And so it begins

On Saturday 7th April, filming commenced on the main unit of ‘Return to Ravenswood’. Our location was Nork Park in Surrey with the small crew consisting of Elizabeth Newman playing Rhiannon, Director of Photography David Wells, Mark Bennett and myself. We kept the unit small so David and myself could slowly feel our way into the film without the pressure of a larger set-up. I have worked with David before and he is an exceptional talent, taking his time to get the best shot possible. Liz was brilliant as the solitary Priestess Rhiannon, giving a lovely paced performance to a character that has no time for the rest of the world.



On the Sunday, we started shooting scenes with the Goodie family. The preparation from actors Heather Tracy and Adrian Palmer (Gwen and George Goodie) was exceptional and their performances raised the template for the film. Heather and Adrian have worked with me before on Dawnrazor (2001) and Shelf Life (2003) and it’s always a pleasure to watch them do their stuff.

Also joining the cast was Kathleen McNamara playing the Goodie’s daughter Elizabeth (who gave a wonderful performance) and Mark Bennett (Rev John Magister), who had a brief cameo with the Goodie’s for a rendition of the hymn ‘Abide with me’- oh, what enchanting vocals! Joining David and myself on the crew front was sound engineer Barry Heath. Barry is very experienced in this field with over thirty years of experience and I am honoured to have two experts in their respective areas working on this production.

On each set, I am having a behind the scenes camera to capture the making of the film for the EPK (Electronic Press Kit). Mark Bennett (away from his duties as Ravenswood’s vicar) is doing a great job on this and his material is being edited down for the online video diaries. I’m very pleased with the first weekends shoot and if this is an indication of what is to come, then this is one Director who is very excited indeed.