The hidden stars of British film
Come behind the scenes and meet the people responsible for the UK film industry's meteoric rise in fortunes

WRITER: JOHN C SILCOX
PHOTOGRAPHY: NICK BALLON

STORY FIRST APPEARED HERE IN AUDI MAGAZINE

Captain America: The Winter Soldier sounds like a US blockbuster. It’s a sequel that delivers superstars, action sequences and special effects in abundance. But rather than being filmed in sun-soaked California, it was actually made almost entirely in Britain.

The Captain America picture is one of many ‘Hollywood’ productions that have recently crossed the Atlantic to benefit from this country’s studio infrastructure and world-leading technicians. Recently introduced tax incentives help, too. 

Spending on film production in the UK soared by 14 per cent in 2013 to an all-time high of more than £1 billion. Recent years have seen major American film studios, including Warner Brothers and Disney, making sizeable investments in the UK. And two of 2015’s most eagerly anticipated films, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens and The Avengers: Age Of Ultron, will both bear a ‘Made in Britain’ stamp. 

As official car partner for Bafta, Audi is excited by this success – a success most visible in the emergence of British stars such as Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley. But actors aren’t the only ones responsible for the rise in UK film’s good fortunes. Which is why Audi Magazine is delving behind the scenes to meet some of the secret stars of British film. ‘Action!’ 

When not on set, Tina Jones can be found haggling with street vendors in India, negotiating with taxidermists in Wales or tracking down glass blowers in Slovakia.

‘I’m always on the lookout for original suppliers to provide objects and materials I need for each film,’ the Emmy-winning set decorator explains. ‘Audiences need to be transported. I have to surprise them with suitably outlandish adornment.’

A set decorator is responsible for the furnishings, drapery, lighting fixtures, artwork and many of the other objects seen on screen. These aren’t to be confused with the props handled by the actors, which would be provided by a different department. Budget restrictions often lead Jones to be creative, with polyester cloth doubling for the finest of silks, and dyed paper made to look like expensive leather. The results can be astonishing. 

‘There’s a lovely moment – before the unit arrives and trashes it – when you’re in a great big, vast place, and it’s like stepping into a canvas,’ she tells us. ‘You’re standing in the middle of something that has cost millions that will only get seen on film for a few seconds – it’s truly magical.’

'I hate to say I’m an artist: it sounds so pretentious.’ That’s Douglas Ingram, who left school at 16 for a job drafting plans of kitchens. But it’s hard to find a better word to describe a man who can make Colin Firth or Ray Winstone jump out of a storyboard he has intricately penned.

Ingram’s skill with a pencil was first put to use on a film storyboard in 1995, when he worked on Richard III starring Ian McKellen. Since then he has worked on more than 80 films, including this year’s acclaimed The Grand Budapest Hotel. 

‘It’s not all about sketching,’ says Ingram. ‘You need to understand a story, be logical and very visually minded to draw a storyboard, as they play a very technical role in the process of filmmaking.’ 

Storyboards are used as a blueprint, and enable the director to try out a number of different sequences without having to film them all. ‘Sometimes directors will hand you a script and let your imagination do the rest,’ he adds. ‘Watching a finished project and seeing your drawings come to life is an extremely satisfying feeling.’

Editors are visual puzzle-solvers,’ says Justine Wright. ‘For each scene you have a wide, mid-range and close shot, plus a close shot for each character and cutaways to things like hands and feet. I have to decide which order to put them in to best tell the story.’

Wright has just finished work on submarine thriller Black Sea, starring Jude Law. It’s her latest collaboration with the Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald. She usually joins a production when principal photography starts and stays until the film’s final print is released. Each day she scrutinises the previous day’s filming.

‘After spending months staring at an actor’s face in the editing room, you start to pick up on their quirks,’ she confides. ‘Jude does this incredible gurning yawn before each take to loosen up his face. By the end of the film, I found myself mimicking it.’ 

When necessary, she can re-edit a scene to transform its significance. ‘I once had to chop a project to bits,’ she admits. ‘When the lead [Peter O’Toole] saw it again, he proclaimed it had been attacked by a lawnmower!’

What does marmalade sound like? That’s something Oscar-winning sound designer Glenn Freemantle has been pondering for the forthcoming Paddington. After all, it is the famous bear’s favourite snack.

‘Simply recording jam doesn’t sound right,’ he explains. ‘We experimented by shooting Swarfega, custard powder and oil down tubes, before finally ending up with the perfect gloopy noise.’ 

