The short answer
A self-shooting director in London directs and films your documentary single-handed: planning the story, conducting the interviews and operating the camera. It is often the right choice for interview-led films, observational work, schools, charities and sensitive subjects, where a small presence earns trust. Look for someone who can show complete films they both directed and shot, and who is honest about when your project needs a bigger crew.
Some films need a crew of eight. Many documentaries need one experienced person who knows what the story is, where to put the camera and how to make a nervous contributor forget it is there. That person is a self-shooting director, and in London there are a great many people who use the title. This guide explains what the role really involves and how to choose well.
It is written for charities, schools, cultural organisations, businesses, families and producers in London who are commissioning a documentary or a filmed interview and are deciding how to crew it.
What a Self-Shooting Director Actually Does
In television the role is usually called a self-shooting PD, short for producer-director. The job combines responsibilities that would otherwise be split between two or three people.
- Story and research: understanding what the film is for, finding contributors and deciding what must be filmed.
- Direction: conducting interviews, guiding scenes and knowing when to keep filming because something real is happening.
- Camera: framing, exposure, focus and movement, usually with a compact camera and lighting kit.
- Sound: radio and boom microphones on most shoots, with a sound recordist added when the project demands it.
- Often, editing: many self-shooting directors also cut their own films, which keeps the story in one pair of hands.
The skill is not doing several jobs at once. It is doing them without the contributor noticing that anyone is working at all.
Why One Person Behind the Camera Can Make a Better Film
A full crew is impressive, and that is sometimes the problem. Lights, a sound recordist, a camera assistant and a producer with a clipboard turn a classroom, a hospital ward or someone's kitchen into a set. People perform for sets.
With one filmmaker in the room, the conversation stays a conversation. The person asking the questions is the person behind the lens, so eye contact and timing are never broken by a handover. The director can also react instantly: a child says something unexpected, a volunteer starts to tell a story they have never told before, and the camera is already rolling because the person holding it understood the moment.
We explore the wider case for compact productions in when a small documentary crew is the right choice, and the interview side in documentary interview techniques for authentic stories.
Where the Approach Comes From
Steve Sklair learned single-handed filmmaking where it mattered most. He cut his teeth on the BBC's Video Diaries, a series built on intimate, unscripted material, where most diaries ran to an hour or longer. His film The Man Who Loves Gary Lineker, the video diary of a rural doctor in Albania, won the BAFTA for Best Single Documentary.
That work taught him what intimacy on screen depends on: trust, patience and as little machinery as possible between the filmmaker and the person in front of the camera. He still directs, films and edits much of his own work. For the last four years he has been making education films with the National Education Union, where filming children and teachers in real classrooms leaves no room for a crew that gets in the way.
At feature length, he directed, wrote, shot and edited a 90-minute documentary about the Cypriot classical pianist Nicolas Economou.
When a Self-Shooting Director Is the Right Choice
| Project | Self-shooting director | Larger crew |
|---|---|---|
| Interview-led documentary | Usually ideal | Useful for multi-camera studio set-ups |
| Schools, care and health settings | Usually ideal: calm and low-impact | Rarely needed |
| Observational and personal stories | Usually ideal | Can disturb what you are trying to film |
| Charity and campaign films | Works well for case studies | Worth it for staged or high-profile campaign shoots |
| Live music and performance | Possible with care | Often better: several cameras and dedicated sound |
| Large events, drama reconstruction, complex lighting | Not the best fit | Recommended |
A good self-shooting director will tell you when the answer is the right-hand column. The honest conversation about crew size is part of the job.
What to Ask Before You Book
- Can I see complete films you directed and shot yourself? A showreel proves someone can take a beautiful shot. A whole film proves they can hold a story while holding the camera.
- How do you handle interviews on your own? Ask how they keep eye contact, monitor sound and change shot size without interrupting the contributor.
- What kit do you bring? Camera, lenses, lights and microphones should match the setting, not the filmmaker's wish list.
- When would you add a sound recordist or second camera? The answer tells you whether they are thinking about your film or their day rate.
- Do you edit too? If not, who does, and how is footage handed over and logged?
- Who is the film for, in your view? A good filmmaker asks about audience and purpose before talking about cameras.
Our guide to choosing a documentary filmmaker in London covers the broader questions, and filmed expert interviews in London looks at interview-only projects.
Self-Shooting Director, Freelance Crew or Production Company?
For many London documentaries, the choice is between three models. A self-shooting director who also edits gives you one point of contact and a consistent vision from first call to final cut. A freelance crew assembled for the job adds specialists, along with more coordination. A production company handles larger projects, several shoots running in parallel or formal broadcast compliance. We compare them in documentary production company or independent filmmaker?, and if you already have footage, see hiring a documentary editor in London.
What Affects the Cost
The main factors are the number of filming days, locations and travel, the kit required, whether sound or a second camera is added, and how much editing, music, archive and finishing the film needs. A single filmmaker reduces the daily cost of a shoot, but the edit is often where most of the time goes. Our guide to what a documentary film costs in London explains how these decisions shape a budget.
Questions People Often Ask
What is a self-shooting director?
A self-shooting director, often called a self-shooting PD (producer-director), directs a film and operates the camera at the same time. They plan the shoot, conduct the interviews, film the scenes and often record sound, so the person asking the questions is also the person framing the shot.
Is a self-shooting director cheaper than a full crew?
Usually, because there are fewer people to pay, transport and schedule each day. But the main reason to choose one is not cost. A single filmmaker is less intrusive, can respond quickly when something real happens, and often gets more honest interviews. When a project needs elaborate lighting, several cameras or live sound for performance, a larger crew is the better choice.
Can a self-shooting director also edit the film?
Many do. When the same person directs, films and edits, the shots needed to build each sequence are filmed on purpose, and nothing is lost in a handover between shoot and edit. Ask at the start whether editing is included or whether a separate editor will be brought in.
Do I need a self-shooting director based in London?
For filming in London it helps: no travel or accommodation costs, easy recce visits and the flexibility to come back for an extra interview or scene. A London-based filmmaker can still travel for shoots elsewhere in the UK or abroad when the story requires it.
Working With a Self-Shooting Director in London
Steve Sklair is a BAFTA-winning documentary filmmaker based in London, with four decades of experience at the BBC, Channel 4 and other UK broadcasters as director, camera operator, editor and series producer. He directs, films and edits his documentaries himself, keeping the story in one pair of hands from the first interview to the final cut. If you are planning a film, the documentary brief form covers what makes a first conversation useful: what the film is for, who appears in it, where it will be shown and when you need it.
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