Location UK 2014 by Boutique Editions

SHOWCASING THE UK’S FILM AND TELEVISION PRODUCTION INDUSTRY - N°3 - 2014

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FIRST FOR WORLD-CLASS FILM AND TELEVISION PRODUCTION The British Film Commission is the national agency responsible for maximising and supporting the production of international feature film and television in the UK. Contact us for: • Guidance on the UK’s generous film and television tax reliefs • Highly knowledgeable and experienced teams based in both the UK and US • Free bespoke production support • Expertise throughout the UK via a network of industry partners • Assistance with sourcing the UK’s crew, talent, facilities, studios and locations The British Film Commission is supported by

www.britishfilmcommission.org.uk @FilmInUK_BFC

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WE’VE CROSSED THE POND. castandcrew.com/uk/ ENTERTAINMENT PAYROLL • PRODUCTION ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE • PROCUREMENT & PURCHASING • RESIDUAL PAYMENTS LABOR RELATIONS • PRODUCTION INCENTIVES • WORKERS’ COMPENSATION INSURANCE • 24/7 CLIENT SERVICE & SUPPORT

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INTRODUCTION - MASTHEAD

SHOWCASING THE UK’S FILM AND TELEVISION PRODUCTION INDUSTRY - N°3 - 2014

BRITISH FILM COMMISSION CHAIR, BRITISH FILM COMMISSION IAIN SMITH CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE BRITISH FILM COMMISSION AND FILM LONDON ADRIAN WOOTTON SENIOR PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE (UK) SAMANTHA PERAHIA EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, US PRODUCTION (US) KATTIE KOTOK SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, US PARTNERSHIPS (US) TARA HALLORAN CONSULTANT (US) JESS CONOPLIA PRODUCTION SUPPORT OFFICER (UK) HAZEL BORTHWICK PA TO THE BRITISH FILM COMMISSION (UK) SONYA WATT RESEARCH AND INFORMATION ADMINISTRATOR (UK) SAMUEL GILL EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT (US) JENNIFER PATTERSON FILM LONDON HEAD OF FILM PROMOTION & CULTURE (UK) ANNA HIGHET SENIOR PRESS & COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER (UK) COLETTE GERAGHTY DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR (UK) BERRY COCHRANE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER (UK) SONYA WILLIAM FILM CULTURE AND MARKETING OFFICER (UK) FLORA MENZIES BRITISH FILM COMMISSION UK OFFICE BRITISH FILM COMMISSION - SUITE 6.10 THE TEA BUILDING - 56 SHOREDITCH HIGH STREET - LONDON E1 6JJ - UNITED KINGDOM T: +44 (0)20 7613 7675 - F: +44 (0)20 7613 7677 - E: ENQUIRIES@BRITISHFILMCOMMISSION.ORG.UK BRITISH FILM COMMISSION US OFFICE 2029 CENTURY PARK EAST - SUITE 1350 - LOS ANGELES, CA 90067 - USA - T. +1 310 481 2909 LOCATION UK IS THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE BRITISH FILM COMMISSION AND IS PUBLISHED FOR THE BFC BY BOUTIQUE EDITIONS LTD. ADDITIONAL COPIES ARE AVAILABLE ON REQUEST FROM THE BFC. BRITISH FILM COMMISSION - SUITE 6.10 THE TEA BUILDING - 56 SHOREDITCH HIGH STREET - LONDON E1 6JJ - UNITED KINGDOM EDITOR JULIAN NEWBY MANAGING EDITOR DEBBIE LINCOLN CONTRIBUTORS CLIVE BULL, SARAH COOPER, LOUISE TUTT PUBLISHER RICHARD WOOLLEY ART DIRECTOR CHRISTIAN ZIVOJINOVIC WWW.ANOIR.FR PUBLISHED BY BOUTIQUE EDITIONS LTD - 117 WATERLOO ROAD - LONDON SE1 8UL - UNITED KINGDOM - T: +44 20 7902 1942 - F: +44 20 3006 8796 WWW.BOUTIQUEEDITIONS.COM ADVERTISING SALES JERRY ODLIN INTERNATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR - JODLIN@BOUTIQUEEDITIONS.COM LISA RAY SALES MANAGER - LRAY@BOUTIQUEEDITIONS.COM THE PAPER USED BY BOUTIQUE EDITIONS IS A NATURAL, RECYCLABLE PRODUCT MADE FROM WOOD GROWN IN SUSTAINABLE FORESTS. THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS CONFORMS TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS OF THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN. INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION IS EDITED FROM SUBMISSIONS PROVIDED BY THE INDIVIDUAL COMMISSIONS AND ORGANISATIONS. ALTHOUGH A REASONABLE EFFORT HAS BEEN MADE IN COMPILING THIS INFORMATION, BOUTIQUE EDITIONS LTD ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ACCURACY. THE PUBLISHER ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS AND ARTWORK. COPYRIGHT ©2014 BOUTIQUE EDITIONS LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART OF ANY TEXT, PHOTOGRAPH OR ILLUSTRATION WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION OF BOUTIQUE EDITIONS LTD IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED

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INTRODUCTION - CONTENTS

CO N TEN TS

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24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY Jack Bauer is back, and this time he’s in London

VFX Gravity ﬂies the ﬂag for the UK’s VFX sector

SUFFRAGETTE The House of Commons opens its doors to commercial ﬁlming

INCENTIVES Enhanced incentive schemes make shooting in the UK more attractive than ever

IN PICTURES A collection of images of stunning locations around the UK — some famous on the big screen, some yet to be discovered

DRACULA UNTOLD Northern Ireland is proving the go-to place for fantasy backdrops

WATER WORKS The UK’s waterways and coastline oﬀer dramatic ﬁlming opportunities

THE HONOURABLE WOMAN Meet Maggie Gyllenhaal and the team behind the new BBC spy thriller series

SHOWCASING THE UK’S FILM AND TELEVISION PRODUCTION INDUSTRY - N°3 - 2014

STAND-IN LOCATIONS As the Muppets discover, you can shoot the whole world in the UK

OUTLANDER A new time-travel TV series makes its home in Scotland

SPONSORS & SUPPORTERS

ADVERTISERS INDEX

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KYANCE COVE, CORNWALL Our cover photo features Kyance Cove, in southwest Cornwall. It is taken looking south towards Asparagus Island and Gull Rock. The Cove is located on the west side of the Lizard headland and is probably the most photographed and painted location in Cornwall. At low tide you can explore the towering rock stacks and the caves with names that include The Parlour and The Drawing Room (Photo, courtesy National Trust Images/ Paul Wakefield)

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www.filmlondon.org.uk @Film_London

Creative connections that transform

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From outer space to underground If Thor needs to battle his arch enemy across inter-dimensional portals, we can ensure he always has a monument cleared for landing. From the outer space of Gravity to the London Underground network in 24: Live Another Day and the school hallways of animated television hit The Amazing World of Gumball â&#x20AC;&#x201C; London sparkles on screens of all sizes. Film London provides free bespoke support and guidance to over 1,000 productions in studios and on the streets of the city every year. Make us your first point of contact in London.

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MAKING A SCENE - 24

KIEFER SUTHERLAND AS JACK BAUER IN 24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY

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FREEZE!

MAKING A SCENE - 24

MAKING A SCENE IT SEEMS THE POPULARITY OF TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX TELEVISION’S 24 WILL NEVER FADE. AFTER A FOUR-YEAR BREAK IT’S BACK AND THIS TIME SHOOTING IN THE UK, WHERE THE CAPITAL CITY IS ADDING NEW LAYERS TO THE STORYLINE. DEBBIE LINCOLN REPORTS

IEFER Sutherland has returned to the role of Jack Bauer, with new series 24: Live Another Day. Set four years after the last series ended, counter-terrorism expert Bauer returns as a fugitive in London, on the run from the CIA. 24: Live Another Day reunites the awardwinning team of executive producer Howard Gordon, star and executive producer Kiefer Sutherland, co-creator Robert Cochran, executive producers Evan Katz, Manny Coto, David Fury and Brian Grazer, and director and executive producer Jon Cassar. Mary Lynn Rajskub is back as geek-turnedaction-hero Chloe O’Brian, William Devane stars as US President James Heller, Kim Raver plays Audrey Raines and Stephen Fry plays the British Prime Minister Trevor Davies. More than 192 episodes of Emmy Awardwinning 24 were broadcast between 2001 and 2010, with a television film 24: Redemption broadcast between series six and seven. The action in this shorter, 12-episode series of 24 still takes place over the course of a single day, but doesn’t fully follow the show’s original real-time format. Jack Bauer comes out of hiding in London to head off what is understood to be a massive terrorist attack, while being hunted down by American forces dispatched by President James Heller. Meanwhile the ‘special relationship’ between Prime Minister Davies and US President Heller comes under pressure as

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personal and political crises unravel. Kattie Kotok, executive vice-president, US production at the British Film Commission’s (BFC) office in LA first heard from Fox that a senior executive was thinking of heading to the UK to recce for a project, at the end of the California summer, 2013. The BFC co-ordinated some initial location enquiries with the UK screen agencies and it was at this point the various parties learned the title of the project. “The British Film Commission assists on major feature films and TV shows shooting in the UK on a regular basis; its what we’re here for,” says Samantha Perahia, senior production executive at the BFC’s UK office. “But 24: Live Another Day is something special. Not only is it the most high-profile, highly-anticipated TV show to have shot in London, it is generating hundreds of UK jobs and nearly £40m for the UK economy. And it’s being produced by our own chairman.” One of the reasons the series came to the UK was to take advantage of the High-end TV Tax Relief. The majority of the crew is British and all but one of the heads of department are UK-based; on going to press there had been three US directors and one from the UK; producer is British Film Commission chair Iain Smith. Principal photography began on January 26, 2014. Location manager for 24: Live Another Day is Casper Mill, a proportion of whose career has been spent on the sedate (but with a similar body count) Midsomer Murders, a long-run- ///

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FILM IN SCOTLAND

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The Black Cuillin hills on the Isle of Skye from the road to Glen Brittle, Inner Hebrides. Photo: Ian Paterson/Scottish Viewpoint.

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MAKING A SCENE - 24

GBENGA AKINNAGBE (CENTRE) AS ERIK RITTER FILMING ON THE STREETS OF LONDON IN 24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY

ning — and worldwide-selling — British drama about murder in rural England. “This is probably the most fast-paced thing I’ve done. Things that involve guns on streets, those have not been the mainstay of what I’ve been doing in the past,” Mill says. The initial location scout was a relatively simple process, according to Mill, who was helped by having a 24 veteran with him from the start. “The brief really is just script-dependent,” Mill says. “And we were very fortunate in that the first director who kicked off the season was Jon Cassar; he’s been doing it for years, and he also produces, so he really does have a very good sense of what 24 needs to be. It was a case of just getting in the car once we had the script, going out and showing him the city, and he was very quick to make decisions about where he wanted to be. It wasn’t the case of having a long list of places to begin with; if he saw something, that was it, we’d tick it off and move on to the next.” Geographical continuity is always important when shooting in famous parts of a famous city, and television viewers are always quick to pick up on errors that can give a lie to the narrative. “We did start out trying to keep some continuity of logic and geography to it,” Mill says. “I think in the early days it wasn’t initially said that we would look at all the landmarks of London, but things evolved and we did feature a few key buildings — Trafalgar Square was established a couple of times, and that’s when you need to be particularly careful of the geography.” Early episodes see action on the London

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CASPER MILL “WHENEVER I’VE MENTIONED 24, EVERYBODY’S BEEN VERY POSITIVE ABOUT WANTING TO ASSIST WITH THIS PRODUCTION AND GET ON-BOARD” Underground. “We were careful to adapt these scenes to make sure they worked in sequence. Waterloo and Kennington and Charing Cross [stations] appear in one of those sequences so we made sure we got those in the right order. We have tried to keep relatively true. But I’m sure there will be moments where you’ll turn a corner and be in a totally different borough to where you should be.” Gun fights on the streets of London actually happen rarely in the series but for any sensitive scenes the Metropolitan Police Service Film Unit was on hand, led by the Unit’s manager James Waller. “We needed them, for example, when there were scenes with marked police vehicles in shot,” Mill says. The BFC provided support and assistance throughout — cutting through red tape, providing contacts and introductions and sometimes location troubleshooting, alongside

partner organisation, Film London. “I met Film London in December [2013] and just ran through what I thought may be coming up, and I was regularly on the phone to them asking about contacts for buildings that I didn’t know how to access. They’ve got such a good resource,” Mill says. “I haven’t utilised it too much over the years but I think I’ll be using it more from now on.” The West London Film Office, based in Ealing, was among others which played a role — in this case specifically for the closing of a road in Acton in west London for an action sequence. The series’ popularity — and longevity — would suggest that wherever the crew went, the fans would follow. Location and studio work splits roughly 50-50, the studio’s location a closely guarded secret during shooting. But Mill says crowds have been very well behaved and unobtrusive. “If anything we are the ones that have been importing our own protesters to parts of London for certain scenes. But as far as a fan base is concerned, there have been some people around but they’ve been very respectful of the work we’re doing and just move where they’re told to stay out of shot, so it really hasn’t been much of a problem at all. I’ve been quite surprised.” Mill adds: “Whenever I’ve mentioned 24, whether I’ve been door-stepping somebody’s house or talking to the Royal Courts of Justice, everybody’s been very positive about wanting to assist with this production and get on-board. On that side of things it’s made life very easy, it still has such a fan base from all walks of life.”

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MAKING A SCENE - NIGHT TRAIN FEATURE TO LISBON - VFX

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F E AT U R E

WHEN VFX SUPERVISOR TIM WEBBER COLLECTED THE OSCAR FOR BEST VISUAL EFFECTS FOR HIS WORK ON GRAVITY, HE WAS FLYING THE FLAG NOT JUST FOR LONDON-BASED COMPANY FRAMESTORE, BUT FOR THE WHOLE OF THE UK’S VISUAL EFFECTS INDUSTRY. SARAH COOPER REPORTS

DID THAT REALLY HAPPEN?

