Info

Contact: 

mrbryce@mac.com

General

James Bryce is a director based in London. He is a strong visual storyteller and has extensive experience with action and car work, but above all he loves to collaborate with writers and actors to bring a story to life with clarity, imagination and cinematic ambition.

James enjoys working with the written word (he has a degree in English Literature from Oxford) and has a proven track record of getting great performances from actors. But at the same time he's a strong believer in stripping back dialogue and telling the story with visuals alone. He's also at home with technical detail, whether on location or in post - James used to be a music video, commercial and feature film editor (and still sometimes cuts his own work).

As an ex editor, James can shoot very efficiently, especially when up against tight deadlines. He is as comfortable with ambitious epic action sequences (gun battles, explosions, car chases) as he is with more intimate and emotional character scenes. He is a very versatile director and has worked within many different genres and formats including continuing drama, period drama, military action, crime, horror, high end drama documentary, comedy and big budget commercials. Regardless of genre, James always brings shoots in on time and on budget.

James firmly believes that on a shoot he is the first among equals and the best way to inspire is to be kind, polite and honest. 

Specific

Recently, James series directed Blood, Sex & Royalty for Netflix, a fresh, feminist re-telling of the story of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII, with contemporary dialogue and a strong ensemble cast led by Amy James-Kelly.

★★★★

"Blood, Sex & Royalty is terrific. Warm, witty and full of universally brilliant acting...intelligent, vivid, energetic, funny, full-blooded and good-hearted...it's an absolute triumph."

Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

James has previously directed numerous episodes of Casualty and Holby City, involving sensitive handling of beloved characters' emotional arcs (Henrik Hansen's descent into depression in Holby episode Black Dog), or Iain Dean's breakdown into suicidal ideation (Casualty Series 33, Ep 11). James was also responsible for a feature length 2-parter (Series 33, Eps 23/24) about the impossible working conditions of the NHS forcing Louise Tyler to exit the show.

'This was great! So absorbing and well shot...James did a beautiful job.' 

Simon Harper, Executive Producer, Casualty

James was also the Second Unit Director responsible for the car chase and shoot-out at the end of The Sweeney feature film, starring Ray Winstone. 

“The car chase is epic…the dramatic finale through a caravan park is one of the best I’ve seen.” 

Gordon Smart, The Sun

James also Second Unit Directed the beach battle sequence that opens The Last Kingdom (Season 4, Ep 1).

In the commercials world, James joined Ridley Scott Associates 15 years ago and has worked with clients such as Audi, Ford, Nissan, The Gates Foundation, COI, Castrol, Mobil1, Mini, Chevrolet and Jaguar. Amongst other things, he has filmed a car in a Fast & Furious inspired virtual battle with Michelle Rodriguez on an ice sheet in Canada, wing-suited skydivers skimming skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur and a reverse gear car race through a dockyard.

James has also written and directed high-end drama-documentaries, getting powerful performances from actors and non-actors alongside big action sequences with blank-firing weapons, squibs, explosives and complicated stunts. He has staged gun battles in the Philippine jungle (Kidnapped Abroad – Fatal Mission), car chases and shoot-outs in the Bronx (The Fugitive Chronicles) and intense firefights in Iraq and Afghanistan (No Man Left Behind).

Reviews of No Man Left Behind:

"Utterly engrossing...the reconstructions achieved unusually high levels of tension, atmosphere and emotional involvement...incredibly effective television.” 

Gerard O’Donovan, The Daily Telegraph

“The recreations felt convincing and essential, adding a palpable sense of stress.”

James Jackson, The Times

Historic 

James first started making films at college. After a degree in English Literature at Oxford University,  James went on to complete the Postgraduate MA/Diploma in Film & TV at Bristol University, then started his professional career as an offline editor at MTV. He quickly moved on to become a freelance music video and commercials editor. Alongside this, James edited many short films and one feature film.

Editing is the best training for directing and James’s directing break came from the BBC, who employed him on a variety of shows leading up to Top Gear. This despite the fact James knew very little about cars and couldn’t technically drive.

James intermittently worked on Top Gear as a director/editor from Series 2 (Clarkson era) and is credited on over 70 episodes of the show. As such he has been instrumental in creating the style and success of a TV programme that held the Guinness World Record for the most watched show in the world (half a billion viewers). Top Gear won every major TV award and James found himself wearing a tuxedo in New York to receive the 2005 International Emmy for Best Non-Scripted Entertainment.

James always saw his Top Gear films as mini action movies and as such they were great training for his move into drama. He's very experienced in complex, cinematic set-pieces involving many cameras and often dangerous precision driving or stunts. James edited all of his own Top Gear films.