A year ago I was doing this –
and this –
And it’s hard to believe how much time has flown since then.
I still remember how I felt the first time I saw the Manor House in West Bromwich. It was a majestic, imposing building and walking around I could see the potential for using it as a filming location. I was snapping photos on my phone and all the time I was thinking about shots and framing and how to bring my part of the film to life.
The months between our first visit to the Manor House and filming there flew by at an alarming rate. At first we had all the time in the world and then time seemed to speed up as we raced towards principal photography. We gathered crew and cast around us and sorted out the million and one things that were required when you film something as huge as “The House of Screaming Death”.
Bringing my own story to life was an interesting challenge for me. I’d lived with the broad strokes of “The Lady in Grey” since I first came up with the story all the way back in 2004. The version that we made was far more refined than that original comic but it still retained the essence of the story.
Part of the fun of directing LIG was the opportunity to work with my daughter, who played Lady Sarah – the eponymous Lady in Grey herself. And there was also the challenge of bringing each of the many eras my story crossed (The Elizabethan era, World War 1, World War 2) to life.
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Including pick-up and additional photography we spent three and a half days filming “The Lady in Grey”. It was an absolute pleasure to edit the footage and see the story taking shape as the actors brought my characters to life in such a wonderful way. The entire film is currently in the final stages of post production where it undergoes VFX editing, audio recording and the myriad of other steps a film requires before it is released. Our amazing composer Matthew Calvert is working hard on the score and I can’t wait to be able to screen the feature film for an audience late this year.
In total it has taken four years to bring “The House of Screaming Death” to life and it’s still hard to wrap my head around just how much time has passed. I’ve made some good friends and great memories working on this film and when we finally get to share it with you I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed making it.