Shes helmed features such asTank Girl,Ghost In The MachineandFreddys Dead: The Final Nightmare.
Shes directed TV shows as varied asAlly McBeal,Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased),SupernaturalandFlash Gordon.
The long-timeDoctor Whofan has the small job of rounding off Peter Capaldis maiden series as the Time Lord.
Not really, no!
But how much of the build up to Dark Water and Death In Heaven are you catching from afar?
Because youre thousands of miles away right now!
I am aware completely!
For a couple of reasons.
One is that Im interested.
Im 1000% invested in it.
The second is that one of my daughters is a complete geek.
So shes on Gallifrey Base, and shes also very good at protecting me!
We all know that theres no such thing as opinion on the internet.
Its just youre an idiot, and thats a fact!
If you dont agree with me, its still a fact!
But how does it work with directors?
Do you get a Powerpoint presentation from Steven Moffat about everything?
And how much free rein are you given?
You get a lot of rein, within the realm ofDoctor Who.
Whats so great about the show is that every episode is completely different.
For me I started with these genius scripts.
And there was a secret Doctor conversation between David Tennant and Matt Smith.
But there isnt a secret director conversation!
I would love there to be!
The other directors are in their own worlds too.
Theres not a fact sheet.
Episodic directors are used to going in like that anyway.
The mandate really, well there really wasnt any discussion.
It was just expected that you embrace and bring ones own vision to it.
Across your television career, youve worked through a point where TV has gone a lot more cinematic.
Thats in terms of pace and frame.
The traditional view has been that television isnt a directors medium.
But do you think thats changing a little now?
I think it just depends on the show.
Or that the drama works well.
Theres a huge discussion about this being the golden age of television, because movies are dying.
Which is so, so sad.
But I dont think that the fact that feature directors are moving to television is whats changing it.
I think the audience is moving over to television.
And that there are showrunners who are allowing one to have cinema be more important.
That was eight seasons ago!
But you had no sense that other directors were bringing such a vivid horror tone to the show?
You all developed this independently of each other?
Well I had the benefit of being able to watch early edits of probably the first five.
But you take on withDoctor Whowhat your script is.
So each director takes on the style of whats on the page.
What struck me on Dark Water is how committed you are to holding your shots.
That theres a real stillness to it.
But the pacing of Dark Water is strong, allowing things to build up in the frame.
So how much of that is your stamp?
And how much is on a piece of paper?
Its all of us really.
I dont want to say that Im style-free, but quick cuts…?
Then you have these exceptional actors, who can hold the frame.
I love that, that they can do that and bring you into it.
When you watch moments with Jenna or Peter or with Michelle Gomez, you want to stay on them.
So you stay on them.
The producers very much also say dont steal that moment.
Its the ultimate combination.
Id say the vast, vast majority of this is our original edit.
Nobody ever gives the editor credit!
Oddly enough, Im coming to that.
Because I wondered if you could take us through the process of putting your edit together?
How does it differ from your film experience?
Im going to answer a slightly different question!
The difference between British television and North American television?
Although the schedule is shorter than a feature, you areabsolutelytreated like the director.
And its very much why I prefer working in the UK.
The director is respected.
I can give you what you want in an aesthetic, because I know the footage so well.
They say well what if you disagree?
Well, why would I disagree with Steven Moffat?
Yes, we did disagree on things, and I did fight for things.
But generally it was very clear what he wanted.
You mentioned that you get a longer period to edit.
But how close do you run it?
How close, for instance, did you get to transmission day before locking Dark Water?
We were the closest theyd ever been!
We were still editing within ten days of transmission!
Everyone along the way is tweaking things to make things better.
And basically, its not finished now before it transmits, thats what they say!
You did bits of public shooting for Dark Water and Death In Heaven.
Most of this is obviously shot indoors, but are you wary of public location shooting?
Especially when you have such major spoilers to protect with this story?
We put out script sides that were incorrect.
We published for the crew a script that was incorrect.
The actors when they finally did the correct lines mouthed them.
We were outside St Pauls Cathedral with everyone on their iPhone recording.
Im still shocked that the big spoilers, the secrets, have been kept until now.
People were taking cameras and sticking them in the tent.
Taking pictures of the sound mans script!
So I give huge credit to the team for figuring out a process!
I so enjoy all the theories as to who is Missy and whats going on!
How long have you been sitting on that major spoiler, the one thats not broken?
It all happened so quickly, me getting the job.
I read episode 11, the morning it came to me, as I left for the UK.
I read it on the airplane and I shrieked!
It was classic, and I thought yes, its going to work!
What volume of shrieking are we talking about?
Are you a polite shrieker, or screaming the plane down?
No, Im a polite shrieker [laughs].
You have teased on Twitter that Death In Heaven is going to be a slightly longer episode.
Do you know how much longer yet?
Another five or ten minutes to play with?
And do you know if youre coming back for Doctor Who series 9?
I hope Im coming back.
There have been discussions with me about coming back.
That sounds like a careful answer…!
And my hands were slapped so hard because they hadnt announced it was a two parter!
I had to go back and go oh, I was completely wrong!
But this is the most important thing Ive done.
I cant tell you how magical it is to me.
Its more action filled and emotional!
Rachel Talalay, thank you very much!
