Filming at the National Trust

Lauren Taylor

Filming Co-ordinator

The National Trust Film Office

Who are we? Harvey Edgington the Film Unit Manager and Lauren Taylor my colleague

Where do we fit in?NT Enterprises directorate and then within the Media Group

When and why was the team set up?2003, previous reputation in the film industry, one point of contact, huge scope for maximising income and the PR benefits

• How much filming do we do?

• 3 crews out per day on land owned by the NT

• Where we cover – everywhere!

• How many enquiries?

Varies greatly throughout the year, from around 100 in January to 170

in July. All are responded to.

• And what sort of projects?

• Everything from student films to fashion photo shoots to documentaries,

to TV dramas to films. Crews can range from 1 to 150.

What we do

Why Filming ?

•Fees

•Visitors

•Economic generation

Visitor Figures

Visit Britain calculate that 1 in 4 visitors make the decision for their visit upon an image.

Pride and Prejudice case

study

• The house was closed to the public for six weeks in September of 2004 to allow filming to take place at the front of the house and in four of the show rooms. It was an intrusive shoot, with 200 extras on site for much of this time for a ball room scene plus 100 crew members and a huge unit base parked up in the grounds.

Before they arrived

Getting ready

Their heeerrreee!

• NT were keen to maximise the opportunity for publicity

• House Manager appears on the DVD talking about the property and the shoot.

• An exhibition was opened at the house on the film’s release as Working Title had agreed in the film’s contract that they would supply costumes and other items for this purpose. This exhibition was promoted in the local and national press

The P & P effect

• 76% increase in visitors.

• Restaurant takes £10k in one weekend.

• 2006 went on to be a very successful year with 77,770 visits. In 2002, 2003 and 2004 visitor numbers had never moved above the 48,000 mark.

• 2009 saw 80,884 visitors.

Miss Potter Case study

Miss Potter Case study

• Offered locations before the film even

started.

• Found alternative to the real Hilltop thus

creating two destinations for tourists.

• Their fan base is our fan base.

Miss Potter effect.

• 2007’s (film released) visitor figures hit

106,500, which was 65% higher than

2006’s 64,500. Since then they have

remained high at 105,000 in 2008 and

103,000 in 2009.

Miss Potter effect.

• 75% of the box office from outside USA

• Japanese tourists average spend at Hilltop is £85.

• Retail income stood at around £350,000 per year pre to 2007 but in 2007 that figure was £573,960, a massive 61% increase. It has not dropped lower than £560,000 per annum since then. In 2007 the shop had the highest turnover per metre squared for any shop in the National Trust, which is a considerable achievement considering its tiny 4m x 7m size.

The Duchess

The Duchess

• 4 properties involved but only one

marketed.

• Competition with Chatsworth home of

the real Duchess.

• Film released in Sept almost the end of

the season

The Duchess Effect

• 2007 figures showed 16% rise

• 2009 on back of costume exhibition a

new record of 139,009 visitors.

• Most of the visitors domestic.

Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility

• BBC drama using Ham House.

• As a London location difficult to

calculate the reason for the visit.

• Ham also appeared in other TV and

films so hard to say which show

provoked the visit.

Sense and Sensibility

• This BBC drama was shot at Ham in 2007

and was shown on BBC1 from the 1st

January 2008 for 3 weeks. The exterior of the

house was visible. A link was placed from the

Sense and Sensibility microsite on the BBC

website to Ham’s page on the National Trust

website. Visitor figures in January, February

and March of 2008 were 107% higher than

those of the same months in 2007.

Other Boleyn Girl

Other Boleyn Girl

• Visit Kent web site – a collaboration of

film company, locations, tourism, screen

agency and hotels aimed at the short

stay market.

• 100, 000 OBG movie maps.

• 11,000 website visits.

• 4000 competition entrants

Other Boleyn Girl

• 500 people surveyed

• 42% visited Kent due to film.

• 48% stayed over night

• 21% extended visit due to campaign

• 98% would revisit Kent

• Value of stays £744,000

Alice in wonderland follow up

• Article in NT magazine with Depp on

cover and quotes from Burton.

• Press Junket for DVD release at house.

• DVD extras.

• Website

• Themed garden for 2010

Alice in Wonderland

• 50% said that they were visiting

because of the fact that Antony House

was used as a location for Alice in

Wonderland.

• 50% said that they had children

accompanying them who were

interested in the Alice connection.

Don’t underestimate factual TV

Don’t underestimate factual TV

• The Farne Islands featured repeatedly

in Springwatch focusing on the wildlife

on the island and the work of National

Trust staff. The programme was

broadcast between April and June 2005

and the visitor figures between June

and December 2005 were 32,702, 42%

higher than the same period in 2004.

Don’t underestimate factual TV

• Brownsea Island was chosen as the 2008 home for BBC’s Autumnwatch. Attracted by an abundance of wildlife including red squirrels and deer, the BBC explained what drew them to the site, describing the island as “one of the most varied and important sites for wildlife in southern England.” The programme was broadcast from the island for 4 days in late October and early November and although some filming was done off site, Brownsea was, as their base, heavily featured.

• 2009’s visitor figures went on to be 14% above those of 2008

New audiences

New audiences

• NT has 35,000 German members due

to Rosamulad Pilcher

• Bollywood

• Children’s TV

• Web

• Phone Apps

Economic generation

•Die Another Day spent £500,000 in a month whilst filming in Cornwall where for

every Trust job another 3 depend

•Documentary Darien Venture spent £5000 in 4 days in Cornwall not including our

fee

•The over night hotel bills on Piccadilly Jim were £40,000 a night

•Jane Eyre BBC spend the whole £7 million budget in Derbyshire

•Alice in Wonderland employed 200 local people.

Below line advantages

• The Trust has appeared on three movie maps distributed by Visit Britain each in three languages and 500,000 copies

• All Contracts commit producers to sharing publicity materials

• Enterprises have released a CD of classical music from films shot on Trust property. This has already generated more than 20 articles in various newspapers/magazines

• NT credits have appeared on more films and TV series.

Secondary Benefits

Based on cost of terrestrial TV

advertising at £70,000 per minute (off

peak) exposure for Trust in

documentaries alone worth in excess of

£100 million a year

Secondary Benefits

• You are always out there – DVD, TV

showings, cable, web, foreign sales,

books, airplane films etc.

RISKS

• Conservation issues.

• Time scale - Yesterday and tomorrow.

• Staffing and costs.

• Credits.

• Blink and you will miss us - the jigsaw

effect.

• Surviving the edit.

Do we want to do this?

• Closing down – Can we do that ?

• Reputation - fly on the wall or spy on the

wall?

• Image - crime, security, satire and good

taste.

• H & S - regulation - kids, guns, animals

and nudity.

Lasting effects

• Lyme Park near Stockport still receives visitors keen to see where Mr Darcy

emerged from the lake in the 1995 TV version of Pride and Prejudice.

• Castle Howerd still trades on Brideshead.

• ‘The Sound of Music’ released in 1965 is still drawing 300,000 fans annually to

Salzburg with 40,000 of them taking the official Sound of Music Tour

• Figures do drop slightly from their peak but never return to where they were.