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**picard1109** · 08-04-2010, 09:08 AM

That particular location is a busy thoroughfare and there's a bus stop right beside it, so you can get as close as you like. I could have approached PF but, in typical British fashion, held back. Still kicking myself but hey ho...better to have erred on the side of caution. The man was working, after all.

BTW, I've seen somewhere (perhaps the other Spooks forum...?) some photos from a golf course location, and speculation whether a young blond woman was a stand-in for Ros... I'm not sure now...I think she may be the production assistant I saw yesterday - certainly looks similar from the back... Thoughts?

Beatriz · (This post was last modified: 08-04-2010 09:32 AM by Beatriz.)

Was that Foxhills? We talked about it here... But I think I can remember this blonde woman running towards Harry's stunt double... Hmmm
You can see the pictures on the Facebook fan page of Foxhills

tyme4t · 08-04-2010, 10:26 AM

Thanks for the pics picard1109! I love seeing behind-the-scenes and seeing the people behind the actor's masks. Very cool!
Now...if I could just convince KUDOS to film and episode in Nova Scotia....

**Silktie** · 08-04-2010, 12:24 PM

Picard, can you give more details on the filming process itself? How many takes did they do?
Did they film with only one camera, or did they use two to get different angles on the same take? Could you see whether PF did different things for different takes, or were they all basically the same?

Was there a lot of other spectators hanging around? Did any of them approach the actors or crew?
Hope this is all right in this thread.

**JHyde** · 08-04-2010, 12:30 PM

No worries, Silktie. You're fine. That's exactly the sort of thing this thread is here for.

**picard1109** · 09-04-2010, 02:50 AM

(08-04-2010 12:24 PM)Silktie Wrote: Picard, can you give more details on the filming process itself? How many takes did they do?
Did they film with only one camera, or did they use two to get different angles on the same take? Could you see whether PF did different things for different takes, or were they all basically the same?

Was there a lot of other spectators hanging around? Did any of them approach the actors or crew?
Hope this is all right in this thread.

Silktie...let's see what I can remember...

No. of takes: the scene with Harry walking along the path took about 4 takes (excluding the rehearsal for timing), then there was a close-up of Harry talking to the other chap. Again, about another 4 takes, maybe five. It was the usual filming thing: 5 minutes of heavy activity followed by lots of nothing much seeming to happen.

Camera: just one, on a dolly with about 25 ft of track. The camera op was sitting on the dolly and the grip tracked him backwards. I must admit that I was watching PF, not the crew, so didn't take much notice of how the camera was moving on the actors.

Did PF change the way he did things: basically, no. He was consistent as he could be, considering the weather kept changing (from not raining and cold, to drizzle and cold, basically). I couldn't hear what the actors were saying to each other. I think I said on the PF thread that it was really amazing to see Peter Firth 'morph' instantly from being chatty, smiling Peter...to Harry. His face kind of...shapeshifted!

Spectators: surprisingly few, considering it's a known Spooks 'haunt' and a public thoroughfare. A few people stopped to look and a couple took photos but absolutely no one approached. I was there for 1.5 hrs and the only person to approach was me (and I only spoke to a couple of crew members to get info). Actually, I did hear a couple of people mutterng "f&*king politicians" under their breath (or words to that effect). In fact (as I've already said somewhere), a colleague of mine rocked up on her bike, took one look and cycled on - SHE thought she was watching a politician being interviewed for the election! That's not such a mad idea, because that area is used a lot by TV crews, because the House is in the background.

What I did find a bit strange was that there were no unit vehicles around. Now, I've been a borough film officer and I'm married to a retired grip, so I've seen a fair number of locations...and there were no lighting or camera trucks and (what surprised me most, actually) no honey wagon (toilet). They did have a coffee station there but nothing much else. It was very basic, I guess because it's such a public place.

Check the PF thread for other info specifically related to what PF was doing!

Beatriz · 09-04-2010, 08:38 AM

Thank you very much for all your detailed information, is very much appreciated.
The honey wagon thing made me laugh! I didn't know that!

**picard1109** · 09-04-2010, 09:16 AM

You're most welcome.

When I was a borough film officer, it took me ages to work out what a honey wagon was!

'Honey' is a very old euphemism for...poo, basically. Guess what a 'honeypot' was? You'll never think of all those roads called Honeypot Lane in the same light again!

I'm on holiday next week and probably won't have internet access, unless I can piggyback on someone else's wifi. I'll be running into walls from Spooks withdrawal! Taking season 4 on DVD, though, in case I need a fix. I'll miss you guys!

tyme4t · 09-04-2010, 10:05 AM

OK picard1109 - you will be my tour guide if/when I ever make it over to London!!!!
Thanks for the behind the scenes info.

Tea Lady · 09-04-2010, 10:40 AM

Thanks for the info Picard1109. I'm not surprised there were no vehicles around. Parking restrictions are terrible round there. They probably were all dropped off in a matter of seconds with the equipment, while traffic wardens flocked to the scene !!

I do find it interesting though, that for what probably will be a 2-3 minute scene on the show, Harry meeting an asset, it took them over 1.5 hours !! No wonder it takes around 6 months to film just 8 episodes. Amazing.