Cheltenham period drama shoots on HD

A darkly romantic, period short film, ‘A Soldier's Tunic’, has just wrapped at Arle Court, the stunning 19th century, Grade II listed house at the centre of the Cheltenham Film Studios complex.
Produced by Storyville in association with Cheltenham Film Studios it brought together a rich array of regional talent. It tells the story of a cavalryman who returns from the charge of the light brigade in the Crimea to marry his childhood sweetheart. But the course of true love is diverted by the appearance of an older, more calculating rival.
On this practically and creatively ambitious production writer/director Simon Bovey and designer Bridget Dowty set out to capture a Pre-Raphaelite influenced look and sensibility, in keeping with the period story and sumptuous location.
Director of photography Terry Flaxton joined the team to help create a very special world that went from wide interior night scenes lit only with candles to a lavish duel sequence in full sunlight.
Shot on Panasonic's DVCPROHD Varicam and edited on the iQ system at Quantel, it's one of the first independent productions to take full advantage of a total High Definition workflow, the most significant bonus being the ability to edit with full resolution images of startling quality.
HD is undoubtedly leading the way for future drama production and Storyville say they were delighted to be able to work closely with Panasonic and Quantel to make this period film a truly cutting edge project.
‘A Soldier's Tunic’ is the first in-house production from Cheltenham Film Studios but not the last. David Bill, Managing Director at CFS, believes it marks the start of a stable of regionally developed, crewed and produced films.
(SP)