SCRIPTED RETURNS


PRODUCTION


AS A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES PREPARES TO SHOOT ON SEASON 3, EP LACHLAN MACKINNON SAYS HE MIGHT HAVE TO FIND SOME NEW TRICKS UP HIS SLEEVE


Will you be able to shoot on location? Thanks to Sky, we’ve got a sensible budget so there’s scale to the sets that we’ve built. We’ve been bringing a bit more into the studio and taking it off of location. That’s only for interiors, we still shoot exteriors on location. In previous seasons, we filmed in Italy and upstate New York and in season three we go to New Orleans, for example, and we’re back to Venice. We’ll film with local second units we got to know on season 1 and 2 but we just won’t travel with our cast for reasons of COVID. We’ll find ways to make them feel integral to those spaces. As an example, we’ve got one of our characters arriving at Sept Tours [castle] in France. So we’ll have a second unit with a


double on a motorbike riding through the countryside. And then when Gallowglass gets off his bike and takes off his helmet, we’ll shoot that in the UK. It’s back to the old days of cinema, the old tricks. What about new techniques? We’ve been exploring lots of different technologies from virtual production to traditional green screen. So we’re kind of on a journey there. I’ve done quite a bit of studying of virtual production and I’m assessing what sets and locations we could be using it for. We’re speaking to the various providers about doing a test and Sky have been really supportive in suggesting this technology as well, so we’re working with them to put together a test. So far, we have


designed the series in such a way that we don’t have to rely on that technology yet, but we’ll see how it goes. We’re filming until January so we’re exploring that because it could be that there are some quite useful solutions. But the technology is quite new and it’s expensive, but production is expensive too. Will restrictions affect performance? We’re trying to make sure that we limit the restrictions that are placed on what’s coming down the lens. When it comes to the actors being on set, it will be filmed very much in a familiar way. We’re using PCR testing and we’ll test the cast and shooting crew twice a week on a four-day cycle. We’re recruiting a group of extras who’ll be tested as if they


were cast members, so that they can be close. That’s creating an on-set bubble and then all the other crew will be in their own departmental bubbles. What contingency plans do you have? The key for us was making sure that we had drafts of all the scripts. Because if there was an incident, we then jump into an emergency protocol of a schedule which excludes the set with the actor who came down with the illness. Both directors have been across all the scripts as well so if one of them was to go down with it, the other director would step in. Also in terms of contracting actors, we’ve been booking for longer periods so that we’ve got the flexibility.


Autumn 2020 televisual.com 31


A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES


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