AS a location for shooting movies and TV productions, last year was the best-ever for Edinburgh – in terms of money spent and the number of days it was ‘in action’.
Says the capital’s film and TV location bureau, Edinburgh Film Focus, some £4.2 million was directly spent by film and TV productions in the city and its environs – up 34 per cent on the previous year – and the number of ‘filming days’ rose to 1100, up ten per cent on 2008.
Last year, Edinburgh was the location for some parts of the BBC Scotland ‘History of Scotland'; the movie, Outcast; and the TV drama, Garrow’s Law. Plus a TV ad for electrical goods manufacturers, LG.
Says Ros Davis, Film Commissioner for Edinburgh: “Competition for filming locations around the UK is fierce but with the quality package of the ‘Edinburgh City Region’ locations and our experience of filmmaking requirements we were able to attract big European productions such as the French feature film, Imogène, and the German TV drama, White Out, to film in the ‘Edinburgh City Region’.”
Adds Tom Buchanan, the City’s Economic Development leader: “Edinburgh Film Focus does a great job in marketing the region to filmmakers and, together with the Council and Lothian & Borders Police, has been working hard to ensure that Edinburgh remains a quality, film-friendly location. These figures indicate just how successful their efforts have been and show that Edinburgh punches well above its weight as a filming destination.”
EFF was set up by Edinburgh District Council and Lothian Regional Council 20 years ago and is funded by City of Edinburgh Council Economic Development, East Lothian, West Lothian and Scottish Borders councils.
Last year, it handled over 500 enquiries, with 339 productions deciding to film in the ‘Edinburgh City Region’, including the following:
Feature films
Outcast
Imogene
Cosi
The Wicker Tree
TV drama
Whiteout
Dani’s House
Garrow’s Law
TV documentary
History of Scotland
Vet School
TV commercials
LG
T-mobile
Light TV entertainment
Antiques Roadshow – Hopetoun
Antiques Roadshow – Abbotsford
Celebrity Ghost Hunt
Come Dine With Me
Got to Dance