MAKING A SCENE - NIGHT TRAIN TO LISBON

ROM advances in previsualisation and performance capture, to innovations in 3D conversion, virtual production and photo-realistic imagery, Gravity (2013) has shone the spotlight on the groundbreaking visual effects work being carried out in the UK by a collection of dynamic companies all located within a fiveminute walk from each other in London’s Soho. As well as Framestore and its previsualisation joint venture The Third Floor, companies such as Double Negative, Moving Picture Company (MPC) and Cinesite have worked on a number of 2014 studio releases, including the Wachowskis’ sci-fi fantasy Jupiter Ascending; Warner Bros.’ Edge Of Tomorrow starring Tom Cruise; Marvel’s superhero adventure Guardians Of The Galaxy; Disney’s Maleficent; and Ridley Scott’s biblical epic Exodus; and also Ron Howard’s 2015 release Heart Of The Sea. “We’ve scaled up as an industry, there is a lot of remarkable work going on in the UK and Gravity is a further rubber stamp on the quality of work being produced by UK companies,” says Mark Benson, global managing director of MPC, which was nominated for an Oscar for its work on Disney’s The Lone Ranger (2013), involving the creation of CG scorpions, stamped/// ing horses and photo-realistic cave interiors.

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Double Negative is Europe's largest provider of visual eﬀects for Film, operating from locations in London and Singapore. DNeg collaborate with clients from the rst stages of projects; producing ideas, concept imagery, previs and production plans. Meanwhile DNeg’s R&D team create the tools to produce groundbreaking digital environments and characters, creatures and eﬀects, from the real (water, smoke and re) to the magical. DNeg prides itself on close collaborative working relationships with clients; ensuring productions both small and large receive the same high standard of creative and technical service. Recent Shows: Godzilla, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Transcendence, The World’s End, Captain Phillips, Rush, Man of Steel. Currently in Production: Avengers: Age of Ultron, Jupiter Ascending, Interstellar, Ex Machina, In the Heart of the Sea, Hunger Games: Mocking Jay, Exodus, Hercules

Contact Matt Holben or Alex Hope

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160 Great Portland Street, London W1W 5QA, 0207 268 5000

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feature - vfx

Sandra Bullock and GeorGe clooney in 2014’s multiple Oscar-winning gravity. phOtO: FramestOre

“Gravity reinforces the fact that the UK is amazing at innovation and amazing at achieving film directors’ visions. People think ‘If they can do that for Gravity, they can do that for me’,” framestore’s CEO and cofounder William Sargent says of the film, which shot at the UK’s Pinewood and Shepperton Studios, winning seven Oscars — including best director for Alfonso Cuarón — and taking over $700m at the box office worldwide. faced with the challenge of replicating the look and feel of zero gravity, in a 3D-movie environment for a director with a penchant for unusually long camera shots, Webber and his team found themselves developing new techniques and equipment, such as a 12-wire rig that allowed Sandra Bullock and George Clooney to be moved as if they were floating in space. Another key development was the creation of a light box containing computer controlled LED bulbs which acted like pixels on the screen, allowing the actors to be precisely lit while they were going through complicated movements. Where once filmmakers had to rely on storyboards and concept artwork to help visualise their movies, Cuarón was able to rely on previsualisation (previs), a technique which allows the creation of a computer animated version of the movie ahead of the shoot, allowing the director to see every element of the movie in precise detail before he had even walked onto the set. The previs also played a key part in Cuarón’s pitch to Warner Bros., helping to convince the company to finance the project, an approach that is becoming increasingly commonplace, according to Duncan Burbidge of London previs company The Third floor. “We have directors and producers coming to us and saying, ‘We’ve got this idea for a movie, the studio isn’t too sure about it, we want to do something that’s really going to blow them away and let them see what the potential for the project is going to be’. It’s hard to get that from a script,” says Burbidge, whose company has recently completed the previs work on Disney’s Maleficent and HBO’s Game Of Thrones (2011-). Increasingly, productions are also using postvis — in which the previs assets are integrated back into the live-action scenes that have been shot — in order to save both time and money before beginning the expensive process of post production. As well as giving a director the opportunity to make tweaks before the film goes into post, the previs sequences can also be used as a pitch-

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ing tool, giving potential vfx vendors the chance to view them and come up with their best ideas and price. Using these techniques also enable studios to start holding audience test screenings earlier in the film’s life cycle, by using postvis sequences, rather than waiting for the visual effects to be dropped in. “It’s a faster and more cost-efficient way of getting information, and letting the director explore ideas editorially, plus the data we are creating can be handed over to the visual effects team to give them a head start,” Burbidge says. from space debris whizzing out of the screen to Sandra Bullock’s single tear floating towards the audience, Gravity is the film that has convinced even the most cynical of commentators that 3D can and does work. Behind the scenes, the process was more complicated. “There were 10 or more key moments where Alfonso [Cuarón] sat down and said, ‘Tell me why 3D is going to make this better’,” says Adam May, head of production at UK-based vision3, the company behind the film’s awe-inspiring 3D effects. Led by vision3’s founding partner and stereo supervisor Chris Parks, the team was able to grade the film at the previs stage, therefore allowing all the key 3D decisions to be made ahead of the shoot. It effectively gave Cuarón, who had never worked in the medium before, a test run at making a 3D movie. As a result, Cuarón made the decision to post-convert (rather than shooting in stereo) all the scenes that feature Bullock inside the capsule, resulting in the ///

Alfonso CuAron “Tell me why 3D is going To make This beTTer”

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longest-ever post-conversion shots seen on the big screen. In order to minimise the chance for error, Parks and his team shot a number of real-life models with native 3D cameras, giving the exact dimensions for Bullock’s head and body which could then be used as reference points for the conversion. The post conversion was carried out by London’s Prime focus, and in another groundbreaking step, the team was brought in at a much earlier stage in the production than usual. “Up until this point, a film would be completed and then it would be passed off to a vendor and they would have almost no interaction with the production. But involving Prime focus in a much more proactive way, and sharing vfx elements with them, allowed them to do better work,” May says. Gravity has helped to change the industry’s perception towards post conversion — previously seen by many as a last-minute tool — according to Prime focus’ senior vice-president production Matt Bristowe, who headed up the team that worked on Gravity. “filmmakers are beginning to understand that there are different ways of making a 3D movie. They can shoot it, they can convert it, they are just different tools for the same format,” says Bristowe, who has just completed the post conversion on Disney’s Maleficent, which, unusually, involved him actually being on set. “That in itself is a big change, and there has been a sea-change generally towards 3D,” adds Bristowe, who also carried out the vfx work on Renny Harlin’s The Legend Of Hercules (2014), creating a photo-realistic environment for the film’s huge battle scene, including CG bow strings, arrows and shields. In fact, involving the vfx department at an earlier stage in produc-

feature - vfx

tions is becoming increasingly common, according to Alex Hope, managing director of London-based Double Negative, which won an Oscar for its visual effects work on Christopher Nolan’s Inception (2010). Currently handling the visual effects on Nolan’s latest feature Interstellar (2014), Hope says that the team has been “involved right from the get-go in the design, development and ideas behind the visual effects, which are now a fundamental part of the storytelling process”. More and more vfx-heavy shoots are also relying on “virtual production” — the integration of digital technology throughout the entire production process — which allows directors to rehearse and record sequences and camera moves. Revolutionary tools, including Simulcams and Ncams, also allow a director to shoot a live-action scene, while at the same time seeing the missing CG segment. Performance capture, or motion capture, which involves actors wearing special suits covered in reflective dots allowing their exact moments to be digitally created, is increasingly a key part of the virtual production process. “There has been an exponential increase within our industry, going from videogames in the Eighties right through to it being an integral part of movie productions,” says Ben Lumsden, head of studio at London’s The Imaginarium, set up in 2011 by actor

‘Having worked almost exclusively at 3 Mills for the last decade I can recommend the experience to anyone.’ Danny Boyle

OWN THE STAGE A unique islAnd of creAtivity

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The Third Floor provided previs for Maleficent. pictured in the filM: elle fanning as princess aurora. photo: filM fraMe, ©disney 2014

Andy Serkis and producer Jonathan Cavendish to focus exclusively on performance-capture work. The company has been working with Gareth Edwards to create his feature version of Godzilla (2014), as well as Serkis’ own directorial debut, an adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Crucially, performance capture is encouraging more traditional directors, who may have been put off by the idea of working in CG animation, to take on VFX-heavy projects. “You have an actor-director relationship that can alter the story arc, that is something you don’t get with traditional animation, and it’s something that has scared actors and directors away from doing those kinds of films. Now they are becoming much more accessible,” Lumsden says. That the VFX industry was expected to bring in over £600m in revenues to the UK by the end of 2014, is evidence of how far companies such as MPC, Double Negative and Framestore have come since cutting their teeth on the Harry Potter films. “A huge attraction is the integrated way the UK industry approaches its work,” says Double Negative’s Hope, adding: “We’ve got a number of well-run, organised and creatively-dynamic companies who compete with each other but also collaborate on projects.” Given that the key players are all within a stone’s throw of each other in Soho, that sense of collaboration can often extend to sharing stories over a pint at the pub, as well as the inevitable cross-pollination of talent between the companies. “Of course there is competition, but there is also a lot of support, and when artists are regularly jumping back and forth between the companies there are also a lot of opportunities to learn from each other,” says Hugh Macdonald, VFX supervisor at London company Nvisible, whose recent VFX credits include Kick Ass 2 (2013), Disney’s Muppets Most Wanted (2014) and British feature Robot Overlords (2014), directed by Jon Wright. “People come here for the whole package. Visual effects and digital is a very critical part of that. If the studios think they can get everything in one country, they feel comfortable dropping six-to-eight movies here a year,” Framestore’s Sargent says. But with a growing number of VFX centres of excellence around the world all vying for the same business, the enhancements made to the

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UK Film Tax Relief in April 2014, lowering the minimum UK spend on incoming productions from 25% to 10% — meaning that projects can now come to the UK just to do their post and VFX work and still qualify for tax relief, even if they have shot elsewhere — has given the UK a welcome boost. “A lot of directors and producers want to come to the UK to do their VFX because they believe in the creativity and quality of the UK, so the new tax rules will really help,” says Shail Shah, business development manager at Prime Focus. VFX companies are also reaping the benefits of the introduction of the new High-end TV Tax Relief last year, which has seen an influx of large-scale TV productions coming to the UK to shoot. Double Negative, for example, launched its own TV division last year, carrying out the VFX work on Sony’s incoming fantasy adventure series Outlander (2014). Meanwhile, the indigenous British film industry continues to be served by boutique companies such as London-based post-production and VFX company, The Look, which has worked on visual effects for Matador Pictures’ paranormal thriller Residue (2014), and post house Lip Sync, which has worked on the VFX for Mike Leigh’s film Mr. Turner (2014) and actor Alan Rickman’s second outing as a director, A Litte Chaos (2014), which includes the recreation of several historic buildings and /// locations.

Shail Shah “A lot of directors And producers wAnt to come to the uK to do their VfX”

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feature - VFX

With so much inward investment work flowing into the UK, one of the biggest challenges for the industry is keeping up with demand, and that means training up the next generation of VFX supervisors. “Training is critical to what the industry does. There is a willingness in the UK to take people on and educate them and help them to become as creative as they can possibly be,” says Dan Marbrook, producer at London-based VFX company Lexhag, who points to vocational courses at institutions including London’s Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, the University of Bournemouth on the south coast of England and Escape Studios in central London as helping to boost the UK’s talent pool. UK industry skills and training body Creative Skillset’s Skills Investment Fund helps companies to invest in the development of talent in all aspects of production including VFX. In addition, many of the big VFX companies offer in-house training. Framestore takes on 60 to 80 graduates a year, one of whom happened to be Tim Webber, back in 1988, who started out as a runner and ended up as an Oscar winner for Gravity.

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Meanwhile, the decision by Industrial Light & Magic — the VFX division of Lucasfilm — to open an office in London to carry out all the VFX on the next Stars Wars film, as well as other projects including Marvel’s Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015), looks set to boost the UK’s position in the global market. “Star Wars is going to do even more creative things with visual effects that will help the UK to stay on the map,” says Sal Umerji, head of VFX production at Soho-based post house LipSync. “What the UK is great at, and has the opportunity to build on, is the full integration of visual effects into the digital production process. It’s hopefully what will keep the UK industry ahead of the world,” Double Negative’s Hope says. “We have got something very special here, as the films that the UK continues to produce demonstrate,” Benson adds. “There’s nothing we can’t do.”

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24/04/14 10:22

making a scene - SUFFRAGETTE

Romola GaRai as alice in a scene from suffragette, shot in the central lobby of the houses of Parliament

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In the corrIdors of power

While the house of Commons — the heart of British Government — is seen reGularly on tv as sittinGs and deBates are BroadCast live throuGhout the day, the house has never opened its doors to a CommerCial produCtion. until noW… making a scene

making a scene - suffraGette

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coastal

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The Kent County Council Film Office offers a first class film commissioning service for all manner of productions. Kent boasts a vast, eclectic range of locations, including 350 miles of diverse coastline, a variety of architectural styles, as well as the largest independent HD Stage in the UK. We can support your production in a variety of ways from a bespoke location finding service to closing roads for filming so, let Kent open possibilities. www.kent.gov.uk/filmoffice â&#x20AC;˘ Tel: +44 (0)300 333 5656

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22/04/14 17:18

ADRIAN WOOTTON “THE STORY OF SUFFRAGETTE IS TIED TO THE LOCATION”

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21 MAKING A SCENE - SUFFRAGETTE

PRIL 2014 saw the House of Commons — one of Britain’s two Houses of Parliament in the Palace of Westminster — open up for the first time to a commercial film crew. The shoot was for the feature film Suffragette, which tells the true story of Emmeline Pankhurst’s fight for the right for women to vote. Suffragette is directed by Sarah Gavron (Brick Lane, 2007) and based on a script by Abi Morgan. Carey Mulligan stars alongside Helena Bonham Carter, Brendan Gleeson, Anne-Marie Duff and Meryl Streep, who plays Pankhurst. Streep won an Oscar for her role as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in another biopic, Morgan’s The Iron Lady (2011). Suffragette is produced by Ruby Film & Television for Pathé, FilmFour and the BFI in association with Redgill Productions and with the participation of Canal+ and Cine-Cinema. The shoot followed a decision by the House of Commons Administration Select Committee and the House of Commons Commission to allow “appropriate” commercial filming on the estate when the House is not sitting. Suffragette is the first film to be welcomed into the House under this decision, and “will serve as a pilot for any future proposals”, according to a Parliamentary statement. The aim of this decision is, in part, to raise income to offset the running costs of the House — but also to raise awareness. Sir Alan Haselhurst MP, chair of the House of Commons Administration Committee, says the film “will help to bring an important period of our country’s history to a wider audience. As a British film which clearly relates to Parliament’s history and heritage, this is an ideal pilot for the House of Commons to identify the opportunities for location filming and income generation.” Adrian Wootton, chief executive of the British Film Commission and Film London, says of the groundbreaking decision: “Film London has been liaising with the House of Commons for a number of years about the potential of allowing filming — obviously this is a hugely important building, so not a decision which can be taken lightly. Based on actual events, the story of Suffragette is tied

CAREY MULLIGAN, AS MAUD, IN SUFFRAGETTE, SHOOTING OUTSIDE THE HOUSE OF COMMONS IN WESTMINSTER

to the location, and this cultural and historic significance was an important factor in the production securing unprecedented access. We will of course work with the team at the House of Commons to see if this is something which can be repeated, ensuring of course that the building’s integrity is protected.” Other locations for the film include Holloway Prison in north London, where Pankhurst and a number of her followers were locked up after a 300-strong march on Parliament Square on Friday, November 18, 1910, known as Black Friday. Inside the women-only prison Pankhurst staged her first hunger strike to protest against the conditions for other Suffragettes

inside the prison. In her autobiography she described Holloway as “a place of horror and torment. Sickening scenes of violence took place almost every hour of the day, as the doctors went from cell to cell performing their hideous office.” Gavron says the production team was “honoured to be allowed to recreate a crucial moment in that long journey towards equality by filming [in Parliament] where the Suffragettes actually brought their protest over 100 years ago”. She adds: “Our film is inspired by the true stories of the foot soldiers of the Suffragette movement, women who were willing to sacrifice everything in their fight for the right to vote.”

