January 2005

I've done an episode of Doctor Who where I play this Doctor Who boffin who's got this website running about the show and Billie Piper comes to find out about it, Benton tells the Designer Magazine site. "I guess I play the voice of every Doctor Who fan, (laughs), I'm not saying that every Doctor Who fan lives in a shed though. I talk about the Doctor in the way I suppose fans would...and then I get killed."

I'm just back from watching part of tonight's filming in the restaurant Bistro 10 down at Cardiff Bay. I'm not sure what episode the filming was for, but Christopher Eccleston was present, and sporting the burgundy T-shirt previously seen, if I remember rightly, in the London filming for 'Aliens of London'.

The scene I saw being filmed involved a fairly lengthy exchange of dialogue between Eccleston and a blonde actress (I'm not sure who this was) who were sat facing each other across a swanky restaurant table -- Chris seeming to be doing most of the talking. Since he was pretty much stationed in the centre of the restaurant, and since it is entirely glass-fronted, passers-by -- and the few fans in attendance -- had a perfect view as takes were rehearsed. A number of extras had filled out the restaurant, while further extras were cued to walk past the exterior, study a menu, and thereby provide background colour/movement. A separated-off section was occupied by production personnel, though this was still visible to the public thanks to yet more contemporary stylings in the way of glass-frontage.

I was also fortunate enough to catch some of the raw footage on the monitor which was clearly visible from public space outside the restaurant.

What I saw was a tight close-up of Eccleston shot in exact profile, and positioned towards the right-hand side of the frame facing inwards (i.e. a classic shot for the purposes of continuity editing, likely to create the impression of two people, Doctor and A.N.Other, very starkly and directly facing one another).

The camera stayed on Chris as he spoke, and then very slowly (this was one take, approximately a minute or so long) moved further away and started to circle the table. Eccleston then became more clearly animated and began to gesture as if to emphasize points in an argument or exposition -- a classic monologue or haranguing from the Doctor, perhaps? In any case, seeing the ninth Doctor in close-up on-screen was *amazing*.

Oh, and I was told that there are 9 weeks of filming left, although as with other on-location mutterings, feel free to take this with as many -- or as few -- pinches of salt as you like!

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Well, it transpires that my decision to leave tonight's filming relatively early was quite a mistake. I've just heard the following from friends -- Martin and Tim -- who stayed on for the duration. I shall report *exactly what I've been told*, however odd it may seem.

Firstly, the director on location was Joe Ahearne. Phil Collinson was also present. I didn't spot these people myself, despite recently having seen pictures of them in various Who-related magazines. No word on whether Phil was dressed in homage to the ninth Doctor's costume.

And now here's where the plot coagulates. The actress dining with Eccleston was apparently Annette Badland, previously confirmed as appearing in 'Aliens of London' (which also seems to chime with Eccleston's colour of T-shirt). I must admit, I did initially think this myself, but as it didn't fit with what I assumed they'd be shooting, I promptly dismissed the notion. So -- pick-up shots directed by a different director? Seems highly unlikely, I would have thought. Another possibility: 'Aliens of London' somehow bridges directly into the Joe-Ahearne-directed ep 6, meaning that there is an overlap in characters? (And that the Dalek story may begin, at least, in a contemporary setting...). Or was this from Paul Cornell's story, while again there is a previously unannounced overlap in characters... Of course, we already know that there are going to be some recurring or semi-regular dramatis personae, and even recurring locations such as the hospital from 'Aliens of London'/'The Empty Child'... It is beginning to seem as though this season's stories, though distinct, may jigsaw together in extremely crafty ways to create far more than the sum of their parts.

(Note added later: Although if pick-ups are being done by the current block's director -- and come to think of it, I have indeed read that before on OG, my apologies for not picking up on it earlier -- then Annette's presence would be less odd.)

Anyway, rampant speculation aside, I'm told that tonight's filming concluded with the most complicated special effects set-ups (as is customary). All the restaurant's occupants were seen to gaze upwards in terror, and a hefty window pane was exploded shortly afterwards, this being followed by the reaction shots of assorted diners -- yet more terror for this contemporary-Gothic Who.

--Matt Hills

If you were walking down City Road in Cardiff towards the city centre at around 6.15pm on Friday, 14th January 2005, you would have found it difficult to ignore a large bright light shining out from behind some foliage near the church on Newport Road. The light is a powerful BBC scenic light mounted on a scaffolding tower. It shines through a diffusing grille into the forecourt of Cardiff Royal Infirmary opposite. Except that the CRI has had a makeover. An arched sign over the gates, apparently of cast iron, claims it as Albion Hospital. Behind the walls to either side of the gates are gunmetal coloured sheets of corrugated iron. Behind the gates, the low walls along the ramp to the curved double front doors have been surmounted with goldfish bowl gas lamps and reinforced with sandbags. All the windows have diagonal crosses of white tape and a large cloth banner hangs far above the doors covering much of the frontage. It bears the symbol of the red cross, used during the second world war to prevent aeroplanes from confusing hospitals with military targets. The powerful light casts the shadow of the large tree in the forecourt across this banner to eerie effect. Passers by gaze in confusion at this suddenly anachronistic transformation while twenty-first century cars drive past in ignorance.

