I spent a most interesting morning today on the Tarka Trail with FremantleMedia (of The X Factor and Pop Idol fame) as they filmed a couple from Surrey seeking to escape the home counties to rural North Devon. We met at The Braunton Inn, where filming by the Taw proved impossible due to frequent cloudbursts – a proper Devon summer, I explained, with a promise of better weather coming. I'm not sure they believed me… We hastily moved on to location 2 – the superb Velator Wetlands at the southern edge of Braunton. The rain stopped; the sun appeared (told you so); brollies were stowed and the TV crew swung into action on the boardwalk which juts out into the lake. The huge quantity and variety of wildfowl were disappointed with the lack of food offerings, however a few leaves thrown into the water tempted them briefly into shot!
With just one camera operator and a sound man, the couple and Matt Edworthy of the North Devon Biosphere team were required to perform numerous 'takes' of the dialogue from various camera angles, until Julann of the production team was happy she had it 'in the bag'. Out-takes included being interrupted by the Sea King search and rescue helicopter leaving RMB Chivenor base and a gleeful family with children passing by on bikes on the nearby Tarka Trail! The numerous mallards, swans, coots and moor hens provided an entirely welcome backing track to the filming. The whole morning of taping would be condensed and edited into just three minutes of on-screen action, showing just how much time and effort goes into the making of a full half-hour show. The Team were then back off to The Braunton Inn and thence to Henry Williamson's Grade II-listed writing hut in Georgeham (near Woolacombe) for the final takes.
I was fortunate enough to speak at length with Jacky and Barry, the house-hunters, who had always passed close by the Tarka Trail en-route to another destination, but never ventured onto it here. They were quite amazed at the beauty they had passed by and, with the help of The Tarka Trail Guide which I gave them, would explore this and The Biosphere in general when they found their dream home here.
With just one camera operator and a sound man, the couple and Matt Edworthy of the North Devon Biosphere team were required to perform numerous 'takes' of the dialogue from various camera angles, until Julann of the production team was happy she had it 'in the bag'. Out-takes included being interrupted by the Sea King search and rescue helicopter leaving RMB Chivenor base and a gleeful family with children passing by on bikes on the nearby Tarka Trail! The numerous mallards, swans, coots and moor hens provided an entirely welcome backing track to the filming. The whole morning of taping would be condensed and edited into just three minutes of on-screen action, showing just how much time and effort goes into the making of a full half-hour show. The Team were then back off to The Braunton Inn and thence to Henry Williamson's Grade II-listed writing hut in Georgeham (near Woolacombe) for the final takes.
I was fortunate enough to speak at length with Jacky and Barry, the house-hunters, who had always passed close by the Tarka Trail en-route to another destination, but never ventured onto it here. They were quite amazed at the beauty they had passed by and, with the help of The Tarka Trail Guide which I gave them, would explore this and The Biosphere in general when they found their dream home here.