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HINTERLAND : BEHIND THE SCENE OF THE CRIME
Gareth Ludkin goes behind-the-scenes of Hinterland , the brand new crime drama series set to put Wales on the map . pic : HINTERLAND FILMS
With its rugged costal scenery , winding country lanes and beautifully stark vistas , the wilds of Aberystwyth provide the perfect setting for murder , mystery and deception in what is set to be one of the most anticipated Welsh TV series to hit our screens in recent years . A cinematic crime drama with huge ambition and the potential to match early comparisons with Scandinavian crime dramas such as Wallander and The Killing , Hinterland – or Mathias given its Welsh title – is the first dual language series to be filmed in both Welsh and English since A Mind To Kill in 1994 . The series sees four 90-minute episodes set in the “ hinterland ” around Aberystwyth , with Richard Harrington playing the part of Tom Mathias , a renowned Metropolitan police officer drafted in to help the provincial police force . I was lucky enough to find myself on set midway through the filming of a climactic episode four , and with a morning of behind-the-scenes access , I discovered a series bubbling with intrigue , energy and excitement . Although restricted to a small budget , Hinterland is an extremely ambitious projects , and over the morning , I witnessed a small but busy set full of makeup artists , cameramen , sound engineers , production assistants and actors all squeezed into a small room attempting to capture just a few sentences of action . On average , the crew expect to film three and a half minutes of footage a day , but with this production being filmed in Welsh and English , this time is doubled . In total , the crew will have been on set for around seven months , living out of hotels and enduring long days on location in the surrounding
BUZZ 26 countryside and it ’ s typically inclement . Although demanding , producer Ed Talworth explains how important it has been for the production team to base themselves in the area , as much of the inspiration and direction of the show feeds off the rugged Welsh landscape and the wild weather which has helped created some suitably stark and atmospheric scenery perfect for a gritty crime drama . As the setting for much of the action , the cast have spent a lot of time in cold , wet and wintery conditions in order to capture the bleak landscapes surrounding Aberystwyth . “ When we first thought about the series , it was kind of Aberystwyth , the town and the hinterland around it ,” explains exec producer Ed Thomas . “ I think it ’ s fair to say that we ’ ve all fallen in love with the hinterland as well as Aberystwyth . We ’ ve shot a hell of a lot of stuff in the mountains , hills and the marshlands all around Aberystwyth . The marshlands of Borth give a big scale , but the mountains all around give a real identity to the programme .” As part of the set , an old university building has been transformed into the local police station , with the top floor of the building bizarrely forming the downstairs interior to the original police station back in Aber which provides the entrance shots to the station . Whilst we walk through a momentarily empty incident room set , Ed Talfan explains that the idea of Hinterland is not to try and depict a massive metropolis with all the modern gadgets of a big city police force , but instead create a detached , dislocated and slightly strange place where policemen are dressed for the mountains rather than in standard police uniforms . An antiquated police headquarters which harks back to the 1970s helps achieve this feeling with mundane , washed out greens and browns dominating a set littered with quirky minutiae that audiences will hardly notice on screen . It ’ s fascinating to be able to see the space in which the cast and crew operate and it ’ ll be exciting to see the locations on screen when the programme is transmitted in late autumn this year . Back at the ‘ real ’ police headquarters , which also doubles as the production office , we watch on a small screen as the actors film their lines in both Welsh and English ; a unique challenge , but one which the bilingual actors have risen to according to Ed Talfan . “ The cast have been brilliant and they ’ re very adept at leaping around . I suspect that at the end of day one the actors went home and felt that their brains were slightly mashed , but once you ’ re into it , there ’ s a rhythm to it . We ’ ve been very careful with the scripts so that even when the two language versions differ , we try and keep the rhythms the same so that the actors aren ’ t thrown .” As I found out , Fiction Factory , the production team behind the programme , are certainly hoping that the series can really shine a spotlight on the area ’ s distinct beauty and broader Welsh language and culture . The series will become Wales ’ first crime drama , and with Danish TV company DR Denmark having already purchased rights to the series , hopes are already high for the programme ’ s success both inside Wales and internationally . From one morning ’ s sneak preview , it ’ s certainly clear that Hinterland , despite its complementary Scandinavian comparisons , is distinct , ambitious and original in its own right , and I , like so many others , can ’ t wait to see the finished product .