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Photo: Gerry Humphreys oversees the rising fortunes of the Twickenham Studios lot.
studio facilities
T wickenham Studios may not be the biggest film facility available in the UK to international filmmakers, but the spirit in which it built its early reputation as “a club for professionals” has been kept alive and added to over the years. More than that, Twickenham has become a favourite for directors, producers and stars
seduced by its family atmosphere and unique location. Built in 1913 on the site of a skating rink the studio is set in an unexpectedly urban environ- ment with leafy Richmond a short walk away and the Thames offering a picturesque backdrop. There’s also easy access by rail or car.
The railway almost proved an insurmountable problem during the
early days of sound however, when in
the course of shooting the first talkie
at the studio - To What Red Hell - it
was discovered that the passing
trains could be heard on the sound-
stage. To overcome this difficulty a
lookout was positioned on the roof,
who would signal the approach of a
train by turning on a red light below,
before giving the “all clear” with a
green one. Such were the complica-
tions of filmmaking in those pioneering times.
Many prestigious names of the British stage worked at Twickenham during these early years, as the studio changed ownership on a regular basis with several different companies investing in the facilities. In the 1930s production was at full stretch thanks to the Quota Quickies, low budget films that enabled Britain - in statistical terms at least - to match the number of Hollywood produc- tions shown on domestic screens. So busy was it,
in fact, that the stage would often be used for one film during the day, and another at night.
A second stage was added in 1934, and further improvements were made to equipment and facili- ties, but the boom of the 30s ended just before the outbreak of World War Two. To add insult to injury the studio suffered a direct hit during the Blitz, and as a result things took a while to pick up after the war.
Oscar nominee Gerry Humphreys who has contin- ued to see the studio’s fortunes rise. In particular he has overseen the acquisition of state-of-the art post production equipment that ensures Twickenham is on a par with its bigger and wealth- ier competitors.
“We have a sound centre here with 42 editing rooms,” the avuncular Humphreys explains, “it also has a dubbing theatre, ADR theatre, offices and everything else that goes with post production. This can handle seven or eight fea- tures at various stages of post pro- duction - you might have Event Horizon or Seven Years In Tibet like we did last year, with seven or eight editing rooms devoted to each production. In addition to all
that we have three sound stages. “We’ve been through quite a major refit of equipment in the last two years, and we’ve spent over £2 million on equipment. We’re about to take delivery of new Sony digital dubbers, and they are certainly the leading edge at this moment. But in 18 months, who knows? The tech- nology moves on that quickly. But you have no choice but to buy the best, because even though there is a lot of affec- tion for the studio you have to back it up with the
highest quality of service.”
With film production enjoying a periodic
boom at the moment it is another sign of a healthy industry that a studio like Twickenham can con- tinue to thrive, but then it always did have a unique appeal for visiting filmmakers.
“For shooting purposes Pinewood and Shepperton have much larger stages and more of continued on page 26
TALKING
TALKING
TWICKENHAM
TWICKENHAM
85 YEARS ON - AND STILL ‘A CLUB FOR PROFESSIONALS’
Only after Guido Coen was appointed execu- tive director in 1959 did the studio return to its pre-war glory as, riding the crest of the British new wave, it drew prestige from its association with such critical and commercial hits as Saturday Night & Sunday Morning, Alfie and A Hard Day’s Night, which daily provoked a threatened invasion from more than 800 moptop fans.
Stepping down in the mid 90s, Coen was replaced by veteran sound mixer and two time