For over 60 years Doctor Who has been a staple of British television, and it only continues to gain popularity as streaming allows global audiences to enjoy the show collectively.
Jamie Donoughue, director of this most recent season’s spectacular two-part finale, spoke to us about the challenges inherent in directing a show of this calibre, and why despite a bigger budget and new eye-catching technology, he opted to continue using analogue tools to prepare for some sequences.
Read our discussion below.
How did the opportunity to work on Doctor Who come about, and how familiar were you with the franchise going in?
I had an existing relationship with the production company Bad Wolf after directing A Discovery of Witches. They and the producer Vicki Delow (who knew me from The Last Kingdom) reached out. As the finale had yet to be written I initially read some of the earlier episodes and a very early draft of part one which gave me a flavour of the show. I could instantly tell the ambition and challenge of the rebooted series, plus the chance to work with Russel T. Davies meant I was completely sold.
When it came to the franchise, like most people I had watched Doctor Who growing up and enjoyed the show but would never have called myself any form of expert. However, I sometimes feel it is better to come into a show without a huge personal attachment. It enables you to take a step back, look at things from an unbiased perspective and bring a fresh approach.
Some of the cast and crew you worked with have been working on Doctor Who for a very long time. Did you find this helpful at all? In what way?
The entire production is one huge family and being able to turn to people who had a much deeper knowledge was essential. In particular actors like Bonnie Langford were amazing. She understood the fans and the attention to detail needed in every shot. Similarly, our location manager Iwan Roberts who had worked on the show for many series was a huge influence when it came to choosing where to film and how that could reflect on previous episodes. But it went deeper than that, even my driver would tell me stories from over the decades of working with previous Doctors and all this fed into how I approached and directed the show.
It must be a unique experience working with a showrunner like Russell T Davies. Did you have to change your approach as a director at all?
Directing on Doctor Who is unique and very different to my previous show, A Town Called Malice. You have to understand you are part of a much bigger picture and how seamlessly you fit in determines your success. Russell has an extremely clear idea for how he wants the show to be and because of that the director works very closely with him. But Russell is a very giving person, he lives and breathes the show and is always on hand if you need him. He is also extremely positive, especially in my case when it came to viewing rushes. Having that support and encouragement is always a benefit.
In general, there is a lot of pre planning and presentations in the form of ‘Tone Meetings’. The detail we go into is like nothing else I’ve experienced, but you quickly realise with a production this large that it’s the only way to have all departments working in sync. The ability to present and lead a room like that in pre-production is imperative.
The finale had some very impressive CGI set pieces. Was there ever a concern that you might lose some of the show’s essence with this? If so, how did you make sure everything still felt recognisably Who?
Doctor Who has a very distinct style. In the past most elements were done in camera with SFX. Naturally though with the progression of the show and the ambition of the world building CGI has to become a part of this.
Our first point of call was always – “what can we do in camera?” If it was not possible then how can we create something physical on set whilst shooting, in order to aid the cast and crew and keep everything still feeling Who. When it came to the creature of Sutek we knew it had to be a full CGI build. We could easily have just green screened everything and had the AD read in the off lines, but instead we had a full-scale puppet controlled by a puppeteer. On top of this all the creature’s dialogue was prerecorded and played live on set through speakers. Every member of the cast and crew were shown pre-rendered images of what it would eventually look like. It was as close to having the real creature on set as possible!
The Time Window sequence, where characters are interacting with a recording of the past but in real time, must have been very complicated to shoot. How did you achieve this on the day and what tools did you use?
This turned out to be one of the trickiest sequences I have ever shot. We knew there was a simple way to approach it which was to use a green screen studio, but that was not the Doctor Who way. Rather we worked out how we could build a Time Window, by essentially using multiple projectors onto custom built screens, the images of which were live tracked to the movement of the cameras. This would give the basis of the set but then the screens would also have to turn green for certain elements (e.g. when having the same actor in the space from different timelines). Also, as part of the story the time window explodes, so the walls needed to be removable in a short time frame to reveal the set behind. Then we had to accommodate real SFX of wind, snow and pyrotechnics. Ultimately this meant that every shot had to be repeated multiple times.
On top of this, the scene had eleven major characters plus SAs, all of whom needed very specific blocking, as every movement impacted the other elements. It was as much a logistical challenge as it was technical.
Literally hours and hours of planning went into this between departments. Phil Sims, our Production Designer, and his team worked seamlessly with Al Kang from Painting Practice, myself and my DoP Chas Bain. Initial concept art and models were combined with Unreal Engine software to create full 3D interactive rendered spaces. Test shoots were then set up to ensure everything would work on a practical level.
To have all this at my disposal was incredible and extremely useful, but I also like to approach many things in an old school way . So in the case of the Time Window I actually also had a physical model built with characters in order that I could experiment with blocking. On shoot days I had huge boards printed out on easels which explained every character’s movement, shot coverage and what was required from each department. This became the central hub of the shoot and made sure every department worked in sync with no mistakes. In a world of VFX and extremely high technology it’s ironic I know, but we all have our process.
The other technique I employed was the effective use of 2nd unit. This was especially key as it was the final episodes and of course once we wrap there is no opportunity for pick-ups, as there are on previous blocks. I therefore brought on Huse Monfaradi early in the shoot as my 2nd unit director. Huse is a fantastic director in his own right and we worked out what elements could be splintered off to achieve the schedule. A mention has to go out also to my 1st AD Geraint Jones and his team – who managed to plan and run two full units seamlessly.
One of our favourite moments in the finale is the remembered Tardis which is filled with Easter eggs from past Doctors. A lot of thought must have gone into this, how much freedom was afforded to you as director as well as the actors whilst shooting?
There are moments as a director where you have to recognise your own capabilities and knowledge and look to empower those around you. The Remembered Tardis was built for the hard core fans and the level of detail was truly outstanding. Full credit must go to the production design team. However, knowing what this would mean to so many, as a director I realised that where I pointed the camera held so much more meaning.
I turned to two people in the edit department, Joe Keirle and Matt Nathan. Both self-proclaimed Whovians. We spent an entire afternoon in the set where I learnt the history and significance of every prop.
Whilst shooting I have total freedom and always try to allow the actors to have as much as possible. The issue with this set came down to space. It was tiny and we had to really think how best to make it shootable. Ultimately, we raised it off the floor and had a long crane arm with remote head for much of the coverage. Then this is the one and only time I ever went handheld on the show. It was a necessity, but also felt right as a creative choice for that part of the story.
For the benefit of any directors looking to work on shows like this in the future, is there any advice you would give?
For a show like Doctor Who I always described myself as a custodian of the show, and I think that sums up how it needs to be approached when directing. There are a lot of voices, all of which need addressing, but it’s about always having the bigger picture in your mind — which is delivering the show whilst staying true to your creative vision.
Who is a show of extremes. It requires such a diversity in skillset, from being able to plan huge set pieces and work with VFX and the latest technology, to ensuring you capture the most nuanced and emotional performances possible. On top of that it’s one of those rare shows whose audience is so wide. You are making a show for everyone, eight to eighty-year-olds.
Ultimately as a director you need to fit into a very well-oiled machine, so my advice comes mainly in the form of ensuring clarity, communication and confidence. In doing so you will earn everyone’s trust early on. This is important because when directing Doctor Who you are not steering a ship, you are steering an ocean liner.
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