Adam Smith brings the energy of live visuals to drama without losing interest in people. We like the sympathy beneath the provocations in Skins, though its predictable plotting puts a limit on what that energy can achieve.
Fi1m perspective
In Skins (2007), the teenagers can be funny and abrasive without forfeiting our sympathy. We laughed, then cared more than we expected, because the dialogue and performances gave us reasons to stay with them beyond the provocations. Adam Smith directed four episodes of the first series, and that combination of energy and attention to people is a useful starting point for his work. We recommend the programme with a reservation: the plotting is often predictable, however engaging the company.
Smith began making rave and nightclub visuals with Vegetable Vision in the early 1990s, and directing music videos for The Chemical Brothers from 1994. The concert film Don't Think (2012) continued that collaboration after his move into television. Marcus Lyall has also been a creative partner on visuals and tours. These collaborations make live music an ongoing part of Smith's work, rather than an early credit to be left behind once the drama commissions arrive.
Little Dorrit (2008) brought period drama, while Doctor Who (2010) included The Eleventh Hour, Matt Smith's first episode. Smith's interest in making choices around character and story matters more to us than the change of setting. His use of prime lenses for shallower focus is one practical expression of that approach: the technique serves the person we need to watch. It helps explain why the music-video background is an incomplete description of a director who also brings attention to an ensemble.
Trespass Against Us (2016), his first narrative feature, stars Michael Fassbender and Brendan Gleeson. Its documentary-derived story takes up family ties and the difficulty of escaping the life someone has been brought up to lead, subjects that fit Smith's interest in outsider communities. For an introduction to what we value in his work, start with Skins, accepting that its dialogue and performances are more rewarding than its plotting.
Biography
Adam Smith is an English film, television, documentary and music video director. He began making visuals for raves and nightclubs as a teenager and co-founded the creative collective Vegetable Vision. He has worked closely with The Chemical Brothers since 1994, designing visuals for their live shows and directing their 2012 concert film Don't Think.
Smith began directing television drama in 2007 with four episodes of the series Skins. He subsequently directed episodes of the BBC adaptation Little Dorrit (2008) and three episodes of Doctor Who (2010), including the premiere 'The Eleventh Hour'; readers of Doctor Who Magazine voted him best director of the fifth series. His first feature film, the crime drama Trespass Against Us starring Michael Fassbender and Brendan Gleeson, was released in 2016. He has also directed episodes of World on Fire (2019).
