Over this past year, three directors from the regions of England participated in the ScreenSkills High-end TV Regional New Directors Champion Programme, in association with Directors UK.
The Champion programme paired emerging directors Meng-Han Hsieh, Emma Roxburgh and Owen Tooth with established high-end television (HETV) directors – Claire Tailyour, John Alexander and Khurrum Sultan respectively – who provided guidance and support to their mentees with the aim of helping them progress their careers and break into HETV. It was supported by the ScreenSkills’ HETV Skills Fund with contributions from UK HETV productions.
We caught up with North West-based director Meng-Han and her mentor Claire on their experience of the programme, benefits of mentorship, why regional support matters, and working together on ITVX’s crime drama The Blame.
Forming the mentor-mentee relationship
Meng-Han was working in the commercial space and had directed award-winning shorts, but was ready to step deeper into the narrative world, so when she saw the application callout for the Champion programme, she was immediately keen. “I really wanted to do more storytelling pieces. I write one or two short films every year – whether it gets made or not is a different story – but I like to tell stories. And TV is a very good route into narrative. The programme gave me a step up to go into the field.”
As an award-winning writer and director, Claire has directed hundreds of hours of television, including lead directing Harlan Coben’s The Woods for Netflix, 5’s The Wives, and BBC’s Beyond Paradise and Phoenix Rise. While reviewing the many submissions and reels, Meng-Han’s shorts caught her eye. “She was basically so ready to take the next step and should have been snapped up a long time ago.”
Following a 2am PST Zoom interview – Meng-Han was across the Atlantic attending an awards show for her BFI-funded short The Test – Claire and her instantly clicked over their similar tastes and the partnership began.
Accessibility in action
For Meng-Han, access was the most unreal opportunity of the programme. “Claire is so accessible. I’ve never seen anyone who replied to things so quickly and efficiently. Whenever I have any questions or doubts, I just reach out to her. I need to be more like Claire.”
One of her questions was about how to get representation, so Claire offered practical advice, from providing feedback on her emails to agents to acquainting Meng-Han with her own agent, Hannah Boulton. This turned out to be a fruitful introduction as Hannah eventually signed Meng-Han too.
Apart from personal access, Claire also gave Meng-Han opportunities to go on set with her, as Claire directed the final three episodes of The Blame. Meng-Han shadowed the entire block and got the chance to direct the second unit. “It was really important to me to make the experience tangible because I’ve been in Meng-Han’s position. I was on a similar scheme for high-end TV with Skillset and Directors UK – John Hardwick was my mentor at the time and he gave me second unit opportunities, which was just massive.”
Shows that directors used to train on – such as Doctors and Holby City – are decreasing in numbers, which makes it harder to find practical opportunities for emerging talent to progress. “Advice is great,” Claire notes, “but you come across such talented directors that just need an opportunity. Meng-Han just needed someone to give her a shot, and that’s it, because she can do it.”
Both directors also highlighted how the programme’s financial support helped with access to the set. “Money talks,” Meng-Han emphasised. “It helps so much in terms of the production accepting our proposal to be involved. Since we have financial support, it’s easier for them to accept that ‘Oh, we want another person here with us.’”
Claire is a mentor for life.”
Building a support network
In addition to the financial resources, a bonus form of support was the bond built between the three mentees. They keep in regular touch with each other through a WhatsApp group, with the chat extending beyond job-related discussions, offering each other support on mental health and sending words of encouragement. “Having people that are doing the same thing as you, potentially having the same struggles and passions, is very valuable,” Meng-Han explained.
The trio also connected with each other’s mentors as a unit; they visited Emma’s mentor John in Newcastle to talk about all things directing and will next be travelling to Manchester to meet with Claire.
Trust on set of The Blame
The Blame is a six-part crime drama on ITVX, which follows the story of two detectives – played by Michelle Keegan and Douglas Booth – as they investigate the murder of a young figure skater.
While shadowing, Meng-Han would follow Claire around set to take notes and observe (“As a shadow, I just try to be a shadow,” Meng-Han quipped). But she also made sure to chat with everyone on set, asking different departments what makes a good director – the most common answer was good communication. “Women directors I know are very good at communicating and being empathetic to people’s situation,” Meng-Han added.
The experience also helped Meng-Han increase her confidence. “Although I started out directing theatre plays in Taiwan and have been directing commercials in the UK for the past seven years, I was still a little bit unsure about what the TV environment was like. I knew all the skills are transferable, but then stepping on set and actually doing it, you feel like ‘Okay, yes, I can do it.’” She attributed the harmonious and respectful set to Claire and the producers’ leadership styles; moving forward, she aims to bring the same warm working environment onto her own sets.
When Meng-Han was given the opportunity to direct on the second unit, she was touched by the level of trust. She would get small notes from Claire, with room for flexibility and creativity, and was trusted to go away with the B camera to shoot at the same time as the main unit shoot. Claire highlighted that having Meng-Han there was “invaluable”, because she was across all the script breakdowns and Claire’s blocking plans. If time was limited, Claire knew she could go block her next scene and count on Meng-Han to shoot the previous scene’s remaining second unit shots, because Meng-Han was entrenched in the production; she was familiar with the show’s style and tone, and she had the relationship with the actors so she could even mimic what they had done to do the cutaways.
“It was brilliant – she’s like a wedding photographer. You have no idea that she’s there, but you know she’s always thinking and always assessing,” Claire praised her. “If Meng-Han has a question, she’ll find the exact right opportunity when she can see that I’ve got a bit of headspace to ask it. She’ll jump in and ask something really specific and really observant for us to discuss, or we’d have dinner afterwards to chat about the show.”
Advice is great, but you come across such talented directors that just need an opportunity.”
Relationships are a two-way street
The mentor-mentee relationship worked both ways, with Claire also learning from Meng-Han through her shorts and observations on set. Claire noted that a director’s background – whether it be commercial, theatre or another field – informs different ways for them to prep and break down a scene, which makes working with different directors an informative experience. “There’s this misconception that a mentor only gives, and actually, there’s a lot to be learned as a mentor, seeing a different perspective from a younger or less established director, and their way of looking at a scene or their way of directing actors.”
Investing in the regions
With the Champion programme’s aim of promoting more regional talent development, both directors emphasised the need to continue investing in the regions. Talent development, funding, filming opportunities, access in networking with the decision makers who select the above-the-line roles – all of these are much-needed areas of regional support.
Claire did acknowledge there has been progress. She highlighted that in Manchester in the past, productions were using local below-the-line talent but helicoptering Heads of Departments in from London, whereas now, there are increasingly more directors from the North that are being used in HETV. “There's incredible talent coming up in the north and productions are getting wise to that.”
There’s a lot to be learned as a mentor.”
Stepping up, together
After this programme, Meng-Han is ready to delve further into the world of HETV. The next goal? “Directing an episode!” She is currently developing her first feature Knowing Isn’t Good Enough and her debut book Magpie Rhymes.
Claire is reading Meng-Han’s feature, finishing the edit on a television series adaptation of Harlan Coben’s The Woods, and plans to participate in more mentorship programmes. “I feel like the more the industry can open up to people who have absolutely no connections, but who are keen to learn and to make those connections, the better. I loved this experience because I believe very firmly in paying it forward. I wouldn't be here in my position today if people like John and Nicky Higgens had not been my mentors and shown me the path and given me an opportunity for my reel, to get an agent. There are so many opportunities out there, but you need to open your hand to give someone a hand up.”
Meng-Han concluded, “Even after the programme ends, I will stick to Claire. Claire is a mentor for life.”
All six episodes of The Blame are available to watch on ITVX
Photos by Chris Andreou
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