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24/04/14 17:17

Lawyers for the business of media and entertainment

Harbottle & Lewis LLP is considered to be the ‘market leader in film and TV’ Legal 500 You can have confidence in our knowledge of the film and television industry and our ability to close transactions – we have been acting for clients in the industry since the 1950s. We regularly advise on agreements for the UK’s most well-known and prestigious locations, providing specialist, pragmatic advice to both location owners and film makers. We provide expert guidance on any issues which may concern a property, from landlord/ neighbouring land consents to planning permissions. We can advise you on:

• Film Production • Film Finance • Film Distribution • Television Production • Broadcasting • Programme Clearance

• Advertising & Sponsorship • Mobile Formats • Digital Distribution of Content • Talent and Crew Agreements • Music Synchronizations • Copyright and Rights Issues

For further information please contact Peter Armstrong or Jonathan Berger by email on peter.armstrong@harbottle.com / jonathan.berger@harbottle.com or by calling +44 (0)20 7667 5000.

www.harbottle.com

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22/04/14 17:10

f e at u r e

feature - incentives

INCENTIVES KEEP UK AHEAD OF THE GAME Creative SeCtor tax reliefS and enhanCementS to the SuCCeSSful film tax relief make the uk an even more attraCtive plaCe to make film, high-end tv, animation and even videogameS. Louise TuTT reportS Emilia ClarkE as Daenerys Targaryen in game Of ThrOnes

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25/04/14 16:06

Focusing on the detail, so you can make the bigger picture The Saffery Champness Film and Television Team encompasses unrivalled expertise in the film and television industries. We advise both individuals and businesses across the whole of the sector, helping to maximise the potential of their ideas.

Central to our offer is our expert knowledge of tax reliefs in the UK and around the world for film, animation and high end television. Our clients range from Hollywood blockbusters such as World War Z, Star Wars Episode 7, Avengers 2, Mission Impossible 5, Fast and Furious 6 and Captain America, to independent films such as the Kings Speech, Philomena, 127 Hours, Locke and micro-budget projects. In television, we currently advise production companies including HBO, ABC, AMC CBS, ITV Studios, Carnival, Left Bank Pictures and Red Arrow Entertainment, among many others. Away from production, we provide a wide range of audit and accountancy advice to financiers, distributors, studios and companies in the post production sector, along with advice on employment tax issues and tax planning opportunities. For an informal discussion on how we could help you, please do not hesitate to contact us: John Graydon, Partner T: +44 (0)20 7841 4000 E: john.graydon@saffery.com

www.saffery.com

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16/04/2014 22/04/14 09:16:10 16:48

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this is thanks to refinements to the points-based cultural test, the primary mechanism for determining if a project qualifies as British, which now places a greater emphasis on production, post and vFX activity in the UK. this work can account for as much as 10%-50% of a high-budget film’s production budget. such welcome changes come hot on the stellar heels of the stunning box office and awards success of Alfonso cuarón’s Gravity for which the UK vFX crew developed technology and techniques specifically to portray weightlessness in zero gravity. “We couldn’t have a better advert for British technical skills, British craftspeople and British technology than Gravity,” Adrian Wootton, chief executive of the British Film commission and Film London, says. “Gravity could not have been made anywhere else. it’s provided us with a fantastic piece of international marketing.” the tweaks to the FtR directly benefit the UK’s world-renowned vFX companies, which include Oscarwinning houses Double negative, Moving Picture company, Lucasfilm’s industrial Light & Magic as well as Framestore and countless other award-winning boutique houses. in recent years they have faced stiff competition from international rivals, especially in canada where post-specific incentives are particularly generous. the new-look FtR puts their UK operations firmly back in the game. Mark Gill confirms Millennium Films is considering doing much more vFX work in the UK, having previously parcelled it out to as many places as china, eastern europe, Denmark, india and the Us. “certainly with the new incentive we’ll be looking more closely at doing some vFX work in London,” he says. the change in the minimum spend rule also makes the UK much more attractive to co-producers. it encourages collaboration between UK and international partners, particularly in europe. Local producers working with much smaller budgets than the Us studios are now able to put together more minority UK co-productions, and access the FtR, as well as incentives in other countries. Previously such an arrangement was a challenge. international productions looking to shoot in locations the UK does not have, for example deserts (exodus in spain and the canary islands) or otherworldly backdrops (thor in iceland) can now more easily base themselves in the UK and shoot elsewhere in the world when they need to. “We try and ensure we are as collaborative as possible,” says Wootton of complementary national incentive schemes, for example the one on offer in Hungary. “the film companies spend their money and base themselves in the UK but can also access particular incentives from other territories.” since April 2013, the UK has also become a popular location for international high-end television productions and series animation programmes. this new-found popularity is as a result of the introduction of tax reliefs for both sectors, modelled on the FtR, under the creative industries tax Reliefs banner. A television production with a budget of £1m or more per broadcast hour can claim a 25% tax credit on its qualifying UK expenditure up to 80% of its total production

25 feature - incentives

HEN the Us producers of White House siege movie Olympus Has Fallen (2013) were pondering where and what their next target would be, they quickly decided on locating to the UK. London Has Fallen shoots for Millennium Films towards the end of 2014. “the UK’s financial incentives drove the plot to set it in London,” says Mark Gill, head of production at Millennium Films of the UK’s Film tax Relief (FtR). “When we sat down to figure out, ‘Let’s go to another city. Where shall we go?’ we backed our way into London based in a significant part on the credit and also because the plot imagines the G8 conference is happening and someone has decided to take out its entire leadership as well as some world-famous landmarks. London fits the bill very well. it is the world city right now.” Last year was a boom year for the UK film production sector as 37 international features, mostly Hollywood movies, generated $1.4bn in production spend in the territory, according to the British Film institute (BFi). those films comprised QUALITY CREWS, QUALITY 81% of the UK’s total feature film TALENT AND BIG SAVINGS spend. they included Paul McGuiuS-BaSeD Millennium films, which recently shot gan’s Frankenstein for twentieth James Mcteigue’s Survivor (2015) in the uK, now century Fox; Ron Howard’s Moby plans to shoot two or three more features here before Dick adventure Heart Of the sea Olympus Has fallen sequel London Has fallen starts for Warner Bros., shot in 2012; Disin November — an indication of how attractive the uK ney’s live-action cinderella has become to uS film companies. Last year Millendirected by Kenneth Branagh; and nium financed uK production Before I Go to Sleep, the Wachowskis’ sci-fi thriller Jupidirected by rowan Joffe and starring Nicole Kidman, ter Ascending for Warner Bros. Colin firth and Mark Strong; and shot Henrik ruben in 2014, the line-up of major Genz’s literary adaptation Good People, starring Kate Hudson and James franco, in the uK, switchfilm titles includes Avengers: Age ing the setting from Chicago to London. “We knew Of Ultron, Lucasfilm’s star Wars Chicago was too expensive,” Millennium’s Mark vii; Warner Bros.’ fantasy title Pan, Gill says. “So we looked at New York, Philadelphia, directed by Joe Wright; and Ruby atlanta and Boston. None of them was great. We had Films/the Weinstein company’s learned from our experience on making Before I Go tulip Fever. to Sleep so we looked at London. On a $20m movie, the UK’s status as one of the it is $4m cheaper than anywhere in the uS. that is a world’s leading hubs for film, tv huge amount, that’s 20% of the budget.” It is mostly and visual effects production is thanks to the film tax rebate, which Gill likes for two being augmented further followreasons: the clarity of its rules and the fact it is a cash ing the introduction of an rebate paid directly. He says that uS cities and states offering tax incentives tend to be so busy, local crews enhanced version of the territory’s aren’t available. “Very quickly it adds up and you end generous tax incentive for feature up doing the counter-intuitive thing and moving the films in April 2014. movie to London to save money,” he says. “another UK-qualifying productions can good reason to do that is for the quality of the crews now claim back more tax relief than and the acting, which is as good, if not better, than ever on the UK portion of their anywhere else in the world.” budgets, further incentivising the use of the UK’s award-winning vFX and post facilities. there has also been a reduction in the minimum local spend required to qualify for the relief. since April, producers with features budgeted over £20m can claim tax relief of 25% on the first £20m of their UK qualifying expenditure and 20% thereafter, up to a ceiling of 80% of the total qualifying production budget. this brings the benefit for large budget films closer to that of smaller budget projects which earn 25% on all qualifying expenditure up to 80%. the UK’s chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, announced his intention that productions at all budget levels will be able to claim a 25% tax credit on their qualifying spend from April 2015 subject to european state Aid clearance. the easing of the minimum UK spend requirement from 25% down to just 10% now gives producers the ability to structure their projects in a way that allows a greater level of international co-production and flexibility. For example, a project could majority shoot outside the UK but work with the territory’s award-winning vFX and post sector to access the FtR.

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no guarantee it would continue to do so if it had not made financial sense. “When we began there was no tax incentive,” Jay Roewe, senior vice-president of production at HBO says. “Its introduction has allowed us to stay in Belfast because of the increasing costs of making the series year after year. With every new season, the cost of living increases, the cost of services go up, people’s salaries increase and we also want to creatively push the envelope.” The huge influx of international production to the UK is prompting companies to invest in large-scale facilities, for example The Pinewood Group’s anticipated opening of a new studio in Cardiff, while the British Film Commission and regional and national partners are encouraging film companies to utilise non-traditional stage space, including empty factories and warehouses. At the same time, the national training body Creative Skillset is focused on ensuring the UK consistently delivers the depth of crew and craftspeople required to service incoming projects. It is working with UK crew members to provide them with the right skills and support to fast-track up a level and to work confidently across the film and TV sectors. Significantly, it is also training UK production office staff in US accounting and payroll practices to give US producers the confidence to employ the entire crew in the UK.

27 feature - INCENTIVES

costs. A minimum UK spend of 25% is required to access both the high-end TV and animation reliefs. This remains unchanged. A tax relief for the games sector was also launched in April 2014, providing a welcome boost to this industry in which the UK excels. According to the BFI, the first nine months of the TV credit brought in a total spend of £150m from international high-end TV productions. Additionally, some 20 animation series have been shot in the UK including a second series of Tiger Aspect’s Mr Bean (the first series was in 2001), and Canada’s Portfolio Entertainment’s The Cat In The Hat Knows A Lot About That. “It’s extraordinary,” Wootton says. “We went from almost no animation production in the UK to nearly 20 series since last April and the tax credit.” While much of the film activity is clustered around London and the south east of England, and the big studio facilities in the region, TV productions, which often prefer lower-cost non-traditional studio locations where sets can be left standing between series, are basing themselves throughout the UK’s nations and regions. They include Sony’s series Outlander for the Starz network, based in Scotland; BBC Worldwide/Starz’ Da Vinci’s Demons in Wales; and ABC’s pilot for Galavant which shot in the south west of England. And London has also benefited from the upturn in high-end TV production: 24, which Twentieth Century Fox Television has revived for the first time since 2008, has based the new season, 24: Live Another Day, in the capital. Where possible, productions can take advantage of regional incentives and combine them with the national film and TV credits. HBO finished shooting the fourth series of Game Of Thrones in and around Belfast at the city’s Titanic Studios earlier this year and accessed the Northern Ireland Screen Fund and the High-end TV credit, the latter for the first time. Although it had shot the first three series in Northern Ireland, there was

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Dinner, drinks, movie? You name the date. There’s a fantastic choice of food, drinks and award-winning entertainment on board Virgin Atlantic. Just book a flight and we’re all yours. For production enquiries, please call 855.485.9064

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25/04/14 16:06

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures Courtesy of HBO

Production companies can take advantage of UK tax incentives for film production, high-end TV, animation, games and VFX joining other successful releases such as: Edge of Tomorrow Game of Thrones Sherlock

There has never been a better time to choose the UK as a destination for film and TV production and post-production Courtesy of Hartswood

The Creative Skillset Skills Investment Fund is there to support your production. Don’t miss out on: • World class ﬁlm professionals • Technicians with the highest level of skills • Set-ready and subsidised trainees • Funding for training • Short courses to address skills shortages and more

Find out more at: www.creativeskillset/sif FICHIER PUB uk2014.indd 28 1 SS7509_locationsUK_Ad.indd

22/04/14 17:01 11/04/2014 11:35

SHOWCASE

LOCATION IN PICTURES

SHOWCASE - LOCATION UK IN PICTURES

LOCATION UK HAS TEAMED UP WITH FILM AND TOURIST OFFICES, LOCATION SCOUTS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS, TO BRING YOU IMAGES OF STUNNING LOCATIONS AROUND BRITAIN. SOME ARE WELL USED BY FILM CREWS, OTHERS STILL TO BE MADE FAMOUS ON THE BIG OR SMALL SCREEN

THE QUEEN’S WALK SOUTHBANK, LONDON The South Bank is one of the most iconic locations in London, offering stunning views across the Thames as well as being home to some of the city’s most exciting and unique architecture — including the Tate Modern art gallery and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. TV productions shot here include Dr Who (1963-) The 7.39 (2014), and About Time (2013). And the location features in a number of movies including Skyfall (2012), In The Loop (2009), Last Chance Harvey (2008) and The Boat That Rocked (2009) (Photo, courtesy Belinda Lawley)

