Island Life Magazine Ltd December 2006/January 2007 | Page 38

Lights, camera, action - Geoff and
David give it their best performance
was a nice touch. After the first
time it happened, the word must
have spread that they were filming
because the trains got slower and
slower to a point where they almost
stopped. Apparently this is a ritual
that has developed over the years.
Another interesting point was
the fact that they filmed the scene

not once but up to five times, and I
discovered from the Director that
this was because it gave the editing
team more angles to work from
to make the finished film more
interesting. So I asked why they did
not simply have more cameramen
and do one take? “Cameramen do
not come cheap, they are highly

skilled and are highly paid, so it
is more economical to have two
cameramen and simply re-shoot
the scene. If you are producing a
blockbuster film then you would
have more cameramen because films
nowadays have quite substantial
budgets - more than Heatbeat
anyway!”
Aidensfield Garage

Another unexpected factor was
the bitter cold. It was freezing
- and because most of the day is
spent standing around this makes it
worse. I could not believe how Geoff
was able to concentrate on his acting
as I spent most of the day freezing
and shivering, and to make the
situation even worse it decided to
rain at one point. I think that Geoff
hit the jackpot that day because
his character was lucky enough
to be wearing a thick sheepskin
coat, although David Stockwell
(David Lonsdale) had to wear just
a shirt and a flimsy corduroy jacket
whilst washing a car and filming his
scene - his hands must have been
freezing. The crew told me that
this was quite a mild day, and that
later on in the filming schedule in
December, January it gets five times
worse. And they say that acting is a
glamorous life!

Secret of
the teeth
revealed!
Later on that day Gwen Davies
arrived on set to film a scene with
David and Geoff. Gwen arrived on
set in the character of Aunt Peggy,

38

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