During my lunch break photo walk I came across a movie being filmed in part of the Bodleian, it’s titled The Favourite and it turned out that the crew were on their lunch break too. Here are pictures of some of the supporting artists having a smoke break. I really liked the Sheldonian Theatre as a backdrop for these shots and despite the heavy overcast sky I think the light worked out ok.
[Tech info:] Yashica Electro 35, Eastman Double X film, developed in HC110 1+31. Pakon scans.
It’s no secret that filming has begun on Endeavour series 5 but if you’re looking for pictures of the main cast or spoilers I’m afraid you’ll have to move along because this blog post is dedicated to the crew – some familiar faces and some new. Oxford is where the filming for series 5 began and I was fortunate enough to be able to document a little of it on the second day of filming. This really is one of my favourite things to photograph and it’s something I never get tired of.
[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton, Ilford FP4 film developed in Kodak HC110 1+31, Pakon scans.
Behind the scenes during filming of Endeavour series 4 episode 2 ‘Canticle’ in New College, Oxford back in July 2016. I shot more film on this episode than any previous ones and some of my favourite shots have come from this episode too. A lot of hard work went into making the dance sequence and the hot weather and sizzling temperatures made it all the more harder. I found the song to be very catchy and couldn’t stop humming it the following day.
[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton, Agfa Vista 200 film, developed in Fuji Xpress C41 kit, Pakon scans.
Behind the scenes photography during filming of Endeavour episode ‘Canticle’, series 4 episode 2, in Oxford. These shots are from the morning when the temperature was a lot cooler and more comfortable than the afternoon would prove to be. I like how these have turned out and I’m glad we had a morning of softer light compared to the contrasty light we had in the afternoon. All from the same roll of film.
[Tech info:] Konica Hexar AF, Ilford HP5 film, developed in Kodak HC110 1+31, Pakon scans.
Behind the scenes during filming of Endeavour episode ‘Canticle’, series 4 episode 2 in Oxford, July 2016. The film I used to make these pictures was left over from the filming of Star Wars: Episode VII. The film stock is Kodak Vision 3 250D and is designed to be developed in ECN-2 chemistry but as I don’t have any I cross-processed this roll in C41 chemistry which is why the colours are not completely accurate.
[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander Nokton 50/1.5, Kodak Vision 3 250D, developed in Fuji Xpress C41 kit, Pakon scans.
Behind the scenes photography during the filming of Endeavour 4 episode 2 ‘Canticle’ in Oxford, August 2016. These shots are from the very end of the day as the sun was going down and shadows began to get longer. I wasn’t sure how the film would handle the extremely contrasty light and half expected the shadows to fill in to jet black but I’m very pleased with these results. Not bad for film I bought at Poundland.
[Tech info:] Konica Hexar AF, Kodak Colourplus 200 film, developed in Fuji Xpress C41 kit, Pakon scans.
Behind the scenes photography during filming of Endeavour series 4 episode 3 in Oxford, August 2016. All of these shots are from the same roll of film and I really like how they turned out. The scene that was filmed in St Helens Passage next to the Bridge of Sighs isn’t very long in the final edit but it took a lot of planning with a student co-ordinator and multiple takes to cover all of the camera angles which wasn’t easy in such a narrow space. On a side note, the helium filled balloons that can be seen in the background were never used and I sometimes wonder what the original plan was for them.
[Tech info:] Konica Hexar AF, Ilford HP5 film, developed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 5mins. Pakon scans.
Behind the scenes photography during the filming of series 4 episode 3 in Oxford back in August 2016. Most of this episode takes place in a hospital so I was fortunate to come across this sequence being filmed on Queen’s Lane. Now that I’ve seen the finished episode I know that the screen time for this sequence is not very long but it took a lot of careful planning to work out the shots and camera angles – I can also tell you that the car boot was a very tight squeeze for both supporting actors. I really like how these shots turned out – all from the same roll of Fuji Reala 100 which sadly Fuji have stopped making. It renders colours in open shade very nicely with plenty of shadow detail. It’s one of my favourite films to use but I only bring it out on special occasions because it’s hard to find now.
[Tech info:] Konica Hexar AF, Fuji Reala 100 film (expired), developed in Fuji Xpress C41 kit, Pakon scans.
Behind the scenes during filming in Radcliffe Square, Oxford of Endeavour series 4 episode 2. This was the first day of filming in Oxford for this episode on what started out as an overcast morning but turned out to be a very hot and sunny day. The tourists were out in force and the crew did an amazing job of crowd control with minimal staff. I must give a shout out to the props and art departments for the attention to detail that went into the table that was laid out with the petition (most of which was never seen on screen). It was so convincing that I saw some tourists trying to sign up! While all of this was going on the set at New College was being prepared for the dance routine that was due to be filmed the following day (last shot). More to come.
[Tech info:] Konica Hexar AF, Agfa Vista 200 film developed in Fuji Xpress C41 kit. Pakon scans.
Behind the scenes photography from Endeavour – Series 4 Episode 2 at New College, Oxford. This was at the end of the day which you can tell by the long shadows and harsh sunlight in some of the shots. At the time I had no idea that the main storyline revolved around the band Wildwood so after watching the episode I’m glad I managed to get the group shot with the band’s manager and some of the crew. For most of my Endeavour behind the scenes photography I tend to use b&w film the most overall but on this day I only took colour film because although I had no idea how colourful the song and dance routine was going to be, I did get a little peek at part of the set the day before when a couple of scenes were being filmed in New College so I got to see the final touches of glitter being added to the rainbow and a few of the props such as the coloured watering cans and the step ladders. That was when I felt I had to use colour film.
Funnily enough, the spot where the scene with the screaming Wildwood fans was filmed in New College Lane is the same place where Tom Cruise was filming scenes from The Mummy reboot a few months earlier. You can see some of my pictures of that here.
[Tech info]: Leica M2, Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton, Kodak Colorplus 200 film, developed in Fuji Xpress C41 kit, Pakon scans.
These behind the scenes shots of Endeavour are from the first day of filming in Oxford for Episode 3 of Series 4. This was the first scene they filmed in the morning of Dr Max DeBryn cycling around Radcliffe Square but it didn’t make the final edit. I’ve cycled over those cobble stones and it’s not comfortable at all.
[Tech info:] Konica Hexar AF, Agfa Vista 200 film, developed in Fuji Xpress C41 kit, Pakon scans.
Behind the scenes during filming of Endeavour, Series 4 Episode 3 in Oxford. This was the first day of filming, a Sunday as I recall. It was an early-ish start and I remember the streets being quite empty and quiet but that didn’t last for long. One of the things I enjoy about putting these Endeavour blog posts together is going through my images and remembering things that happened around 6 months before. I don’t usually rush to develop my Endeavour films because I know I won’t be doing much with the shots until after the episodes have been broadcast so it’s often weeks or months until I see if there’s even anything on the rolls. After I’ve watched an episode I go through the film scans and pick out my selections to blog. That’s when the various scenes I photographed make sense. More to come.
[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton, Kodak Supra 200 film (expired), developed in Fuji Xpress C41 kit, Pakon scans.
