Record year for Edinburgh as a film and TV location

AS a location for shooting movies and TV productions, last year was the best-ever for Edinburgh – in terms of money spent and the number of days it was ‘in action’.

Says the capital’s film and TV location bureau, Edinburgh Film Focus, some £4.2 million was directly spent by film and TV productions in the city and its environs – up 34 per cent on the previous year – and the number of ‘filming days’ rose to 1100, up ten per cent on 2008.

Last year, Edinburgh was the location for some parts of the BBC Scotland ‘History of Scotland'; the movie, Outcast; and the TV drama, Garrow’s Law. Plus a TV ad for electrical goods manufacturers, LG.

Says Ros Davis, Film Commissioner for Edinburgh: “Competition for filming locations around the UK is fierce but with the quality package of the ‘Edinburgh City Region’ locations and our experience of filmmaking requirements we were able to attract big European productions such as the French feature film, Imogène, and the German TV drama, White Out, to film in the ‘Edinburgh City Region’.”

Adds Tom Buchanan, the City’s Economic Development leader: “Edinburgh Film Focus does a great job in marketing the region to filmmakers and, together with the Council and Lothian & Borders Police, has been working hard to ensure that Edinburgh remains a quality, film-friendly location. These figures indicate just how successful their efforts have been and show that Edinburgh punches well above its weight as a filming destination.”

EFF was set up by Edinburgh District Council and Lothian Regional Council 20 years ago and is funded by City of Edinburgh Council Economic Development, East Lothian, West Lothian and Scottish Borders councils.

Last year, it handled over 500 enquiries, with 339 productions deciding to film in the ‘Edinburgh City Region’, including the following:

Feature films

Outcast

Imogene

Cosi

The Wicker Tree

TV drama

Whiteout

Dani’s House

Garrow’s Law

TV documentary

History of Scotland

Vet School

TV commercials

LG

T-mobile

Light TV entertainment

Antiques Roadshow – Hopetoun

Antiques Roadshow – Abbotsford

Celebrity Ghost Hunt

Come Dine With Me

Got to Dance