The first Shoot is always the deepest.

Marty Stalker on the set, bringing it HD.

Coast Filming, Day one.
Saturday came early, 7am Lindsay and I were up and ready, creating the mountain of ham baps for the production staff, Alan Stewart the co Director was on his way to Whitehead with his shot list in hand along with Marty Stalker our D.P. who had his prized Carl Zeiss CP’s tucked away like little babies for the days shoot. The girls were the first to arrive (as girls normally do) and began to get make up which was provided by our very talented MUA Rebecca Bryson. She brought a mountain of products and began work with her assistant snapping away on some BTS shots. The rest of the guys arrived in one bunch and soon the meeting point was electric with lots of really good craic. It was the first time we all were together and the whole team seemed to get on like a high school reunion.




The last thing to arrive on set was the amazing jib arm created by our master props maker Ricky Linton whom had been testing it right up to the shoot day. He had also created our 1 meter long igus slider for the shoot which had already seen some action when we filmed the boat cutaways the week before. Once the whole cast and crew were assembled we began the drive to our secret film location. We got stuck in, following the shot lists we soon had a few shots filmed and our last actor arrived from London; Matt Faris, our very capable killer and also a surprisingly agile bloke, brought some parkour skills on set which added another layer on his scenes - after he got his make up complete, then created the final touches to his look by rolling around in the dust scratching himself and applying our blood mixture to his clothes and face.

We then split into three camera units one filming the last of mornings scenes, one shooting steadycam® with our resident steady cam operator ‘steady cathal’ and the other working on directing the stalking actions of the killer as he watches the group. We grabbed some fantastic 1080p footage using the new technicolour cinestyle profile on our canon 5D’s and 7D  - the majority of coast is shot using DSLR and Zeiss primes which as film makers; Alan and myself are really excited about as they let us bring the camera closer into situations, assemble it faster and get new scene setups just so much more easier than ever before. We had jib arm, steady cam, dolly tracking, shoulder mounted, tripod mounted, handheld and car mounted shots all filmed in a matter of hours.

some late evening shots with a lot of skin eating flys...

Andrew Graham our sound designer and recorder was on set to provide high quality ambient, folly and voice recording for the two days on set. He runs and owns a whole studio at his disposal and promises to bring a real tension to the feel for coast as it builds. We also plan to have Andrew gather some audio beds for the show. To have him on set is truly a blessing.

The actors were fantastic, Chris Patrick Simpson brought a real edge to the production with his on screen presence and delivery, Chris Heath brought his amazing ability to 'raise an eyebrow and make you smile' magic that really cut the scenes the way we had wanted him to deliver them, the two female actresses Rachel Kennedy and Niketa Ferguson brought an on screen charm that really draws you into the story with their very different character types... Then comes a big surprise, with a last minute addition of Denis Halligan who created exactly the character Alan and myself had hoped for with his moping, sleeze and fun way of bringing our creation of his character to life. Watching some of the scenes play out on reviewing the dailies; with what we had on paper, to the on screen performances, really got us excited about what Coast will bring for Northern Irish talent. The overall look of the whole series is as Alan puts it; Screen Lickable. When you watch Coast for the first time you will love the feel of the story, the road trip along the coastline and the unpredictable tension that the show creates as it plays out.

The next few days shooting will see the pilot episode filmed and in the can, then we will focus on the editing and sound design. I personally want to thank the whole team on behalf off myself and Alan who turned up and helped with running equipment, setting up shots, holding lighting gear, booms, catering, the list goes on and you all know who you are. Without you we would not be where we are today. I especially want to thank Marty Stalker from Scattered Images for the use of his equipment and time on set as our DP, his skills and experience in film making has brought us leaps and bounds in the delivery of our child hood dream to create a feature together.

We are bursting to show you all footage, its itching my fingers to mess with it, but for now, we will put the lid on this thing until we have a lovely trailer produced and a pilot of the soon to be seen Coast.

Until the next shoot, that is the most I can plug each of you.We love you all and stalk you all.