7 Reasons Why Filming in the UK Rocks (2024)

Film and TV production in the UK has come off a record-breaking year of spend. Projects have been shot across the country, and UK-based creative, celebrity and sports stars seem to be everywhere on the global stage.

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all stand ready and waiting for your photo, film or TV production brief. Here's why...

REASON ONE: DIVERSE FILM LOCATIONS

The geography, architecture and infrastructure across the UK is astoundingly diverse.

From period locations to New York street location doubles, medieval castles to dramatic coasts, historic railways to exclusive airports, the UK does it all (across a relatively small island - so limited travel!).

It's no wonder recent feature films 1917, F9, Eurovision, Avengers: Endgame, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker were all productions made in the UK.

Not to mention the UK's influential hold on cult cinema and TV - the likes of Harry Potter, James Bond, Game of Thrones, and Peaky Blinders.

REASON TWO: ACTOR, MUSICIAN & SPORTING TALENT

Need top models, singers, Premier League footballers and major film stars? The UK's got them in abundance.

The UK's sports draw extends far beyond the icons of the Premier League to golf, cricket, cycling, sailing, tennis... we even came up with underwater hockey.

But while, we're on it, having a production service hub in Manchester (a hop, skip and a jump from Liverpool) makes working with the tight schedules of Premier Leaguers - and their managers - all the easier.

REASON THREE: CASTING CAPABILITIES

The UK is proud of its multicultural heritage. This, in turn, makes for authentic casting, whatever the brief may be.

Street casting for a warehouse party, organising a scene with an infant, or finding your perfect protagonist - you're spoilt for choice.

REASON FOUR: TALENTED CREW AND EQUIPMENT

The UK has invested heavily in building an exceptional crew base in recent years to reflect the diversity of production work coming to the country, making the UK Europe's largest Film and TV production centre. As a result crew members gain a variety of key experience on shoots, and have access to opportunities for continued development (our Runners Masterclass and the APA's Masterclass to name a couple!).

Not only this but with major production centres being developed outside of London, in the North of England and Scotland, along with ambitious plans to build a transatlantic and global pipeline of production work, the UK is currently very well placed to offer a depth of talent and a cross regional crew base outside of London for commercial work.

UK suppliers also bring the very best technology the industry has to offer from U-Cranes, Low Loaders, Tracking Vehicles...and with studio space doubling in the last three years, the UK is on track to be second only to Hollywood globally next year.

For the first Harry Styles music promo that we were the production service on, we called up the UK's safety dream team - GB Helicopters and stunt-safety expert, David Pearce – who we trusted, having worked with them on prior TV projects. They skilfully secured the celebrity on a harness outside a flying helicopter on the Isle of Skye, while another helicopter captured it all...

REASON FIVE: FILM STUDIOS

The UK has an abundance of purpose built and adapted studio spaces across the regions and nations.

Its world class studio space has attracted the industry's biggest players. Disney has entered into a long-term deal at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, Netflix utilises a 14-stage production hub at Shepperton Studios, and Warner Bros. has got 350K sq ft of sound stages in Leavesden.

With such a demand for studio space, new high-capacity facilities are on the rise. Major investment is being spent outside of London on these spaces. Recent announcements include Stirling Studios, which will become one of the biggest media hubs in Scotland, Crown Works Studios In Sunderland, a planned £450m development giving the region a stake in global film production, as well as numerous developments in

REASON SIX: MADE IN THE UK

With iconic brands and locations that call the UK their home, there's a lot of advantages to basing a production here.

Take Scottish malt whisky...

Not just a fun item to grab on your way home in duty free, the whisky industry in Scotland is a major one on the world stage (reaching £4.7 billion in exports in 2018).

There is no replicating the country where it all happens - Scotland. And the whisky regions of Speyside, Islay, the Highlands, Islands, the Lowlands and Campbeltown all bring to the trade their location's unique flavour and surroundings.

With new whisky experiences and distilleries popping up alongside the ones that have been operating for centuries, there is a vast array of narratives to choose from...

REASON SEVEN: MILD WEATHER, EXQUISITE LIGHT

Yes, we went there! Last, but not least...

Due to the lack of extremes in the UK's climate, you can film year round on location - all over the place - with an incredible quality of light.

In the summertime up North, light comes up at 3am and sets around 11pm - plenty of 'golden hour' shots.