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showcase - location uk in pictures

CAVEHILL NORTHERN IRELAND Cavehill lies just a few miles from the centre of the city of Belfast. It is distinguished by its famous Napoleonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nose (pictured), a basaltic outcrop which resembles the profile of the emperor Napoleon. It offers amazing panoramic views across Belfast â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the whole of the city can be seen from its peak, as can the Isle of Man and Scotland on clear days. Productions shot in this area include Dracula Untold (2014), The Shore (2011), City Of Ember (2008) and Closing The Ring (2007). (Photo, courtesy Northern Ireland Tourist Board)

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showcase - location uk in pictures

MANCHESTER TOWN HALL ALBERT SQUARE, MANCHESTER The Town Hall boasts striking neo-gothic Victorian architecture and serves as an excellent double for the British Houses of Parliament. It has a large courtyard which can be used for street scenes and Albert Square (directly in front) works as an excellent on-site unit base. There is easy access to the courtyard for tech vehicles via a dedicated road. It offers fantastic, opulent state rooms and open stairwells that lend themselves very well to filming. Manchester City Council is very film-friendly. Features shot here include Sherlock Holmes (2009) and The Iron Lady (2011) (Photo, courtesy Marketing Manchester)

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showcase - location uk in pictures

BEDRUTHAN STEPS CORNWALL With its sand and blue waters, and the right camera angle, this could easily double as a tropical beach. This part of Cornwall — the most southwestern county in the UK — is away from artificial light, and with few natural or man-made obstructions, and so a place to marvel at the view of the night sky (Photo, courtesy Creative England)

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showcase - location uk in pictures

BELFAST CITy HALL DONEGALL SQUARE, BELFAST Belfast City Hall is a stunning Victorian building right in the centre of the city. Dating back to 1906 its exterior is built mainly from Portland stone and is in the Baroque Revival style. It covers oneand-a-half acres and has an enclosed courtyard. With towers at each of the four corners and a lantern-crowned 173 ft (53 m) copper dome in the centre, the City Hall dominates the city centre skyline. As with other Victorian buildings in the city centre, the City Hallâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s copper-coated domes are a distinctive green. BBC TV movie The Wipers Times (2013) shot here, as did the TV mini-series series 37 Days (2014) and feature film Made In Belfast (2013) (Photo, courtesy Northern Ireland Tourist Board)

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showcase - location uk in pictures

RURAL ABERDEENSHIRE SCOTLAND Aberdeenshire boasts a wealth of locations from gentle arable land, rugged mountains, dramatic coastline, picturesque villages, castles and industrial locations, for example Aberdeen Harbour. The Queen (2006), For Those In Peril (2013) and Local Hero (1983) are among the many films to have made full use of Aberdeenshireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s striking landscapes (Photo, courtesy Scottish Viewpoint)

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showcase - location uk in pictures

PORTLAND SQUARE BRISTOL Here the highways can be controlled fairly easily without impacting too heavily on traffic flow around the area. The majority of buildings still have an authentic 18th century facades, many of them unspoilt and the layout of the square allows for angles that obscure the more modern buildings in the vicinity. Portland Square has doubled well for London in the majority of the productions that have filmed there. They include Dr Who (1963-) and Sherlock (2010-) (Photo, courtesy Creative England)

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showcase - location uk in pictures

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showcase - location uk in pictures

TITANIC BELFAST BELFAST, NorThErN IrELAND Titanic Belfast is a striking six-floor building located in Titanic Quarter, right beside the historic site of the world-famous shipâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s construction. It stands in the shadow of two great yellow-painted gantry cranes, Samson and Goliath, which have become important Belfast landmarks, dominating the skyline not just of the Titanic Quarter but the entire city (Photo, courtesy Northern Ireland Tourist Board)

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showcase - location uk in pictures

ATHENAEUM HOTEL VIEW LONDON This photo shows a view from the balcony of the Roof Top Suite at The Athenaeum Hotel and Apartments in London. The location offers an unobstructed panoramic view of the London skyline (Photo, courtesy Athenaeum Hotel and Apartments)

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showcase - location uk in pictures

GLASGOW CITY CENTRE SCOTLAND Along with Edinburgh, Glasgow is a key production base in Scotland, with the bulk of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crew and facilities companies are based here. It has an international airport and excellent road and rail links to the rest of Scotland and the UK. Glasgow has doubled for Philadelphia, New York, London, Moscow and the Vatican. Feature films shot here include World War Z (2013), Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Filth (2013) and What We Did On Our Holiday (2014) (Photo, courtesy Scottish Viewpoint)

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showcase - location uk in pictures

WALES MILLENNIUM CENTRE CARDIFF, wAles The Wales Millennium Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye-catching exterior, clad with multi-coloured slate, creates a unique backdrop for any production. And its numerous large halls and theatres in a mixture of classical and modern design offer a range of cinematic interiors. TV productions shot here include: Doctor Who (1963-), Torchwood (2006-) and Gavin & Stacey (2007 -2010) (Photo, courtesy Visit Wales 2014)

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showcase - location uk in pictures

CASTLE COOLE NORTHERN IRELAND Castle Coole is a magnificent 18th-century mansion set in a beautiful wooded landscape park in County Fermanagh. Castle Coole is one of the best examples of neo-classical country houses in Ireland. Built to impress by the first Earl of Belmore, the house was designed by James Wyatt, with a facade of Portland stone and beautifully proportioned interiors. This combined with plasterwork by Joseph Rose makes Castle Coole a masterpiece both inside and out. It was used in the 2014 release Miss Julie, directed by Liv Ullman (Photo, courtesy National Trust)

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showcase - location uk in pictures

OLD MARKET SQUARE NOTTINGHAM, eNGlANd The Old Market Square is a key event space for the East Midlands city of Nottingham. With a great mix of architectural styles and an open and airy aspect, this location can serve as a perfect double for London and other European cities. The Square featured in the 2013 BBC TV series Truckers, about Britain through the lives of truck drivers working in Nottingham (Photo courtesy Visit England, Diane Jarvis)

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CARDIFF BAY cardiff, WaLES

(Photo, courtesy Visit Wales 2014)

43 showcase - location uk in pictures

Cardiff Bay provides filmmakers with a 500-acre freshwater lake surrounded by a sweeping urban panorama. The bay has an eclectic mix of architecture, including the strikingly modern Wales Millennium Centre, the French Gothic Pierhead building and the charming Norwegian Church. With the bay also featuring grassy wetlands and easy access to the sea, it is an ideal location for a wide range of productions. The BBC TV series Doctor Who (1963-), Torchwood (2006-) and Sherlock (2010- ) shot here.

HIGH STREET EdiNBUrGH, ScotLaNd Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and shares with Glasgow the role of the country’s key production base. It has an international airport, and excellent road and rail links. The city has a rich mix of architecture from the historic Old Town dominated by a medieval fortress and with dramatic lanes, alleys and tunnels woven between the tall tenements and merchants’ houses. The New Town offers a Georgian townscape of grand houses, neo-classical terraces and gardens. Feature films Sunshine On Leith (2013) , The Railway Man (2013) Filth (2013), Cloud Atlas (2012), The Angel’s Share (2012) and Burke And Hare (2010) all shot here (Photo, courtesy Scottish Viewpoint))

NEATH ABBEY NEatH, SoUtH WaLES Neath Abbey was a Cistercian monastery, located near the present-day town of Neath in South Wales and was once the largest abbey in Wales. Substantial ruins can still be seen, and are in the care of the Welsh government’s historic environment protection body Cadw. Fairly complete remains of the abbey survive, including the superb 13th-century dormitory undercroft. The BBC TV series Doctor Who (1963-) and Da Vinci’s Demons (2013-) shot here. (Photo, courtesy Visit Wales 2014)

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INNER TEMPLE GARDEN, LONDON, eNgLaND

showcase - location uk in pictures

On the site of the famous Temple Church (The Da Vinci Code, 2006) and steeped in history, the Inner Temple — which plays a central role in the recruitment and training of students and the continued professional development of barristers — offers an exciting film location in unrivalled solitude in the heart of London. The estate’s varied architecture, ranging from the 17th-century terrace of King’s Bench Walk to post-war classical buildings and an award-winning eight-acre garden, provides a host of potential backdrops for films, commercials, fashion shoots and photography. Grand interiors can be used for filming at weekends. The ITV series Poirot (1989-) and BBC legal drama series Silk (2011-) have shot here, as well as feature films The Da Vinci Code(2006) and The Lost Prince (2003) (Photo, courtesy Barbara Neumann)

PORTMEIRION WaLeS The village of Portmeirion, situated close to the Welsh coastline, is a dazzling mixture of architectural styles, with turreted stone mansions, pastel-shaded villas and dome-roofed churches providing filmmakers with the opportunity to create several distinct on-screen locations within one place. The colourful gardens within Portmeirion and dense woodland surrounding it only add to the shooting opportunities if offers. It was famously used as the main location for cult BBC TV series The Prisoner (1967-1968), and the ITV comedy drama series Cold Feet (1997-2003) (Photo, courtesy portmeirion-village.com)

THE VAULTS, TOBACCO DOCK WaPPINg, LONDON, eNgLaND This Grade I listed building comprises over 16,000 sq m over two floors with 40 individual spaces providing a flexible space for filming and photography — including it’s own outdoor quayside, dramatic basement vaults and atria. It provides the perfect setting for location filming, build space, production offices and unit parking with ultimate accessibility and parking facilities to accommodate all filming requests and requirements. Hidden to the rear of the building are the Service Tunnels offering the classic “backstage” style environments of big concert venues or stadia as well as the two supporting multi-storey car parks with rooftop views of East London. The feature film Red 2 (2013) shot here, as well as the BBC series Ashes To Ashes (20082010). It also is hosting The Scandinavia Show exhibition for the first time in 2014 (Photo, courtesy The Film Office)

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WARNER BROS. STUDIOS

LEAVESDEN

Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden (WBSL) is a purpose-built, state-of-the-art film and television studio offering one of the largest facilities in the UK. The 200-acre secure site has a collection of some of the UK’s largest soundstages, ranging from 10,800ft² to 48,400ft², one of the largest heated underwater filming tanks in Europe and an unrivalled 100-acre backlot complete with 250ft x 250ft exterior tank. WBSL also offers an on-site Production Rentals division providing lighting and scaffolding equipment, additional office accommodation at the adjacent Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden Park and a sound post-production house, Warner Bros. De Lane Lea in London’s Soho. For more information, please contact our dedicated bookings team:

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MAKING A SCENE

I want you to believe... to believe in things that you cannot” NORTHERN IRELAND IS PROVING THE GO-TO LOCATION FOR FANTASY BACKDROPS. GAME OF THRONES IS AN ONGOING SUCCESS STORY – AND NOW DRACULA IS COMING. SARAH COOPER REPORTS

MAKING A SCENE - DRACULA

ROM Universal’s medieval tale Your Highness in 2009, to HBO’s Game Of Thrones (2011-), which has shot all four of its series in the province, Northern Ireland is becoming something of an expert at hosting large-scale fantasy projects. So when Universal was scouting for a UK base to shoot its horror adventure Dracula Untold (2014), it’s not surprising that the studio turned its attention to Northern Ireland again. “They rang the end of one week, by the next week we were on the ground scouting,” Andrew Reid, head of production at government-backed regional agency Northern Ireland Screen, says. “We were very quickly able to show them a considerable depth of locations that gave them the scale they were looking for, while pointing them back to Your Highness and saying, you’ve done it once, you can do it again,” adds Reid, who worked closely with the production from the outset. Northern Ireland may not immediately conjure up images of Transylvanian castles and craggy mountains, but, as Reid points out, “Given the time period it was written in, it would have been hard to find exactly that anywhere, and we felt that Dracula was generically European enough that we could provide them with what they needed.” Directed by Gary Shore, Dracula Untold sets out to explain the origins of the classic Bram Stoker story, focusing on Prince Vlad of Transylvania, played by British actor Luke Evans, who becomes a vampire in order to defeat a Turkish army trying to take over his kingdom.

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Written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, the film also stars Sarah Gadon as Vlad’s wife and Dominic Cooper as Mehmed the Second, a Turkish sultan and a childhood friend of the anti-hero. That Northern Ireland Screen was able to invest £1.65m into the project meant that it also made “good financial sense” to shoot in the region, according to the film’s executive producer Joe Caracciolo, who also cites the “favourable exchange rate, and an impressive local infrastructure that is well suited for this type of project” as helping to entice them to Northern Ireland. The biggest challenge for the production was finding suitable build space to allow the team to create the castles and great halls that inhabit Dracula’s world. With Game of Thrones already in town shooting season four, it meant that Belfast’s vast studio space in the city’s Titanic Quarter was off limits. But a solution presented itself in the shape of a former Britvic bottling

CATHERINE GEARY “ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF BEING A SMALL COUNTRY IS THAT YOU ARE VERY QUICKLY INTO DIVERSE COUNTRYSIDE”

plant, located just outside Belfast’s city centre, providing the perfect base for the shoot, which took place from August – November 2013. “They were able to get their principal set, workshops and a lot of their office space there, and in the area around it they were able to find secondary spaces, props and costume workshops,” Reid says of the space, which has never been used for filming before. The production was able to tap into the region’s now substantial crew base, which has grown on the back of Game Of Thrones’ regular presence since 2010. When it came to location shooting, the production scored a big coup when it was given permission to shoot on the Giant’s Causeway, a stunning formation of around 40,000 basalt columns — the result of an ancient volcanic eruption — on the country’s northeast coast, which doubles for a fictional mountain in Transylvania, albeit with a little help from CGI. Logistically, it was always going to be challenging, as the Giant’s Causeway also happens to be Northern Ireland’s most popular tourist attraction. “They had had brief visits from other projects, Your Highness did a helicopter shot over it and Game Of Thrones did a small shoot there, but we did it on a whole other scale, we actually shot on the central causeway for an entire day which was unheard of,” says the film’s location manager Catherine Geary, who has also worked on the Northern Ireland shoots for Stephen Frears’ Philomena (2013) and Steve /// McQueen’s Hunger (2008).

