DFB, through a mixture of blackmail and downright pleading, gets the director of the recent finale to Series 9 of ‘Doctor Who’ to sit down during her hectic schedule to answer some questions from The Massive and the Interweb.
– is the instant damning or praise from social media a good\bad thing?
– what are fan conventions like and are they no longer a cliché?
– is going with the accepted or easiest solutions always good for the show and viewer?
– Is it just all too complicated?
If you haven’t watched her two episodes ‘Heaven Sent’ or ‘Hell Bent’ then it may help with listening to this podcast. And in the case of Heaven Sent it works as a standalone episode for which you need very little foreknowledge to appreciate a tour-de-force of writing, acting, design, lighting and direction.
Rachel’s notes on the initial page of ‘Heaven Sent script’ shows how much work goes into even the slightest consideration when the document hits a director’s mat
Oh, but ambassador, zees podcasts, zey are coming so szick and fast. Viz zese podasts you are zspoilink us!
Great work DFB!
Yes work has been a bit hectic of late which has got in the way of podcast editing plus we’ve hardly used our December upload quota so time to clear the decks for the New Year
“…much of the lighting makes no sense. I had to push for that.”
Heaven Sent really stands out. Just the Doctor, largely talking to himself but in an extraordinary setting with an extraordinary story. It does indeed work as a standalone piece and interestingly I can’t imagine anyone other than Peter Capaldi doing it. Maybe it’s his age, but he seems the most convincing as a timelird with the weight of the universe on his shoulders.
Great podcast, and some real insights into the art of directing and what constraints directors have to work under. Rachel comes across as clever, creative, and funny, and with a really healthy attitude to the bearpit that the internet sometimes can be. And what a great line to end on (said into relation to Doctor Who, obviously, but equally applicable to lots of things in life):
“You can not like it, absolutely, but don’t then tell anybody who doesn’t agree with you that they’re idiots.”
I had an epiphany with regards to this attitude a few years ago, when a friend of mine who absolutely loved The X-Factor went along to the filming of the final, but didn’t tell me she was going because she didn’t want to ‘set me off’ and didn’t feel in the mood for a lecture on how ‘manipulative’ it all is and how ‘crap all the singers are’ and how ‘it’s not proper music’. She went with a couple of mates and had an absolute whale of a time and I realised I didn’t want to be that person: the one whose opinion is so much better than others; the one who can’t wait to slate something they don’t like and trample on someone else’s enthusiasm; the one who she didn’t want to share something with because she thought I’d look down on it and rip it to shreds. Don’t get me wrong, think it’s great to have disagreements and healthy debate, but there’s a real difference between that and sneering. I’d rather be the person that someone describes as “she LOVES this” than “she HATES this”, any day.
To my shame I have only just listened to the podcast. It was a real treat – thoroughly enjoyed it. And thanks for discussing my question!