Public defence, Film and Television, MA Hanna Maylett

Title of the thesis: Navigating Collaboration in Film and TV Drama Directing: Participatory Practices within Director’s Artistic Leadership 

Thesis defender: Hanna Maylett
Opponent: Prof. Susan Kerrigan, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia
Custos: Prof. Susanna Helke, Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture

Doctoral thesis: Leading creative collaboration means leading both content and the group

Film is a collective art form, yet film directing has traditionally been viewed largely through the lens of individual authorship and artistic vision. Hanna Maylett’s doctoral research examines how a film director can lead an artistic whole whose creation simultaneously depends on the creativity and expertise of other professionals.

A key finding of the research is that, in the director’s artistic leadership, leading the group’s social process is as significant as leading the content of the work. Maylett describes this as the director’s dual regulatory role: the director leads, on the one hand, the content and artistic direction of the work and, on the other, the group’s interaction, participation and ways of working.

The collective nature of filmmaking does not automatically mean that the creative process is led at group level. During pre-production, collaboration often takes place one-to-one or in smaller groups. The research shows that how and when others participate, and what they are able to influence, shape creative agency and artistic decision-making within the team. Social dynamics, power relations and invisible hierarchies affect this participation.

Maylett uses the concept of Shared Creative Space to describe this environment constructed through collaboration. The director’s task, therefore, is not only to shape the emerging work but also to create the conditions in which the creative work of others becomes possible. The five director prototypes and nine collaboration models identified in the research make visible different ways of organising participation, power and interaction in filmmaking.

The research introduces a group-level perspective to the study of film directing and broadens the understanding of artistic leadership from leading an individual vision towards leading a shared creative process. The findings can be applied particularly to the development of leadership and collaborative practices in the film industry and in film education. The research also offers perspectives for other forms of multidisciplinary creative work in which the outcome depends on the independent expertise and creativity of multiple professionals.

Keywords: film, film directing, artistic leadership, creative collaboration, participatory leadership

Thesis available for public display 7 days prior to the defence at Aalto University's public display page. 

Contact information: Hanna Maylett hanna.maylett@aalto.fi