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MAKING A SCENE - DRACULA

THE RIVER ROE IN THE ROE VALLEY COUNTRY PARK PROVIDED THE PERFECT DOUBLE FOR THE RIVER DANUBE IN DRACULA UNTOLD. © NORTHERN IRELAND ENVIRONMENT AGENCY (NIEA)

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Mountains, which was used to recreate a number of medieval camps for the shoot. Owned by the forestry service, it has also featured in a number of scenes in Game Of Thrones. “It’s not the kind of forest you stumble upon. It is so unusual, its position at the bottom of the mountains makes it magical,” Geary says of the location, which inspired CS Lewis to create the land of Narnia in his series of books. While Dracula’s castle itself was built inside the Britvic bottling plant, the team decamped to National Trust property Mount Stewart, located just 20 minutes outside Belfast, its picturesque formal gardens recreating the castle’s grounds. “One of the benefits of being a small country is that you are very quickly into diverse countryside. A lot of films that come here think they have to travel far, but an hour to the south you are into the forest and mountains and an hour north and you’re into the Jurassic coastline,” Geary says. As Reid points out, unlike other parts of the UK, “Northern Ireland still has a very rural population, it’s not massively developed, we still have green belts around our towns, but it’s all very compact and close by. Plus we also

have a slightly lower cost profile, which makes it an attractive package.” While Belfast and the surrounding area may not offer the mountainous terrain of Romania, thanks to a few clever camera angles, the team was able to pull off the shots they were looking for. “In the right light, the views are breathtaking,” Geary says, adding: “You don’t have to travel far outside of Belfast to get a 360º view.” The shoot was made easier thanks to support from local agencies including the Environment Agency and the Rivers Agency, together with the backing of the Northern Ireland government, which is firmly onboard when it comes to seeing the economic benefit of hosting international productions. Dracula Untold alone is estimated to have brought £15m worth of expenditure into the country. As Northern Ireland’s environment minister says: “Films such as Dracula provide a great opportunity to showcase our natural beauty both locally and on a world stage.” In fact, with two new 40,000 sq ft stages set to be added by the end of 2014, it is only a matter of time before an international production decides to base itself in the region.

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Geary worked closely with National Trust, the body which manages the Giant’s Causeway, to make them comfortable with what the team was trying to achieve, but with thousands of visitors descending on the attraction every day, there was still no possibility of actually closing it to the public. “So it had to involve clever scheduling to figure out which would be the quietest day,” Geary says. The River Roe in the Roe Valley Country Park, around 56 miles from Belfast, provided the perfect double for the tumultuous River Danube. “It was meant to look like a river that could sweep someone off their feet, and because we had had lots of rain the river was high, so it worked in our favour,” Geary says of the location, which again stayed open to the public throughout the filming process. The Northern Irish weather also went in the production’s favour when they were shooting at Divis Mountain, a former military base that overlooks the west of Belfast. ”It was wonderfully atmospheric and grey,” says Geary of the day they filmed at the location, which she describes as “stunningly desolate, perfect for the Transylvanian plains”. Another key location was Tollymore Forest, situated at the foot of the Mourne

•

THE FORMAL GARDENS OF NATIONAL TRUST PROPERTY MOUNT STEWART, NEAR BELFAST, USED AS THE GROUNDS OF DRACULA’S CASTLE

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F E AT U R E

FEATURE - WATER

WATER WORKS WANT TO MAKE A FILM ON WATER? NOWHERE IN THE UK IS MORE THAN 70 MILES FROM THE COAST. AND IT HAS RIVERS, CANALS AND WATER TANKS TOO. CLIVE BULL REPORTS

NE OF the remarkable things about the geography of the UK is that it has an unusually long and varied coastline for a country of its size — more than 11,000 miles (17,800 km), a figure that rises to over 19,000 miles when you add in some of the surrounding islands as well. And there is a very different look and feel depending on which direction you head. The mixture of spectacular headlands, impressive peninsulas, sea-swept rock formations, and little-known secluded bays is just part of the secret of its appeal to filmmakers. And that appeal goes beyond the seashore. Inland there are many lakes, lochs and man-made reservoirs, and thousands of miles of waterways. Most famously the River Thames offers a backdrop that features many of London’s landmark buildings, while the country’s hidden-away historic canals provide a timeless setting for the period drama looking to escape /// any signs of modern life.

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THE CANAL & RIVER TRUST’S ED FOX: “MANY CANALS ARE UNCHANGED AND TIMELESS.” PHOTO: THE CANAL & RIVER TRUST

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Three Cliffs Bay, Gower Peninsula

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We can offer your company access to over 36,000 creative professionals. Plus our Government can provide flexible finance for production. Little wonder that the BBC has designated Wales as its drama centre of excellence. Pinewood Studios has also committed to opening a new 180,000 sq ft studio complex in Cardiff.

26/03/2014 22/04/14 16:45 14:57

feature - WATER

Shooting the Jude Law thriLLer BLack Sea (2014) on the river Medway in kent, SoutheaSt engLand.

While the UK can offer bleak or stormy seas when required for classics like Chariots Of Fire (1981) or The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981), the generally mild weather means crews won’t have to suffer. And when the action requires someone overboard, that’s when the UK’s world-class expertise in underwater filming comes in — at facilities including Pinewood’s unique, permanently filled underwater stage. Director Alfonso Cuarón turned to Pinewood to shoot the breathtaking underwater scenes for Gravity (2013). There’s high drama on the ocean in Warner Bros.’ action-adventure Heart Of The Sea (2015) which re-teams director Ron Howard with screenwriter Peter Morgan, a duo that previously collaborated on Frost/ Nixon (2008) and the Formula 1 motor racing biopic Rush (2013). “Peter Morgan is a friend of mine,” Howard told Location UK. “He’s great. We did Frost/Nixon together. He also did The Queen [2006]. He’s a great writer.” The movie also reunites Howard with Rush star Chris Hemsworth who plays first mate Owen Chase. Based on the best-selling Nathaniel

Dave Shaw “We can make it as green or broWn or as blue as you need it”

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Philbrick novel In The Heart Of The Sea, the film blends fact and fiction to tell the true story of the Essex, an American whaleship, which set sail from New England in 1820 but was struck in open water by a large bull sperm whale. These real-life events are also said to be the inspiration for the Moby Dick story. With the ship destroyed, the production focuses on the crew’s 90-day fight for survival as crew members find themselves floating in the water, thousands of miles from home. A screenplay that places most of the action on or in the water might be seen as high-risk and potentially expensive, but production is now complete on the ambitious project, with much of the in-the-water action shot at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Hertfordshire, UK. Philbrick discussed the project with Howard and was impressed by the prospect. “Ron seems like a great guy. Very down-to-earth and very smart. And he seems genuinely excited about the story of the Essex,” Philbrick says. Prior to taking on the challenge, director Howard took a tour of the world’s sole-surviving wooden whaleship, the 1841 Charles W Morgan, at the Mystic Seaport shipyard museum in Connecticut, USA. Howard went into the hull of the vessel, ///

24/04/14 17:40

WE ALL START OUT A LITTLE WET BEHIND THE EARS,

21 YEARS ON WE WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO HELPED US GROW. PINEWOOD STUDIOS Tel. 01753 785401 www.divingservicesuk.com

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22/04/14 16:58

feature - WATER

Horses gatHer on the beach to take advantage of the tide, in a scene from snow white and the huntsman (2012)

which has undergone a $7m restoration and bears many similarities to the original whaleship Essex. Leavesden’s D Stage is Europe’s largest stage-based underwater tank at 120 ft by 90 ft (37m by 27m). The heated and filtered water tank was originally built for Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (2005), the fourth film in the Harry Potter franchise, and is capable of holding two million litres of water. All of the underwater scenes for the tri-wizard tournament were shot at Leavesden and Daniel Radcliffe spent so much time in the tank that he gained his PADI diving certificate as a result. For Heart Of The Sea, a re-creation of the ship’s captain’s quarters was sunk into the indoor tank in order to flood the rooms. A mixture of actors and stunt artists were involved as cameras captured the ship sinking, the crew battling for survival, and all against a backdrop of stormy weather conditions, expertly reproduced on Leavesden’s D Stage. The advantage of shooting in the indoor tank is that a controlled environment is guaranteed, with action co-ordinated by some of the world’s leading underwater filming and diving experts. Once out on the high seas, shooting becomes more of a challenge. While filming in the Canary Islands, for example, Howard had to evacuate cast and crew

Chris Livett “The World Is NoT eNough Was The bIggesT chase sequeNce The Thames had ever seeN”

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from the set because of flash floods and mudslides. Heart Of The Sea sees Howard once again turning to true-life events as he captures the stories of characters being pushed to the limit. ”When [a film] is based on a true story the audience goes with you to vastly more emotional highs and lows because they know that what they are watching on the screen actually happened,” he says. Finding exactly the right beach was the first task for supervising location manager Bill Darby when planning the extraordinary waters-edge castle siege scene in Universal’s Snow White And The Huntsman (2012). “We searched all over the UK, looking at wild, dramatic coastlines. Scotland, Wales, Cornwall — everywhere that faced west basically,” Darby says. The trajectory needed to be west-east so that the castle under siege was backlit in the afternoon. Eventually, Marloes Sands beach in Pembrokeshire, Wales, was chosen for the massive shoot. It’s a long, remote sandy beach and — crucially — it has great views, and some access to Gateholm island, the rocky outcrop that was to form the footings for the castle that was later dropped into the frame. Because of the nature of the tides, the VFX team was flown on to the island by helicopter, with no actors actually on the site. Marloes Sands is a tidal beach, and is entirely submerged when the tide is in; when the tide is out you can walk across the beach to Gateholm. ///

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feature - WATER

So the tides provided a vast sandy stretch at some parts of the day, and water lapping at the edges of the castle’s footings at other times. A perfect combination but not without its challenges; everything had to be perfectly planned. “I should think we had a crew of 500 there,” Darby says. “The beach was large enough for all this when the tide was out, but the window was pretty short to get the horses to the end — where in theory the castle portcullis was. Half-way down the beach there were projecting rocks, and you could only get past them at very low tide; we had to retreat as the tide came in.” The scheduling challenges were more than compensated for by the stunning location. “It is a beautiful beach,” Darby says. “What we particularly liked — and in fact it informed the design of the footings for the castle that we later built on the back lot at Pinewood — was that it was awash with water at high tide. And the rock formations are quite particular — they are jagged, slanting rocks, sedimentary stone that sticks out of the sand like the spikes on a stegosaurus. That was why we felt we couldn’t shoot it anywhere else.” Various agencies were able to help when it came to organising this ambitious scene, including the heritage society National Trust, which manages the land, and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, which was responsible for the access. Getting 150 horses, a lot of equipment and crew, and camera track-

Ed Fox “We have responsibility for protecting the environment as Well” ing vehicles on to a remote and tidal beach were not easy tasks. The footpath down to the beach is just wide enough to take a vehicle. But with the footings of the path washed away by the tide over the years, the crew decided to repair the path and make it fit for the needs of the production and the public. “We had to build a ramp to get everything down there,” Darby says. “There was 160 feet of scaffolding and a horse ramp, which had to be lined with plywood and carpet, in order to stop them injuring themselves.” Darby says the final scene was as beautiful as it was dramatic. “They were storming the castle and the castle was firing trebuchets, with flaming projectiles that hit the sand — actually buried explosives which went off while the horses were going past.” The famous Shell Cottage in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows (2010) was constructed at the north end of Freshwater West beach, which is also on the Pembrokeshire coast. One of Wales’ most popular surfing

beaches, the construction of the cottage has resulted in numerous Harry Potter fans visiting the area. Freshwater West is a beautiful, windswept stretch of coast, and doubled as a French coastline for an epic scene in Robin Hood (2010) involving 600 extras, 200 horses and dozens of rowing boats. Marloes Sands also played host to Matthew Rhys, Sienna Miller and Kiera Knightley as the trio filmed The Edge Of Love (2007). Another recent production to take advantage of the UK coastline is World War Z (2013) in which Brad Pitt is seen riding a speedboat into Lulworth Cove, on the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site in Dorset. The circular cove, with a narrow entrance, is regarded as one of the world’s finest examples of such a rock formation, and is a popular choice as a film location. When it comes to shooting on water in the UK, one man you might find yourself turning to is Chris Livett, who’s been involved in filming marine scenes for more than three decades. He also acted as marine consultant to the London 2012 Olympics body LOCOG and was on the boat as England soccer star David Beckham raced up the Thames ferrying the Olympic torch to the London opening ceremony. “I was quite close to him — but he was driving,” says Livett, whose family has worked the tidal River Thames since 1710. Livett’s Launches works closely with Film London, the Port of London Authority and other key stakeholders, to facilitate filming on the river. Early ventures included the classic The Long Good Friday (1980) where much of the action takes place on Harold Shand’s (Bob Hoskins) yacht in and around London’s docklands. More recently Livett helped stage a dramatic chase sequence for 24: Live Another Day, for the latest series of the Twentieth Century Fox Television franchise which shot in London. In a river chase scene for the series, alongside Kiefer Sutherland was Livett’s skipper, dressed as an extra as he piloted the craft. Livett has worked on several Bond movies over the years, but it was the boat stunt in The World Is Not Enough (1999) that raised the bar to a new level. “This was the biggest chase sequence the Thames had ever seen,” Livett says. “I remember at one stage looking back and seeing 40 boats in a big cavalcade behind us. It stretched from Vauxhall [close to Westminster] to

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FEATURE - WATER

LIVETT’S LAUNCHES IN ACTION IN TONY MITCHELL’S THE FLOOD (2007)

the London 02 [in Greenwich, east of Tower Bridge]. We took this great circus up and down the river. We pushed the envelope on that movie. Pierce Brosnan was fantastic and did a lot of his own stunts.” The Jude Law thriller Black Sea (2014) is based around a submarine rumoured to be loaded with gold, and 80% of the action takes place on board. “We found an old Russian submarine believe it or not,” Livett says. “It had been laid-up on the Medway [river in Kent, southeast England] for the last 10 years. This thing was listing over because it had holes in it, so we had to keep pumps in it to straighten it up.” One sequence however, involving a fracas on board, required the sub to fall over — something

that proved less difficult than expected. “We just turned the pumps off and the thing went straight over.” Livett also worked very closely with director Guy Ritchie on Sherlock Holmes (2009) which shot at Chatham Docks in Kent and Liverpool Docks on the Thames, and in which Livett appeared as a tugboat captain. “It’s not unusual for one of us to be dressed as somebody. To act is one thing — to act and drive a boat is another. More often than not we’ll be supporting them — either we’ll be right down beneath them, driving for

360˚ 18th century architecture, cobbled streets, medieval wynds and a city ready to welcome filmmakers, make Edinburgh the first choice for on-location period filming. Film Commission for Edinburgh, East Lothian and Scottish Borders

