DIRECTIONS UNIT: (Research) TV Director: Jim Field Smith

Jim Field Smith

- Jim Field Smith was born on 20th February 1979 in England
- In 2001 Jim Field Smith graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in Politics and International Studies.
- He is known for directing and producing both series of The Wrong Mans and for directing Stag, Episodes, Butter, She's Out of My League, Where Have I Been All Your Life?, Goodbye to the Normals and Missing Moscow. He also has several writing credits.
- He has received BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations.

Jim Field Smith's Directorial Style:

Something that Jim Field Smith displays through all of his work is his solid production values. The visual quality of his images is always astounding but he does not let this compromise the performance given by the actors and also the sound design.

Jim Field Smith is used to working on feature length projects such as Butter and She's Out of My League, this shows through into his television work where he attempts to keep the cinematic look that would usually be displayed in a film. This is one of his key focuses, he likes the challenge of making dramatic action packed TV shows as he likes the overall outcome it provides - as he once said in an interview: "challenges like that present great solutions". [1]

The Wrong Mans

Field Smith's solid production values really show through in The Wrong Mans. He was approached by the creators of the show, James Corden and Matthew Baynton, to bring a "cinematic vision" to their idea. During discussions between himself and the creators, he told them if they wanted to achieve a bigger, more dramatic, action packed look, they needed to imagine and write it bigger. The visual story telling can only be made as big as the script allows.  [1]

Jim Field Smith aimed to make the show as visually stylish as a film. This, coupled with the challenge of combining drama, action and thriller with comedy, made the whole process more demanding. However, Jim Field Smith managed to still pull it off whilst displaying some visually beautiful and technically competent shots.

In one of the opening shots of the first episode of the series, the audience is immediately placed within the action as they act as the mirror whilst Sam brushes his teeth. Although this is not an action packed sequence, it sets the audience up to be involved within the drama.

He displays his technical expertise as a director through using devices such as match on action cuts. This particular match on action cut is especially visually pleasing as he flickers between the shots in order to convey the sense of a flashback / memory. Coupled with the stylistic decision of using red as a dominant color in the flashback scenes, this creates a very cinematic look to a standard BBC drama. The red in the scene acts to convey both the sense of the party atmosphere but also foreshadows the imminent danger the characters will find themselves in.

Jim Field Smith chooses to go with a style that places both the action and the comedy at the foreground whilst still keeping a stylistically cinematic look. The shot has the car crashing mainly in the center of the frame with the focus on it (showing the action in focus), before the next shot which shows the character's reaction and therefore the comedy in focus.

Stag

Jim Field Smith's high production values are also apparent in Stag. Each scene is shot with a cinematic look, making the visual aspect of this piece absolutely stunning. Everything from the wide angle shots used to establish the scenery to the medium and close up shots that are used during action sequences look like something out of a feature length film. The aspect ratio of the series is also similar to that of a feature film which keeps with the cinematic look of his directorial style.

Episodes

Jim Field Smith also took on the role of director in Episodes. The same high quality of production can be seen throughout the series, which maintains this as his signature style as a director.

How has this inspired my work?

This has inspired me to have a look at my own production values. Jim Field Smith displays that it is possible to make an action packed drama or comedy look visually pleasing as well (without taking anything away from the action.) I will apply this to my own directorial style and make sure I consider the methods I can use to make my production as visually pleasing as possible whilst not compromising on the action taking place within the scenes.

[1] World Screen (2013) The Wrong Mans' James Corden, Mathew Baynton & Jim Field Smith [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBH6ONjkbmY&t=322s [Accessed on: 07/02/2017]