Freemantle insists this sort of approach is the secret of his success. ‘To be good at my job you have to think outside of the box,’ he says. ‘You have to ignore the part of the brain you use for accounting and embrace creativity.’ 

Sound plays a vital role in filmmaking, as Freemantle explains: ‘It is an emotional instrument, like a colour can be. I use it to tell a story, developing an atmosphere that fits the narrative. Sounds can be clear and tight, warm and embracing, or uncomfortable and messy.’

With some 130 film credits to his name, Freemantle is recognised as one of the leaders in his field. This was confirmed at the 2014 Academy Awards, where he took home an Oscar for his sound editing on Gravity. ‘It’s an amazing privilege,’ he says of the accolade. ‘I’m proud of what I and my team managed to achieve.’ 

If you need a spacesuit or 2000 suits of Ancient Greek armour, Grant Pearmain is your man. He has been creating costumes and props for films since the early 1990s, becoming a close collaborator of Gladiator director Ridley Scott. ‘The only limit to what we will make is budget,’ he says, ‘that’s the only limit.’ 

Mostly, Pearmain deals in special effects costumes: ‘Directors have increasingly technical demands. For Prometheus we made what they called ‘life-support units’. There were backpacks, frontpacks and helmets with ridiculously complex electronics. Everything had to be custom-designed, with circuitboards running video LCD displays and providing cooling for the actors, as well as lighting on the spacesuit that could be controlled by the director of photography. He could dim the displays to suit his shot, and in some cases even make them flicker.’ 

Another innovation in his work is 3D scanning. ‘We’ve invested in equipment to create virtual scans of actors,’ says Pearmain. ‘It will enable us to make a costume to an inch-perfect fit without even having to meet them.’

To call 6ft 7in Mark Silk a water baby takes some nerve. But, ever since childhood, this cinematographer has loved swimming – something he combines with his passion for film. ‘Underwater work quickly emerged as something I really wanted to do,’ recalls Silk. ‘At the time, the only reference was Jacques Cousteau. I got my break on a Pepsi commercial, before getting asked to help on a motion picture – it gave me a taste for cinema I have never lost.’

Silk’s eyes light up at the mention of Hollywood. ‘Big scenes, big sets and superstar actors are the dream,’ he beams. ‘Nothing quite compares to being part of a huge production.’ 

Filming under water is notoriously challenging, and requires meticulous planning. ‘If it hasn’t been thought through then make-up will run, sets will disintegrate and costumes will float up above actors’ heads.’ That’s why Silk is in such demand: ‘It’s funny to think that the final scene in Snatch – where Brad Pitt is knocked out and falls through a boxing ring into water – was filmed on a contraption I put together in my garage.’ 

Casting director Kelly Valentine Hendry will sometimes audition as many as 200 different actors in a week. ‘It’s a blur,’ she says. ‘Faces end up merging with one another, and actor’s performances can become interminable. Then someone will walk into the room and surprise you: that’s when you realise you’re on to something.’ 

‘Truly great actors will always be found,’ Hendry adds. ‘I don’t care where people trained or what experience they have. If they can act then they can get the part. I love putting a new face forward for a role.’ And right now Britain is the best place for new stars: ‘We have the best training – even Hollywood has recognised that. 

As well as working on big-budget films, Hendry is often approached by smaller productions looking for help in securing well-known leads: ‘The knack is knowing when to send them the script. If Benedict Cumberbatch has just finished a blockbuster, he will be more likely to be enticed by an indie flick with a tiny budget.’

Being a producer is like being a father and mother of film. So says Kevin Loader, one of Britain’s foremost producers. ‘Making a film is a social act,’ he says. ‘It’s like a strange, slightly dysfunctional family, where the producer must create harmony – getting individual creativity to focus on a common goal for a period of time.’ 

His approach contrasts with the popular picture of the producer – the tyrant in a big office, hiring and firing. ‘There are many different kinds of producer,’ he says. ‘I like to get very hands-on in the process. I love getting up early, having breakfast on set, welcoming actors, unloading equipment and anticipating the magic of the day.’

Alas, the spreadsheets do catch up with him: ‘I’m ultimately responsible for overall financing of projects, and have more than my share of accounting,’ he sighs. As for the state of the British film industry, it’s benefiting from American investment, he says: ‘It’s wonderful that Hollywood wants to make blockbusters here. Thankfully it’s not plundering us for stories.'