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feature - WATER

Claire risino “They puT a bike wiTh a baskeT in The shoT, and any visible siGnaGe wiTh enGlish wriTinG was Taken down” them, with comms into them, or we’ll be driving ourselves, dressed as their double.” Being on a beach, or in a boat is one thing; actually getting into the water is quite another. That’s where the underwater stage comes in, and one of the UK’s most experienced underwater filming experts is Dave Shaw of Pinewood-based Diving Services UK. Pinewood is home to the only permanently-filled underwater stage in the world. Right next door to the main studios at Pinewood is the exterior tank, which has a capacity of 806,000 gallons and offers an endless horizon and a 14,400 sq ft blue/green screen that can be used for model units or live-action sequences. Recent productions to use the facility include Ridley Scott’s biblical epic Exodus (2014), Dark Shadows (2012) and Skyfall (2012). “What’s useful about the paddock tank is that we can shoot on location anywhere in the world, and get that beautiful, wide establishing shot. And then if there’s some special effect like an explosion, we can do a close-up in a controlled environment,” Shaw says. Wave machines, tip tanks and wind machines are all on hand to recreate the environment exactly as required. The key underwater scenes in Gravity (2013) were shot at Pinewood. When Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) returns to earth the re-entry capsule is seen apparently coming down in Utah, although it was actually filmed at the Queen Mother Reservoir in Colnbrook, Berkshire, just outside London. When the capsule floods, that’s where the underwater tank comes in. “So we did the splashdown in the reservoir, then we cut to the underwater stage,” Shaw says. “The capsule floods and Sandra escapes up to the surface. We do the awkward bit in between the locations.” There’s been a considerable change in the scale and ambition of underwater filming over recent years and Shaw believes Pinewood’s permanent tank has been a game-changer. “Traditionally it was always seen as very expensive. Productions never had anywhere bespoke to do their projects,” Shaw says. “They used to have to rent a stage and rent a tank, or use an existing tank, and then build a set and then fill it with cold water — and then heat it. You could have been into a week or two weeks just for a one-day shoot.” That would cost money and often these sequences would be written out of a script. “Now they can just bring the set or the artist here. We can murk-up the water really simply. Pound-for-pound we have made their lives a lot easier and they can write in a lot more water [into the script] because it is now easier to do.” Being a controlled environment is vital too. “It used to be that the producer might dive, the director might dive, the special effects person might dive, everybody might dive, and it could become chaos, with nobody actually having a handle on it,” Shaw says. The big change came in 1997 when the UK government’s Health and Safety Executive brought out new guidelines. “From that date on productions had to employ a diving contractor, and that’s where we came in. We are responsible for the water quality, the dive training, and we can reduce the amount of logistics required to go into the water. “We have a hydrophone — underwater speakers, it’s all wireless — so everyone can hear crystal-clear underwater what we are saying. We don’t have any talk-back so they can’t talk back to us, it’s all hand signals… but we can co-ordinate in a clear, concise manner what we would like to see on the camera. Once the camera operator frames-up, we can talk to the artist and the operator and tell them to tilt up, pan a bit and so on.”

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And the water itself can be fashioned to the exact requirements of the production. “We always do the location stuff first so that we get the light and the look of the water right,” Shaw says. Machines can provide a windy setting, rain, an overcast look, and pumps can put a tide into the water. The Woman In Black (2012) was a challenging shoot involving 10- to 13-year-olds appearing as floating ghosts in murky, muddy water. Exterior scenes were shot at Osea Island’s causeway in Essex, east of London — the location of the fictional Nine Lives Causeway — while underwater scenes were filmed at Pinewood. “We can make it as green or brown or as blue as you need it,” Shaw says. “The sophisticated treatment system means that not all the water needs to be changed. We test the water every three seconds and we can colour it to whatever is necessary.” The UK’s canals and rivers regularly provide a backdrop to feature films and series. London’s Little Venice became a rainy Amsterdam for a Michael Fassbender scene in The Counselor (2013). “We didn’t shut the navigation because of the length of scenes,” says Claire Risino, film and photography location officer of the UK’s Canal & River Trust. “All we needed were marshals at either end.” A local boat was used to house make-up and extras. “Not that much dressing was needed. They put a bike with a basket in the shot, and any visible signage with English writing was taken down,” she adds. The Canal & River Trust looks after more than 2,000 miles of waterways, towpaths and locks, and prides itself on being able to deal with any potential complications. “Literally millions of people use the towpaths ever year,” the Trust’s Ed Fox says. “We’ve got boats that come through, we have responsibility for protecting the environment as well. There are all sorts of considerations, but it doesn’t mean that there aren’t ways we can work around them. In some cases, if there’s filming on the towpath we can arrange diversions, or plan for boats to go through once a shot is completed.” There’s been a shift of emphasis around filming on canals. Where once they were a first choice for gritty urban scenes, producers are now including them in cityscape backdrops thanks to waterside regeneration. They can also be used as remote locations untouched by civilisation. “Some canals are highly developed and incredibly modern and funky, but there are many more that are unchanged and timeless,” Fox says. “For period dramas, for example, we have some almost perfect time capsules. One of the sites we have is Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, which is a waterways museum. It’s the most extraordinary collection of buildings that you can dress to look like any period. And we can control site access.” Many of the more secluded riverbanks, towpaths and canals are in less-accessible spots, but the Trust has been developing video footage with the help of Google backpackers, to map parts of the world not visible via Street View cars. “It will show you a 360º view of a potential location, what is likely to be around, what is opposite and so on,” Risino says. “We started with them actually getting the towpaths mapped, sharing our mapping data, and the next stage was to get this backpacking going. It’s for all sorts of different purposes — but actually for location managers, especially if you’re overseas, it is really valuable.”

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28/04/14 10:47

making a scene

The honourable Woman is a neW spy Thriller series for The bbC and sundanCe Channel, sTarring maggie gyllenhaal and WriTTen, direCTed and produCed by hugo bliCk. The series is seT in london and The middle easT. Julian newby meT The Team behind The series

making a scene - THE HONOURABLE WOMAN

The honourable Woman

he hOnOURaBle Woman casts maggie gyllenhaal as nessa stein who, as a young girl, witnesses the assassination of her father. now in her late thirties and a powerful businesswoman, nessa is made a life peer in recognition of her campaigning work towards peace in the middle east. but nessa’s business interests lead to political repercussions and she and her brother ephra (andrew buchan) find themselves placed under the scrutiny of both Whitehall and the secret intelligence service. gyllenhaal says she was drawn to the series for a number of reasons. “first, i had never read a character like nessa. she is a powerful, grown-up woman who is also deeply flawed and broken. she is smart and sensual and brave and childlike all at once. like we all are. i love that the project deals with very important, terrifying global conflicts — and it really takes them on. but it is also about a woman trying to sort out similar conflicts inside herself,” she says: “so while The honourable Woman deals with political inheritance and trust and deceit, it also deals with the deep personal side to those same issues. it took all of me — my brain, my heart, my body — to play nessa stein, and i had never been presented with a challenge quite like that before.”

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Maggie gyllenhaal as Nessa steiN iN the hoNourable WomaN

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Her first instincts were to turn down the role. “The scripts were so unusually phenomenal that I thought, ‘Damn it! I think I have to do this and I probably shouldn’t because I have two little kids and it would mean taking them away for five months to London and Morocco.’ So I did everything I could not to do it.” Gyllenhaal was also unaware of the work of Hugo Blick, whose methods were unlike anything she’d experienced in Hollywood. While traditionally scripts would be written or modified episode by episode, for The Honourable Woman Gyllenhaal was presented with the finished product. And it was the finished product that helped to persuade her to take the role. ”It’s like this exquisitely put together thriller, in a way that I think it can’t be if you’re writing the script each week. I mean this was all formed by this genius mind. It became impossible not to do it.”

maggie gyllenhaal “ i can honestly say this is the piece of work i am the most proud of in my career ” “I will always have the last sentence of the last episode written before we start,” Blick says. “Then there is this large white board where all the elements of the plot are laid out in a kind of graphic way.” Gyllenhaal’s doubts about the series didn’t quite end there, however, as she also felt she had to come to terms with the political elements of the story. “It is dealing with the most terrifying political situation I could imagine right now,” she says. “That was exciting to me, and scary, because I had to do a lot of learning. Not because it was a political minefield in any way, but more because I had to be very careful that this wasn’t saying anything that I didn’t believe in.” After some consideration she decided the series could even make a difference. “In this part of the world there are people with a vice grip on their own point of view and that doesn’t serve anybody. So I hope — and maybe this is naïve, and I am playing someone that has some naïvety in her — that the people with that vice grip on each side of this issue might just for 10 seconds consider the situation from the other side.” That Gyllenhaal’s early doubts were dispelled by the quality of the writing backs up executive producer Greg Brenman’s assertion

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that the best work will always attract a strong cast. “It often starts with the material,” Brenman says. “I think when you have got good material, a great cast is attracted to it. And I think TV is increasingly a more interesting arena than film, for the discerning artist. If you can then bring them a show that will cast them in a character that is going to develop over many hours, I think that is a very interesting opportunity and proposition for them. There is an increasing migration of film talent to TV and that is partly why. Great material will encourage great talent.” Brenman adds: “I think Hugo Blick is as talented as any writer working in Hollywood and if you talk to him, he will say to you, ‘Where in Hollywood would I get the opportu-

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Hugo Blick directs the honourable Woman SHooting the honourable Woman on the streets of london. abi bach: “You just get a great sense of london, and seeing the landmarks in passing”

nity to tell a story over seven hours?’.” Andrew Buchan, who plays Nessa’s brother Ephra, echoes this point. “What attracted me was the writing, and particularly that the script didn’t go in a straight line,” he says. “When I read the piece I quickly realised I had never seen anything like it before. I really liked the way my character related to my sister, Nessa, and the fact that while Ephra isn’t a bad person, he ends up doing bad things.” With Blick serving as producer, writer and

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director, also producing was Abi Bach who decided that, despite continuity issues, all the London work should be done in one block, and that she would move the cast to Morocco only after all the London work was complete. This meant that many of the scenes weren’t shot in chronological order — a situation that Gyllenhaal embraced. “There was no way to follow the emotional rhythm when you’re filming episode one, four and seven all in the same day. So what happens is that all this wild, unconscious different rhythm comes out that I think is much more human, much more real, much more something that somewhere we can relate to even if it’s unfamiliar,” she says. “As an actress I found it incredibly freeing — it’s not like ‘I already broke down in this scene and now I have to hold it together…’ No just whatever happens, happens, and it’s allowed.” “I wanted the crew to be in one particular place long enough to get to work well with each other,” Bach says. “So we were out at Langley park [in Buckinghamshire, outside London] at a place we constructed for the interiors of Nessa’s apartment and business, and then we shot the exteriors in central London.” Central London looks particularly striking in the series. “We film a sequence [in episode one] where the whole family is going to a musical event at the Royal College of Music. In that sequence we need Maggie to be running through Kensington Gardens up to the Statue of Physical Energy, so you’ve got the Royal Albert Hall in the background for some of that,” she says. “That first episode, especially, has got some great shots in it. You just get a great sense of London, and seeing some of the landmarks in passing. There was one shot where we’re driving past the Houses of Parliament and there’s a reflection of Big Ben in the car.” Was that intentional? “Yes we wanted that shot,” Blick says. “And we were lucky, it worked.” He also commended Gyllenhaal’s running action: “So often when you film people running, the camera has to go all over the place to follow them. But this was clean, dead straight, very purposeful.” Bach adds: “What I love about Hugo’s work is the way he shoots things. There are wonderful moments of reflections, or people in profile — he has this way of including shots in his pieces that other people may not think about.” Gyllenhaal, who comes from a Hollywood dynasty and whose long list of credits includes Donnie Darko (2001), Secretary (2002), The Dark Knight (2008) and Crazy Heart (2009), is thankful that she fought her early doubts about accepting the role of Nessa: “I can honestly say this is the piece of work I am the most proud of in my career.”

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Greenwichâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s old royal naval college stands in for a Berlin museum in muppets most Wanted

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F E AT U R E

WE’RE SO EASILY FOOLED

FEATURE - DOUBLES

AS THE MUPPETS MOVIE RECENTLY DEMONSTRATED, YOU CAN SHOOT THE WHOLE WORLD IN THE UK, IF YOU KNOW THE RIGHT PEOPLE AND THE RIGHT PLACES. SARAH COOPER REPORTS

HE NEXT time you see The White House featured on the big screen, you might want to look a little bit harder. Because while you may think you are seeing America’s most iconic building, what you might actually be seeing is Hylands House in Essex, a county in the south east of England, which doubled for the famous residence in the romantic comedy Chasing Liberty (2004). More recently, London has doubled for everywhere from Shanghai in Skyfall (2012) to Washington DC in Philomena (2013); Moscow in Red 2 (2013) to Manhattan in Rush (2013). Meanwhile the rest of the UK regularly stands in for other locations, from Glasgow doubling for Philadelphia in World War Z (2013), to Manchester and Liverpool together making a convincing 1940s Brooklyn in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). “You can make London play 20 different countries, there is such a huge variety,” says Ali James, location manager on Disney’s Muppets Most Wanted, which shot in the UK from January to April 2013. Billed as an international caper, the film sees the gang embark on a journey covering Berlin, Madrid, Dublin, Russia and LA — but the production was able to find all of its locations in London and the south east of England. “It really highlights the diversity of what London can do, and I don’t think anything was compromised by squeezing it all in to one city,” says James, who chose a number of well-trodden film locations in the capital including Greenwich’s Old Royal Naval College, which doubled up as the exterior of a Berlin museum and Australia House (which was used as Gringotts Wizarding Bank in the Harry Potter films) for the same museum’s interior. James found the perfect setting for the film’s Madrid exteriors in ///

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a collection of modern classics

FIRMDALE HOTELS LONDON: HAM YARD HOTEL THE SOHO HOTEL CHARLOTTE STREET HOTEL COVENT GARDEN HOTEL HAYMARKET HOTEL KNIGHTSBRIDGE HOTEL NUMBER SIXTEEN DORSET SQUARE HOTEL NEW YORK: CROSBY STREET HOTEL

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Ali JAmes “It’s dIffIcult to fInd locatIons In london that aren’t fIlm-frIendly these days”

