From EastEnders: 40 Years on the Square to My Life as a Rolling Stone: Charlie Watts, director James Giles brings stories to life through the use of archival footage.
We sat down with James to speak about his process for using archival footage, and how it impacts his approach to directing.
Read more below.
How did you get started in factual and archival work?
My documentary career started in the now sadly defunct BBC Political Documentaries department, run by the brilliant Anne Tyerman. Anne brought me in to work with the celebrated documentary maker Michael Cockerell who has produced some of the best documentaries about British politics. I would go on to direct two series with him, The Great Offices of State and The Secret World of Whitehall. I learnt a great deal from Michael, the most important being a love of and reverence for the archive, which when used well can make such a huge contribution to a film.
What is your process for using archival footage?
I like to watch and listen (audio archive is a wonderful resource) to as much of the archive as possible when I first start a project. This process is invaluable and informs everything, from the look and feel of the film I’m about to make, to how I shoot it, the cast list, interview locations, subject areas, script thoughts and soundtrack.
It also allows you to make decisions as to whether or not you want to show your interviewees a particular clip or sound which can be so revealing.
I recently made a film about Charlie Watts for a BBC series on the Rolling Stones, My Life as a Rolling Stone, in which we featured his earliest known recorded performance from back in 1959. It was taped by his best friend and then band mate Dave Green when they were teenagers, playing jazz in the local pub. Playing that moment to Dave in 2022 evoked such fond memories — it took him back and we were there with him in that pub 60 years ago. It also revealed that Charlie’s unique swing, something which helped to make the Stones so successful, was there from the very beginning. A small personal moment that spoke to a bigger and broader truth.
What was it like to capture the EastEnders history and tell its story?
I am drawn to stories about people and events that have changed British popular culture – whether it’s the Rolling Stones, The Queen or in this case EastEnders. And whether you watch EastEnders or not I don’t think anyone is immune from the impact the show has had over the last 40 years. It was a real eye opener to see how many groundbreaking stories (and we couldn’t feature them all) the show has tackled, how it’s helped inform people, changed attitudes and given comfort. Being able to showcase that impact was powerful.
When I started the project, I knew little about the show’s creators, Tony Holland and Julia Smith, so it was fascinating to learn about the show’s origins, to see how important authenticity was to them and how some of the early characters were based on Tony’s own family. Character was everything for them. They set out to tell stories about everyday people and here we are 40 years later. And as someone who has watched and grown up with the show, being able to go onto that set was a special moment.
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