Filming in Essex

 

Location, Location, Location

What do Jude Law, Kirsten Dunst, Christian Bale and Anthony Hopkins all have in common?

They all starred in films that were shot in Essex! Yes it's true, Essex's glitzy show reel includes Batman Begins, Bridget Jones's Diary, The Queen, Alfie, Enigma, Proof, Vanity Fair, Wimbledon, Life Begins, Murphy's Law and Bleak House, amongst other exciting films and TV dramas.

Major film and TV producers are making the most of the county's scenic countryside, new urban settlements and untouched coastline to avoid the overcrowding in and around the capital. Essex has much to lure the filmmaker.

Screen East, regional screen agency for the East of England, is dedicated to developing, supporting and promoting the film and media industries and culture in the region. Screen East works in partnership with the other screen agencies in the Greater South East as well as across the UK to encourage inward investment through location filming. During 2007/08 location filming was worth an estimated £23 million to the regional economy through location fees and the purchase of local products and services.

 

With all this filming in Essex how can your business benefit?

Screen East receives on average around 200 enquiries per month from productions wanting to film in the East of England. All of these productions will have utilised Screen East's free service in some way, either through location finding, sourcing accommodation or facility companies to service their shoot, or sourcing local crew. Productions require a variety of local infrastructure to be in place to enable their shoot to go as smoothly as possible. For example, although a production may hire crew & equipment from a preferred team/supplier, they will use local caterers, skips, petrol suppliers, newsagents, dry cleaners, hotels, sandwich shops, electrical shops... the list goes on! This means that local business can literally ‘cash in' on location filming which was worth an estimated £1.1 million to the local Essex economy in 2007/08.

Your property could be the one that a Location Manager is looking for right now!

There is no restriction on the type of property that a film or TV production might be looking for - locations can be residential or commercial, rural or urban, empty or occupied! So, whatever the condition, age, size or use of your property, contact Screen East for a Location Registration Form.

 

I work in film and TV industry, how can I get more involved?

If you reside in the East of England you can register on Screen East's crew database. They provide an introductory service to productions filming in the region. Screen East's Enterprise and Skills department also offers careers advice and funding for things such as training courses - so get in touch! Screen East offers a FREE service - to register with them either call 01923 495051, e-mail locations@screeneast.co.uk or visit www.screeneast.co.uk

Click on the image on the left to find out more about film locations in Essex and the East of England. Listing over 600 filming locations situated across the region which have played host to well over 500 productions, Scene on Screen has taken over two years to develop. In partnership with a number of tourism organisations, Screen East has populated the forthcoming website with the region's extensive filming heritage and provided a brief description of the individual locations.