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the form of the courtyard outside London’s Guildhall, the first time the venue has been used in a feature film. The team was helped by the fact that the sun decided to shine on the day of the shoot. “It worked really well, because it’s a lovely open plaza and we added cafe-style set decorations and a Spanish flag and suddenly we were in the centre of Madrid,” James says. London’s Freemasons’ Hall, which previously stood in for a baghdad palace in the 2010 film Green Zone, was used to recreate both the inside of a Madrid museum and the city’s train station, thanks to a few strategically placed palm trees. Meanwhile The House of Detention in London’s Clerkenwell, a prison building dating back to the 1800s, worked well as the interior of a Dublin bank thanks to its labyrinthine complex of vaults and tunnels. The production was also given permission to shoot inside two of London’s iconic theatres — Wyndham’s and Richmond — which stood in for theatre interiors in berlin and Madrid. “Wyndham’s is a lovely blue colour which seemed right for berlin and Richmond is a plush red for Spain, so from a design point of view they worked really nicely,” says James, who worked closely with Film London, the City of London Police and the Corporation of London to ensure the shoot went smoothly, particularly when it came to a road closure at Trinity Square, which doubled for Dublin. “It’s difficult to find locations in London that aren’t film-friendly these days,” says James, who even managed to find a stand-in for LA’s Union Station in the form of bluebell Railway in the county of Sussex, which has been used in numerous features including, most recently, The Invisible Woman (2013). Thanks to some tight camera shots and lots of light the production was able to pull it off, helped partly by the fact that the team at bluebell Railway are so geared up to hosting big and complicated film shoots. “It is one of the most well used filming locations in the world, and trains are not the easiest things to use, so going somewhere where we could have a lot of control made a big difference,” James says. The production also decamped to RAF Upper Heyford, an old airforce base in Oxfordshire, in order to replicate a Russian prison camp, made all the more believable by the fact that the temperatures dropped below freezing during the shoot. In fact, the UK is fast becoming the go-to location for international productions looking for a suitable stand-in for Moscow. Lionsgate’s action thriller Mortdecai (2014), starring Johnny Depp as an art dealer who travels to Moscow to recover a stolen painting, used various London locations — including Lambeth bridge, Greenwich Old Royal Naval College (as a stand-in for Red Square) and the Royal Albert Way in Newham, which doubled for Moscow during the film’s 2013 UK shoot. “There was dressing signage and we brought in Russian cars, because there were action chase sequences, but it was very doable,” says the film’s location manager Jason Wheeler, who was impressed by the number of potentially suitable locations on offer in the capital. “There were lots of great options for us, and lots of interesting and fun alternatives that we didn’t ultimately use, but I’m sure they will get used by other productions and films in the future,” he says. Kenneth branagh’s espionage thriller Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014) used the UK city of Liverpool to double for Moscow. As the former centre of the shipping industry it had exactly the grand, imperial

Brad Pitt is Gerry Lane in WorLd War Z (2013), from Paramount Pictures and skydance Productions in association With hemisPhere media caPitaL and Gk fiLms. Photo: JaaP BuitendiJk. ©2013 Paramount Pictures. aLL riGhts reserved.

look that the production was searching for. “Liverpool is a busy city but not as busy as the capital, so it gave the production more freedom and control as they were able to lock down the area they wanted to shoot in and have free rein,” says Creative England’s head of production services Kaye Elliott, who worked closely with the Jack Ryan team to help facilitate the shoot, together with Liverpool’s dedicated Film Office. With its wide streets and Victorian architecture, Liverpool has also proved a popular choice with productions looking to replicate US cities, including Captain America: The First Avenger, where Liverpool’s Stanley Dock was transformed into New York. The city’s film-friendly attitude is another draw for large-scale productions requiring significant road closures. “On Captain America, they were able to enforce six road closures over two weeks which would have been hard to do anywhere else,” Elliott says. One of the big draws for incoming international productions whose shoots are based out of any of the south east’s leading studios — Pinewood, Shep- ///

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feature - doubles

London doubLes for Washington in Philomena (2013)

perton, elstree, longcross, Warner bros. studios leavsden — is the close proximity to such a wide range of locations, from the urban sprawl of the capital to the rolling countryside, historical buildings and picturesque villages of the surrounding counties — all of which regularly double as both european and us locations. “It’s all about logistics. If the majority of the production is going to happen in london, then it doesn’t make sense to go to another country for two days, so if it works from a creative point of view to keep it in and around london, then you’ve got a solution,” Film london’s senior inward investment manager david shepheard says. That was exactly what happened in the case of Ron Howard’s Rush (2013). For a production based largely out of london, it didn’t make sense to travel to different international race tracks. Instead Howard shot at Cadwell Park track in lincolnshire, donington Park in leicestershire and brands Hatch in Kent as well as at blackbushe Airport on

the border of the counties of surrey and Hampshire, all of which doubled for several F1 track locations including suzuka Circuit (Japan), Nürburgring (Germany), and Autodromo di Monza and Fiorano Circuit (Italy). “What the uK offers is multiple different looking locations within a relatively short distance,” says Chris Moore, location manager on George Clooney’s wartime thriller The Monuments Men (2014), which decamped from Germany to the uK for two weeks last May after struggling to find a double for the French beach code-named omaha. After shooting on Camber sands in east sussex, a vast sandy beach within easy reach of london, the team also headed to the nearby seaside town of Rye,

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Make it in Glasgow!

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glasgow film office

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which was used as a stand-in for a German town thanks to its medieval architecture, and to Buckinghamshire, which doubled-up as rural France. “We shot a French village in Buckinghamshire, then 20 minutes up the road we shot a German farmhouse and then another 15 minutes another way we shot something that doubles for the Belgian landscape,” Moore says, adding: “That’s what makes the UK so attractive.” Fury (2014), which stars Brad Pitt — also set during World War 2 — used the village of Shirburn in Oxfordshire to stand in for a German village and Bovingdon Airfield to double-up as a German equivalent when it came to the UK to shoot last year. Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow, has doubled as San Francisco (Cloud Atlas, 2012) and London (Fast & Furious 6, 2013), and Philadelphia (World War Z, 2013), thanks to its wide streets and grid layout which are reminiscent of US cities, but uncommon in the rest of the UK. “The grid system worked but it was the fact that Glasgow City Council was prepared to close the roads for such a long period of time [shooting took place for 17 consecutive days] that sold it,” says Glasgow Film Office’s Jennifer Reynolds of the World War Z shoot. The Film Office works closely in partnership with Scotland’s public body for the support of the creative industries, Creative Scotland, with all incoming productions, as well as liaising with the police and the City Council to ensure a shoot goes as smoothly as possible. Reynolds believes that Fast & Furious 6 chose to shoot Glasgow for London the following year largely on the back of the success of the World War Z shoot. “They knew that Glasgow City Council was amenable to road closures of this nature for a length of time, so their decision to come was almost as a direct result of that knowledge.” Meanwhile it was the hills of Glasgow that convinced the production team on Cloud Atlas to use the city as a stand-in for San Francisco. “They had been looking at Berlin, but it was too flat and there were too many trees, then they came here and saw the hills and realised it was exactly what they needed,” Reynolds says.

The WhiTe house — better known as Hylands House, just outside london. PHoto: GraHam ricHter

The production also shot at Glasgow University and a stately home outside of the city. “You can get from the city centre of Glasgow into spectacular countryside within 30 minutes, so if a production is already shooting in the area it makes it more cost-effective for them to use more than one location,” she adds. Having already shot medieval romp Your Highness in Northern Ireland in 2009 — and witnessing some of the breathtaking locations used in HBO’s Game Of Thrones (2011-) — Universal decided to return to Belfast for its latest medieval fantasy feature Dracula Untold (2014), which sees the country doubling as Transylvania. The crew was given permission to shoot at the Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland’s most popular tourist destination, for an entire day, using the stunning rock formation in the sea to double as a fictional mountain in Transylvania. Location manager Catherine Geary was able to find the majority of locations within easy reach of Belfast, including Divis Mountain, a former military base to the west of the city, which again was a perfect match for Transylvania. “When it comes to the UK as a whole, it’s about being able to offer the complete package,” says the British Film Commission’s senior production executive Samantha Perahia, who works closely with international productions shooting in the UK. “Tax reliefs serve to keep us competitive, but productions have always come to us because of the infrastructure, the talent, and the different locations all within easy travel of each other.”

Our production services experts give free, tailor-made support to productions filming in England outside London.

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Our team is based across the country and can help at every stage, from scouting locations to negotiating and managing permissions. We can connect you to crew, studios and facilities, including post production. We’re here to help your production run smoothly and efficiently every step of the way. Call us on +44 (0)20 8324 2311, or email production@creativeengland.co.uk www.creativeengland.co.uk

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Caitriona Balfe as Claire randall and sam HeugHan as Jamie fraser in Outlander

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making a scene

Scotland haS been choSen aS the location for the new tV SerieS outlander. Julian newby Spoke to producer daVid brown

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MAKING A SCENE - OUTLANDER

UTLANDER received a 16-episode order back in 2013 and production started in September, in Scotland, where the stories are set. Produced by Sony’s Left Bank Pictures, Tall Ship Productions and Story Mining & Supply Company, in association with Sony Pictures Television for the Starz network, the series is based on Diana Gabaldon’s international best-selling series of books, which follow Claire and James as they travel through time between 18th- and 20th-century Scotland. Gabaldon’s seven-book series has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and has appeared in the New York Times best-seller list six times. Claire Randall is a married combat nurse from 1945 who is swept back in time to 1743 and forced to marry Jamie Fraser, a romantic young Scottish warrior. A passionate relationship begins, leaving Claire torn between Jamie and another man in her other life. The series is written and executive produced by Ronald D Moore (Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek: The Next Generation), and the lead roles played by Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan. Series directors include Richard Clarke, John Dahl and Brian Kelly. Outlander has established a dedicated 140,000 sq ft studio and production base near Glasgow, and during the course of filming will have employed around 200 Scotland-based crew, and over 2,000 extras from Scotland and around the UK. And as is happening all over the UK, this visiting production is establishing a production infrastructure that will last way beyond this timetravel epic. According to the series’ UK producer David Brown, in July last year when he first entered the Isola Building, a disused factory in Cumbernauld, Scotland, “water was coming through the ceiling in this office”. Today it is known as Wardpark Studios, set just off the M90 motorway outside Glasgow and will remain as a working studio after the series has left. “Left Bank, the UK production company, looked at both New Zealand and Eastern Europe to see if they presented alternatives and the numbers were coming out that the UK was more cost-effective,” Brown says. “And bearing in mind the subject material was set here — that and a combination of things that told us, yes, this was the place to go. Eastern Europe and New Zealand were not coming in cheaper, and that’s happening more now. Once you get into a more complex production, the cost savings you could get in other places start to be outweighed by other factors, like transport, living costs and the need to bring in more specialist crew.” The proximity of Wardpark, both to the city of Glasgow and the Scottish countryside, also appealed to the production team. But even when the storyline moves to France and actors and crew go with it, headquarters will remain in

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OUTLANDER MADE THE MOST OF THE WILD SCOTTISH LANDSCAPES CLOSE TO WARDPARK STUDIOS

Cumbernauld. “We will maintain our production base here and use the crew that has gained a huge amount of skill. And we know it will be more cost-effective to maintain the base here than in France,” Brown says. It’s difficult not to make comparisons between Outlander, Da Vinci’s Demons (2013-) and the established hit Game Of Thrones (2011- ): all historical fantasy costume action series with high production values, huge casts, cult followings and the potential for longevity; all making the most of non-traditional studio space and the nearby wild and varying landscapes of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland respectively; and all part-funded by the new UK High-end TV Tax Relief that has been credited with boosting television production right across the UK. British Chancellor George Osbourne was quick to highlight the benefits when Outlander’s arrival was announced back in July 2013. “I hope that this series will make the most of the stunning landscape and the talented actors, crew and

DAVID BROWN “THIS WAS THE PLACE TO GO. EASTERN EUROPE AND NEW ZEALAND WERE NOT COMING IN CHEAPER, AND THAT’S HAPPENING MORE NOW”

facilities that Scotland has to offer,” he said at the time, adding: “This is an exciting development for television in Scotland and shows the clear benefit of the UK’s high-end TV tax credits.” This development is also a response to welldocumented changes in viewing habits, stimulated in part by television production adopting film-quality talent and production values. Digital technologies which allow higher-quality viewing in the home, and greater viewer choice when it comes to how and when we decide to consume the high-quality drama on offer today, has also made an impact. “It’s a growing phenomenon, the ability to get that fix of entertainment in 50 minutes rather than the investment a film requires the viewer to make. You get rewarded for that investment in films, but episodic TV in terms of the viewer’s experience is a new thing,” Brown says. “We all know about the habit of talking about Breaking Bad around the water cooler and that’s growing. You come in from work, you sit for 50 minutes, and you get your hit and off you go. It’s the growth of everything from TV-ondemand to set-top boxes and Netflix — these services are content providers and they’re also commissioning these series. We’ve seen a kind of mini-revolution in the way people are viewing and investments are being made, and the UK is extremely good at reacting to that. “There are big changes happening and it’s wonderful to be at the centre of it. What it’s doing in terms of training and the growth in personnel, the skill set that’s developed in handling a show of this length and depth is great. And the appeal of doing something at home in Scotland — creating a studio space and being involved in the revolution within the Scottish business — that was what drew me to this.”

