What
do films like Trainspotting,
TV dramas like Rebus
and more documentaries and period dramas than you can shake a stick
at all have in common?
Well, they have all come out of Edinburgh’s moving images
industry. But did you ever wonder how the creative teams behind
these projects knew how to get permission for filming, how to hire
local crew, recruit extras, feed everyone and get their vehicles
parked?
The answer is they got in touch with Edinburgh Film
Focus.
Edinburgh Film Focus is the Council-funded Film Office for
Edinburgh, the Lothians and the Scottish Borders. Staffed by Ros
Davis and Rosie Ellison, this dynamic duo dealt with 530 enquiries
that turned into 330 pieces of commercial film shot in Edinburgh
last year.
In 2008 alone, the amount of money brought into Edinburgh by
filming TV dramas, commercials and feature films was
£3,065,307.
Edinburgh the Film Friendly City
Filmmakers have been coming to Edinburgh since 1935 when Alfred
Hitchcock featured the iconic Forth Bridge in his mystery thriller
The 39
Steps. Edinburgh has also nurtured its own home grown
talent but it was not until the 1990s that the city decided to
actively work on attracting productions with a vision of growing a
profitable and exciting moving images industry.
Ros Davis, Production Liaison Manager
for Edinburgh Film Focus explains why Edinburgh was right for
film:
‘Edinburgh was well known for its arts festivals but the city
recognised the importance of looking for ways to broaden its
appeal, to add to the cultural quality of life for its citizens at
the same time as attracting new generations of tourists,
conferences and businesses.
’The benefits of events and films and TV programmes in terms of
direct spend and marketing the city’s image was obvious in this
endeavour. Edinburgh Film Focus was set up to market
Edinburgh and the surrounding regions as filming locations.
It was the first office of its kind in Scotland.
‘Thankfully the people of the City Region really embraced the
idea and have became an important part of the broader can-do
attitude reflected by Edinburgh Council resulting in a really
positive attitude to facilitating filmmakers and production
crews.’
Location, Location, Location
As you’d expect, the main locations filmmakers ask for are the
historic streets, period locations and views of Edinburgh. Right
from the start, Edinburgh Film Focus made sure they had these
locations covered, Ros remembers how it began:
‘Right at the start we went out and researched these period
locations. We spoke to the owners and the private bodies who manage
them about filmmaking and to find out if they were interested.
‘The outcome was a really comprehensive locations
database . The database holds photographs of the
locations and Edinburgh Film Focus keeps a record of contact
details and background information. 
‘The database is growing all the time and we are always on the
lookout for new filming locations. It’s certainly not just about
castles and iconic images of Edinburgh’s Georgian streets.
‘There are a full spectrum of locations on offer. A good example
is Outcast,
a new film set in Ireland and Edinburgh. They spent a lot of time
filming out at Sighthill, on housing estates, which was a big part
of their story.’
If you are the owner or manager of a property or location that
you think might look great on film get in contact with Edinburgh
Film Focus. You never know, your warehouse, garden, stately home or
fire escape could be up on the silver screen.
Local Creative Talent
It’s no secret that living
in Edinburgh offers a fantastic quality of life.
Scotland’s capital city has won the UK
Best City award thirteen times over the past
nine years, including the Guardian / Observer Reader Travel award
for nine years running.
The good news now is that if you decide to study
at the Screen Academy
for Scotland or at one of the 5 other colleges
offering moving images courses in Edinburgh there is a growing
industry base in the city looking to employ new talent and
crew.
The same is true if you are already working in moving images and
are thinking of moving to Edinburgh but are not sure how to get
started or let people know you are looking for work. Edinburgh Film
Focus is happy to hear from people and can add CVs and contact
details onto their production guide
online.
Each year Scottish
Screen, the National development agency for the Screen
Industries in Scotland provides industry-approved skills
development and on-the-job experience in production, technical,
craft and design areas through the
New Entrants Programme.
To celebrate all of this local talent a new initiative called
Made in Edinburgh was launched in March 2009
to inspire, involve and inform local audiences of Edinburgh's
unique relationship with film by showing a selection of films
inspired by Edinburgh locations or produced by Edinburgh’s inspired
talent.
Love Film Love Edinburgh
Animation is a big part of the moving images sector in Edinburgh
and became even bigger in 2003 when Oscar-nominated animator and
film director Sylvain Chomet decided to found an animation studio
in Edinburgh, Django Films.
Chomet’s Oscar-nominated feature length animation Belleville
Rendez-vous was shown at the Edinburgh Film Festival.
Chomet was so enchanted with Edinburgh when he came
up to the city for the screening that he decided to move his studio
to the city.
Chomet’s relocation to Edinburgh is testament, not only to the
beauty and excitement that Edinburgh offers creative people as a
permanent home, but also to the resident moving images community
who welcomed him.
As well as providing work for local animators, Django Films are
training new animators and bringing new creative talent into the
city, making it a great example of how everybody can benefit when a
new industry is welcomed and developed through the dedication and
hard work of everyone involved.
All images © Edinburgh Film
Focus
