practical experience directing for TV, funded by the David Fraser and Andrea Wonfor bursary.
As a result of the project, one director — Eleri Jones — was invited to join a block of Hollyoaks, and in the process gain that vital first TV directing credit. Following a successful first spell on set, Eleri has been hired to direct further episodes of Hollyoaks later this year.
We spoke to Eleri about how she took her first steps into directing continuing drama, and the value of having this opportunity to transfer her skills from the theatre to TV.
Tell us about how you first heard you’d got the contract to join Hollyoaks, and what those first few days were like.
At the time I was on tour with a show for the National Theatre. I was on a bench in Southend when I got phone call to say they'd decided to give a contract to me, which would mean that I’d be working there for the next 4 months. I didn't realise how soon it would be! They said, “Yes, you start prep on Monday.” Luckily, my base was in North Wales in Llangollen, so I was only an hour away from Lime Pictures anyway. It meant during that prep period, I could come and go from home, which was really helpful. But yes, basically, I finished the show in Bristol on the Saturday night and on the Monday morning it was not only my birthday, but I also started my prep at Hollyoaks!
I began my stint by starting to try and put into place what we‘d been taught in the workshop, and liaising a lot with Sean Glynn, who was my mentor. He was helping me, telling me things like “You've got these floor plans that you need to submit with your camera plans on it for the scenes.” The storylines were undergoing some changes when I started, so that was a challenge to navigate. It was really good to have experience of the unpredictable first, because it was a total dive into the deep end. I just sunk into it and loved every minute.
Did you feel that the Stage to (small) Screen training had equipped you for that? Was it a big step up?
It was definitely a step up. I don‘t think there‘s any way that you could teach in two days everything you need to be able to translate your skillset from one medium to another, but the key tools and the things that Sean focused on with us in the training — and also, having had the opportunity to actually do it and see the whole process, including the edit — meant that when I went back to the planning for my block I was carrying all of that with me. I was applying the same principles, but just over 100 scenes rather than one scene.
I think also, with everybody knowing that I was going in there as a trainee director, I just felt I was met with a lot of kindness and openness and support — people were patient with me while I was going “Do I want to do this, or do I want to do that?” or “Has anybody got any better ideas?” I was able to have that collaborative feeling with the crew that I was working with, not feeling like I have to know all the answers - which I think is a pressure you can sometimes have on you as a director.
What was the first scene you took charge of behind the camera? How did you prepare for and approach it?
It was a dinner scene with the Maalik family. I remember it was quite a challenge because it was a four-hander. So, you had people coming and going from the dinner table into the kitchen in the Maalik‘s house — but luckily, that was the set that I knew from the training. So, when I was at home planning, I could envisage what I was going to shoot more easily, because I‘d already been in that set and had that chance to walk around and think about angles, and think about how the blocking might work best. But there is still a bit of a terrifying thing where you're thinking, “Oh, it‘s happening, it‘s today, okay.” Don‘t get me wrong, it was nerve-wracking, but I just love challenges.
Was that the most challenging scene to shoot?
There were lots of challenges along the way. The first one is always difficult, but I also think you put extra energy into it because you know it‘s the first one, and you don't want to get it wrong.
I think there was one day where due to circumstances we ended up shooting an entirely different call sheet. That’s just the nature of the game, but it meant that I was shooting something I hadn‘t mentally prepared for at the beginning of the day and also, my floor plan was irrelevant because we were shooting it in a different location. Which, when you‘re clinging to those plans in the early days, is a real challenge. So, for me, those scenes were more tricky in some ways because I was having to go with the flow a lot more and be reactive to the scenario. But that’s how you learn isn’t it?
Is there one scene you‘re particularly proud of?
Quite a few, I think, especially when you then have that knowledge of what the challenges on the day were — which you obviously don‘t see on the telly. You really know what you were up against. In the second block I shot the Valentine’s Day episodes, and at the end of that storyline for that week there was a scene that was particularly intense performance-wise for the cast. It was minus 4 degrees, we were up on the city walls, freezing, two cameras, trying to get everything done as quickly as we could… but I also knew from the producers how important the scene and the storyline was for the future of the characters. So, I was carrying that kind of positive pressure as well, knowing that the story really hinged on that moment. I think we pulled it off, and that‘s the best feeling, because you‘ve delivered something that people then enjoy and feed back to. That‘s probably my proudest scene.
You were then asked to return and direct your own block of Hollyoaks following your traineeship. How did that offer come about?
It was quite near the end. I think they were waiting to see what I‘d done, and whether it was any good. It was great when it happened — I‘ve got a brilliant agent who's really lovely, who was obviously just putting out feelers on my behalf to say, “Has this been successful? Will she work here again?” It was around the end of the second block when they said, “Yes, we‘d like to work with you again in the summer and we‘ll give you a full block this time” - because I did 2 episodes out of 5 on both of the previous blocks. So, now I‘ve got 5 just for myself and no one to help me!
To be honest, it‘s a really fantastic feeling, and I think having that deep training has left me feeling entirely confident that I can completely do it, and will produce something good.
What does it mean for you as a director to have this opportunity, and this block of work, come to you now?
It‘s really tough to even think about it without getting emotional, because it‘s something I‘ve wanted to do all my life. I‘ve wanted to work in TV and to be able to create stories with people that are on screen — which for me, feels like such permanent a record of that beautiful time spent together. Theatre is beautiful in a different way, where it‘s got a transient nature to it, but ever since I did my film degree at Manchester Uni when I was 18 I thought, “Wow, imagine being somebody who directs things like that. That‘s awesome.” For that personal reason, it‘s hugely important to me that now there‘s a genuine offer based on what I‘ve achieved, to be able to go back and work there again.
Really, the context is tough. The world is tough, there isn‘t enough work out there for the amount of people qualified for it, and I think, the more diverse we can be in how we can translate our skillsets and work in different mediums, the more likely we are to be able to do the job full-time. I‘m concerned about pathways into the industry for my generation, and especially the next generation. It‘s really tough, and the more experienced directors out there, they deserve the work - but equally, how are we going to train the next generation if opportunities like this don‘t exist and don‘t carry on?
For me, the dream is to keep working and keep making connections and relationships with people across the industry. So, yes, it feels pretty great to have that in the calendar and to know that I'm going back to a place that I‘ve enjoyed working at so much.
What does Hollyoaks mean to you?
I used to watch Hollyoaks when I was a teenager after school. That was one of my go-to soap opera first loves really. So, it‘s a very full circle moment for me to be able to see my name pop up in the credits. I just think it's such a unique and vibrant show, that captures so much about the minutiae of life in a place like Chester, and the kinds of characters that are there. I think it‘s a vital piece of storytelling on TV. It‘s also such a valuable forum for people to learn their craft, and having been there in that learning experience I think really, if you can cut it there, you can cut it anywhere – the work is intense, but in a good way.
What did you do when your episodes went out? Did you have family texting you?
I was actually racing home from shooting on the second block to see my episode from the first block! I was like, “Right, everyone's going home. We‘ve wrapped. Bye. I need to get home and watch my episodes.” Also, they play them on a TV in reception at Lime Pictures. So, I got to see them on that TV, which is a very surreal moment! But yes, I had a little glass of bubbly and sat with my partner and yes, I had my mum on the phone in North Wales. It‘s such a gift in this climate to have good news like that, and to see something that you‘re proud of and that you‘ve worked towards. It was certainly a very special experience to see that go out and to be fair… I got the same buzz the second time as well.