•

25/04/14 15:33

SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS BRITISH FILM COMMISSION NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD

BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE (BFI) 21 Stephen Street London W1T 1LN +44 (0)20 7255 1444 www.bfi.org.uk

CHAIR OF THE BRITISH FILM COMMISSION ADVISORY BOARD: IAIN SMITH British Film Commission Suite 6.10 56 The Tea Building Shoreditch High Street London E1 6JJ +44 (0)20 7613 7675 enquiries@britishfilm commission.org.uk www.britishfilmcommission.org.uk

DEPARTMENT FOR CULTURE, MEDIA & SPORT (DCMS) 100 Parliament Street London SW1A 2BQ +44 (0)20 7211 6000 enquiries@culture.gov.uk www.culture.gov.uk UK TRADE & INVESTMENT (UKTI) 1 Victoria Street London SW1H 0ET +44 (0)20 7215 5000 www.ukti.gov.uk BRITISH FILM COMMISSION SPONSORS HARBOTTLE & LEWIS Hanover House 14 Hanover Square London W1S 1HP +44 (0)20 7667 5000 www.harbottle.com PINEWOOD STUDIOS GROUP Pinewood Studios Pinewood Road Iver Heath Bucks SLO 0NH +44 (0)1753 659200 sales@pinewoodgroup.com www.pinewoodgroup.com SAFFERY CHAMPNESS Lion House Red Lion Street London WC1R 4GB +44 (0)20 7841 4000 info@saffery.com www.saffery.com WALT DISNEY 3 Queen Caroline Street London W6 9PE +44 (0)20 8222 1000 www.disney.co.uk WARNER BROS ENTERTAINMENT UK LTD 98 Theobald’s Road London WC1X 8WB +44 (0)20 7984 5400 www.warnerbros.co.uk COUTTS & CO 44O Strand London WC2R 0QS +44 (0) 20 7753 1000 www.coutts.com DOUBLE NEGATIVE VISUAL EFFECTS 160 Great Portland Street London W1W 5QA +44 (0)20 7268 5000 info@dneg.com www.dneg.com ELSTREE STUDIOS Shenley Road Borehamwood Hertfordshire WD6 1JG +44 (0)20 8953 1600 info@elstreestudios.co.uk www.elstreestudios.co.uk

BBC WORLDWIDE Media Centre 201 Wood Lane London W12 7TQ +44 (0) 20 8433 2000 www.bbcworldwide.com BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE (BFI) 21 Stephen Street London W1T 1LN +44 (0)20 7255 1444 www.bfi.org.uk BRITISH SCREEN ADVISORY COUNCIL (BSAC) 3rd Floor 14 Newburgh Street London W1F 7RT +44 (0)20 7287 1111 www.bsac.uk.com CREATIVE ENGLAND 1st Floor College House 32-36 College Green Bristol BS1 5SP +44 (0)20 8324 2311 production@creativeengland.co.uk www.creativeengland.co.uk CREATIVE SCOTLAND Waverley Gate 2-4 Waterloo Place Edinburgh EH1 3EG +44 (0)845 603 6000 enquiries@creativescotland.com www.creativescotland.com CREATIVE SKILLSET Focus Point 21 Caledonian Road London N1 9GB +44 (0)20 7713 9800 info@creativeskillset.org www.creativeskillset.org DIRECTORS UK 3rd & 4th Floor 8-10 Dryden Street London WC2E 9NA +44 (0)20 7240 0009 info@directors.uk.com www.directors.uk.com DOUBLE NEGATIVE VISUAL EFFECTS 160 Great Portland Street London W1W 5QA +44 (0)20 7268 5000 info@dneg.com www.dneg.com FEDERATION OF ENTERTAINMENT UNIONS (FEU) +44 (0)7914 397243 info@feutraining.org www.feutraining.org

FRAMESTORE 19-23 Wells Street London W1T 3PQ +44 (0)20 7344 8000 www.framestore.com

FILM LONDON Suite 6.10 The Tea Building 56 Shoreditch High Street London E1 6JJ +44 (0)20 7613 7676 info@filmlondon.org.uk www.filmlondon.org.uk

WORKING TITLE FILMS 26 Aybrook Street London W1U 4AN +44 (0)20 7307 3000 www.workingtitlefilms.com

FRAMESTORE 19-23 Wells Street London W1T 3PQ +44 (0)20 7344 8000 www.framestore.com

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HARBOTTLE & LEWIS Hanover House 14 Hanover Square London W1S 1HP +44 (0)20 7667 5000 www.harbottle.com MAYOR OF LONDON Greater London Authority City Hall The Queen’s Walk London SE1 2AA +44 (0)20 7983 4000 www.london.gov.uk MPC 127 Wardour St, Soho, London W1F 0NL 02074343100 mailbox@moving-picture.com www.moving-picture.com NORTHERN IRELAND SCREEN 3rd Floor Alfred House 21 Alfred Street Belfast BT2 8ED Northern Ireland +44 (0)28 9023 2444 info@northernirelandscreen.co.uk www.northernirelandscreen.co.uk PINEWOOD STUDIOS GROUP Pinewood Studios Pinewood Road Iver Heath Bucks SLO 0NH +44 (0)1753 659200 sales@pinewoodgroup.com www.pinewoodgroup.com PRODUCERS’ ASSOCIATION OF CINEMA & TELEVISION (PACT) 3rd Floor Fitzrovia House 153-157 Cleveland Street London W1T 6QW +44 (0)20 7380 8230 www.pact.co.uk PRODUCTION GUILD OF GREAT BRITAIN Room 329 Main Admin Building Pinewood Studios Pinewood Road Iver Heath Bucks SLO 0NH +44 (0)1753 651767 PG@ProductionGuild.com www.productionguild.com SAFFERY CHAMPNESS Lion House Red Lion Street London WC1R 4GB +44 (0)20 7841 4000 info@saffery.com www.saffery.com UK SCREEN ASSOCIATION 47 Beak Street London W1F 9SE +44 (0)20 7734 6060 angela@ukscreenassociation.co.uk www.ukscreenassociation.co.uk UK TRADE & INVESTMENT (UKTI) 1 Victoria Street London SW1H 0ET +44 (0)20 7215 5000 www.ukti.gov.uk WARNER BROS ENTERTAINMENT UK LTD 98 Theobald’s Road London WC1X 8WB +44 (0)20 7984 5400 www.warnerbros.co.uk WELSH GOVERNMENT Cathays Park Cardiff CF10 3NQ +44 (0)1443 845500 wag-en@mailuk.custhelp.com www.wales.gov.uk

WIGGIN 10th Floor, Met Building 22 Percy Street London W1T 2BU +44 (0) 20 7612 9612 law@wiggin.co.uk www.wiggin.co.uk UK FILMING AGENCIES CREATIVE ENGLAND 1st Floor College House 32-36 College Green Bristol BS1 5SP +44 (0)20 8324 2311 production@creativeengland.co.uk www.creativeengland.co.uk FILM LONDON Suite 6.10 The Tea Building 56 Shoreditch High Street London E1 6JJ +44 (0)20 7613 7676 info@filmlondon.org.uk www.filmlondon.org.uk

71 SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS

BRITISH FILM COMMISSION FUNDERS

NORTHERN FILM AND MEDIA BALTIC Centre South Shore Road Gateshead NE8 3BA +44 (0)191 440 4940 info@northernmedia.org www.northernmedia.org NORTHERN IRELAND SCREEN 3rd Floor Alfred House 21 Alfred Street BelfastBT2 8ED Northern Ireland +44 (0)28 9023 2444 info@northernirelandscreen.co.uk www.northernirelandscreen.co.uk CREATIVE SCOTLAND Waverley Gate 2-4 Waterloo Place Edinburgh EH1 3EG +44 (0)845 603 6000 enquiries@creativescotland.com www.creativescotland.com WALES SCREEN COMMISSION Welsh Government Creative Sector 1st Floor North QED Treforest Ind. Est Pontypridd CF37 5YR +44 (0)300 061 5634 enquiry@walesscreen commission.co.uk www.walesscreencommission.com LONDON FILMING PARTNERSHIP - GOLD MEMBER AIR NEW ZEALAND 3rd Floor The Triangle 5-17 Hammersmith Grove London W6 0LG +44(0)20 8600 7600 www.airnewzealand.co.nz ALEXANDRA PALACE Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace Way London N22 7AY +44 (0)20 8365 2121 www.alexandrapalace.com ELSTREE STUDIOS Shenley Road Borehamwood Hertfordshire WD6 1JG +44 (0)20 8953 1600 info@elstreestudios.co.uk www.elstreestudios.co.uk THE HONOURABLE SOCIETY OF INNER TEMPLE +44 (0)20 7797 8250 www.innertemple.org.uk THE HONOURABLE SOCIETY OF MIDDLE TEMPLE +44 (0)20 7427 4800 www.middletemple.org.uk

23/04/14 15:50

SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS/ADVERTISERS INDEX

THE LANGHAM LONDON 1C Portland Palce Westminster London W1B 1JA +44 (0)20 7636 1000 london.langhamhotels.co.uk

SALT FILM The Old Bra Factory 18a Acton Lane London NW10 8ts +44 (0)20 7637 7885 info@saltfilm.com www.saltfilm.com

LIVETTS LAUNCHES Eagle Wharf 53 Lafone Street London SE1 2LX +44 (0)20 7378 1211 info@livetts.co.uk www.livettslaunches.co.uk

UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND Freemason’s Hall 60 Great Queen Street London WC2B 5AZ +44 (0)20 7831 9811 www.ugle.org.uk

THE LONDON LEGACY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION Level 10 1 Stratford Place Montfichet Road London E20 1EJ +44 (0)20 3288 1800 info@londonlegacy.co.uk www.londonlegacy.co.uk THE NATIONAL TRUST Central Office Heelis Kemble Drive Swindon SN2 2NA +44 (0)1793 817400 enquiries@nationaltrust.org.uk www.nationaltrust.org.uk NVIZIBLE 8/9 Carlisle Street London W1D 3BP +44 (0)20 3167 3860 studio@nvizible.com www.nvizible.com

UNIVERSITY OF LONDON Senate House Malet Street London WC1E 7HU +44 (0)20 7862 8000 www.london.ac.uk LONDON FILMING PARTNERSHIP - SILVER MEMBER 3 MILLS STUDIO 3 Mills Studios Three Mill Lane London E3 3DU +44 (0)20 8215 3330 www.3mills.com

THE GORING HOTEL 15 Beeston Place London SW1W 0JW +44 (0)20 7396 9000 www.thegoring.com KUDOS FILM & TV 12-14 Amwell Street London EC1R 1UQ +44 (0)20 7812 3270 info@kudosfilmandtv.com www.kudosproductions.co.uk LOLA POST PRODUCTION 14-16 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 8QW +44 (0)20 7907 7878 www.lola-post.com LONDON CITY AIRPORT London City Airport Limited City Aviation House Royal Docks London E16 2PB +44 (0)20 7646 0989 www.londoncityairport.com NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM The Natural History Museum Cromwell Road London SW7 5BD +44 (0)20 7942 5273 www.nhm.ac.uk/venues

PINEWOOD STUDIOS GROUP Pinewood Studios Pinewood Road Iver Heath Bucks SLO 0NH +44 (0)1753 659200 sales@pinewoodgroup.com www.pinewoodgroup.com ROYAL MUSEUMS GREENWICH National Maritime Museum Greenwich London SE10 9NF +44 (0)20 8858 4422 www.rmg.co.uk SOMERSET HOUSE Somerset House London WC2R 1LA +44 (0)20 7845 4600 info@somersethouse.org.uk www.somersethouse.org.uk SOUTH WEST TRAINS Floor 6 Friars Bridge Court 41 - 45 Blackfriars Road London SE1 8NZ +44 (0)20 7620 5902 www.southwesttrains.co.uk

DIPLOMAT CRUISES Diplomat Cruises Ltd 3 More London Riverside London SE1 2RE +44 (0)20 3283 4108 www.diplomatcruises.co.uk

THE O2 Peninsula Square London SE10 0DX +44 (0)20 8463 2149 www.theo2.co.uk

WEMBLEY CITY ESTATES Estate Management 3rd Floor, York House Empire Way Wembley HA9 0PA +44 (0)20 7478 9390 www.wembley.co.uk

FIRMDALE HOTELS Firmdale Hotels Head Office 21 Golden Square London W1F 9JN +44(0)20 7581 4045 www.firmdalehotels.com

OAKWOOD WORLDWIDE 4th Floor 40 Clifton Street London EC2A 4DX +44 (0)20 3402 1479 www.oakwood.com

WEMBLEY STADIUM Wembley London HA9 OWS +44 (0)84 4980 8001 www.wembleystadium.com

ADVERTISERS INDEX 3 MILLS STUDIOS AIR NEW ZEALAND BENTWATERS PARKS BRITISH FILM COMMISSION CAST AND CREW ENTERTAINMEMT SERVICES COUTTS & CO CREATIVE ENGLAND CREATIVE SCOTLAND CREATIVE SKILLSET DIRECTORS UK DIVING SERVICES UK DOUBLE NEGATIVE VISUAL EFFECTS EDINBURGH FILM OFFICE ELSTREE FILM STUDIOS FILM LONDON FIRMDALE HOTELS FREEMASONS’ HALL GLASGOW FILM OFFICE HARBOTTLE AND LEWIS KENT FILM OFFICE LONDON FILMING PARTNERSHIP MOVING PICTURE COMPANY NORTHERN IRELAND SCREEN PINEWOOD STUDIOS GROUP SAFFREY CHAMPNESS THE THIRD FLOOR LONDON INC VIRGIN ATLANTIC WALES SCREEN COMMISSION WARNER BROS.STUDIOS LEAVESDEN

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14 3 16 INSIDE FRONT COVER 1 26 67 8 28 16 54 12 57 20 5 64 56 66 22 20 INSIDE BACK COVER 12 OUTSIDE BACK COVER 48 24 17 27 52 45

28/04/14 10:10

www.filmlondon.org.uk/lfp @Film_London

Creative connections that transform

Film London thanks the Gold Members of the London Filming Partnership for their support and commitment to encouraging production in the capital.

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For over 30 years Air New Zealand has connected the film and entertainment hubs of London and LA with a daily flight.

The National Trust Film Unit is dedicated to offering filmmakers the opportunity to shoot in some of the UK’s most iconic locations.

Alexandra Palace harbours the ultimate location from a variety of perfect angles for feature films, commercials, photo shoots, period dramas and more.

Nvizible is a team of visual effects artists, supervisors and production staff based in Soho.

Elstree Studios boasts seven film and television stages, plus a green screen stage, providing more than 60,000ft² of stage space.

The Production Guild of Great Britain represents professionals working across production.

Steeped in a rich history, the Inner Temple offers a varied film location in the heart of London, including the famous Temple Church.

London’s newest visitor destination, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a place unlike any other.

The historic buildings, cobbled streets and atmospheric gas lighting of Middle Temple lend itself as an ideal filming location.

Location management company Salt provides productions with locations, location managers, location scouts and stills producers.

The Langham is one of the largest and best known traditional style grand hotels in London.

Senate House is a first-rate venue with grand vistas and intimate spaces, versatile facilities, a central London location and access to the latest technologies.

Livett’s Launches has a vast body of experience in offering a wide range of marine services to the production industries.

Freemasons’ Hall is the headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England. Built in 19271932, it is one of the finest Art Deco buildings in England.

25/04/14 15:49

NORTHERN IRELAND The moST compacT 5,196 Square mIleS of back-loT IN The world. With its strong crew base, stunning locations, studio facilities and financial incentives, Northern Ireland is becoming one of the most sought-after filming locations for both film and television productions.

Northern Ireland Screen is here to help facilitate your project and provides free hands-on assistance and guidance. Please contact us for more information. info@northernirelandscreen.co.uk www.northernirelandscreen.co.uk

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22/04/14 16:53