Meanwhile, in front of the gates a complicated camera rig is being assembled. When it is ready, the camera hangs in a protected cradle from the end of a long black arm extended from vertical black mount to one side of the gates. Connected to this are the camera monitor and controls. The point of this rig is to give the camera a view of the area in front of the gates without the light across the road casting the camera's shadow into the gate area. A truck stops by the traffic island at the end of the road and two of the reflective waistcoated men who are keeping a watchful eye on events jump down from it. They begin to unload and set out traffic cones to narrow the road lanes. This will slow the movement of traffic, making the location safer and limiting the risk of vehicular shadows being cast across it. The traffic noise will not be a problem as no dialogue scenes are to be recorded tonight. The background noise will be dubbed over with a more appropriate soundtrack during editing.

There is a call for action and the camera rig moves smoothly towards and focuses in on the gates, where precisely nothing is happening. This is a camera rehearsal and when the crew are satisfied, there is a pause while a member of the cast is summoned from inside the hospital.

Soon the camera is repeating its earlier manoeuvre three times in succession and each time, on the monitor, Christopher Eccleston walks along the wall, turns to stride up to the locked gates and pauses to examine the padlocked chain securing them. There is a pause in filming while the next shot is prepared. Eccleston chats to some children and the adults standing with them by the gate, probably relatives of someone connected with the production. A beautiful young camera assistant holding a digital clapperboard asks some onlookers if they are Doctor Who fans. They are pleased to learn that the scenes being recorded tonight are for the two part Doctor Who story The Empty Child, due to be broadcast on BBC1 later in the year. She tells them what is going to be shot that evening and points out some of the scenic crew, who are affixing wooden signs painted with the words KEEP OUT - AREA RESTRICTED to the corrugated sheeting with a drill.

The camera assistant rejoins the crew as the next shot is ready. Now the focus is entirely on the gates. On the monitor, Eccleston walks into shot, pauses again before the padlock and reaches into a pocket to retrieve what looks like a futuristic pen torch. This he shines into the padlock, which comes apart in his hands and he unloops the chain from the gates. He then pushes open the gates and strides through them. A few more takes follow before the final part of this sequence is shot. These takes begin with Eccleston pushing open the gates then the camera tracks him through them, up the ramp to the doors and after trying the doors, Eccleston shines the pen light on their lock, opens them, steps through.

The watching fans are pleased with this as they believe the pen light to be a Sonic Screwdriver, a device used by previous Doctors which generates focused sound vibrations and can be used to loosen bolts or even ignite marsh gas. The crew also seem pleased. Hot drinks are being shared out and the camera rig reset. The fans see this as an opportunity to snatch a quick word with the latest actor cast as their hero but as they cross the road, one of the men in reflective waistcoats sends them back. Soon after, Eccleston has left the location but the camera crew is ready for another shot. The gates stand open. There is almost no traffic now and a concealed smoke machine creates a fog through the forecourt, lending the location an even more sinister aspect than before. The doors of the hospital swing open and a column of figures shamble out, moving at an unnaturally slow, even pace towards the open gates. They all wear primitive gas masks, shaped like badger snouts made of dull green canvas with glass covered eye holes and a round filter at the tip, leather straps buckled around the back of the head holding them in place. One of the two at the front is a thin figure wearing a white lab coat, the other is much thicker set, in black trousers, a white shirt and a maroon tank top. A few are dressed in period nurses' uniforms. Others are wearing 1940's overcoats or dressing gowns. These were presumably patients at Albion Hospital and are of all ages, the youngest being two twin girls in pigtails wearing red woollen overcoats who could be as young as nine and certainly not older than twelve.

This is a scene described earlier by the camera assistant as the sufferers of Empty Child Syndrome emerge. This walking nightmare takes on an even more surreal, dream-like quality when on reaching the gates, these extras suddenly break step, becoming more animated and removing the gas masks. The second take is even more impressive. The third ends with a laugh as an older woman in a magenta dressing gown turns in the act of removing the gas mask after the take and almost causes a passing member of the crew to fall to the ground. The extras re-enter the hospital and the camera rig is disassembled. The camera is repositioned across the road without the elaborate camera rig for the final shot of the evening. A few fans still remain on the site and are initially told that it will be acceptable for them stand to the left of the hospital but they are asked to move to the other side of the road, behind the camera. Possibly their shadows were unexpectedly in shot.

On the takes, the camera simply pans or tracks across the front of the hospital. This will be an establishing shot, showing the warning signs on the corrugated metal, some period fly posters flapping between them, the hospital name, the red cross banner and the taped across windows. On screen this will be a very brief shot conveying the austerity of wartime and the mystery of night. "That's a wrap!", calls a tall man in a red jacket.

A man in a yellow reflective jacket quietly expresses his relief at this. He explains to the fans that he has been there since 8.00am and by the end of a fourteen hour day, his enthusiasm is considerably diminished. A blonde production assistant hurries across and asks if any of the crew want a call sheet for the next recording. The camera assistant folds one up and tucks it into her back pocket before dismantling the camera and stacking it on a trolley. A fan offers to help but she politely refuses, as the camera crew tease her about it and call to her to "Leave those boys alone!".

Soon the camera crew have gone, but the fans linger a little longer. Crossing to the hospital again, they ask the BBC person left watching the site if they can take the period fly posters. After a momentary pause, he says yes. These are 12.5x9.5 inch (190x252mm) sheets, the text printed with a manilla coloured background simulating the look of paper that has been browned in the sun. The centred text in red on a typical example reads:

YOUR
"EMPTIES"
WANTED
Please bring back your
empty cod liver oil
and orange tonic
bottles when you come
for a new supply
ISSUED BY THE MINISTRY OF FOOD

In a production as complex as Doctor Who, these fly posters are a detail so tiny that when the completed episode is broadcast, it will not even be possible to read their text. By ten'o'clock even the fans have left. It has been a good night. The production team is happy, the fans are happy and the latest Doctor Who adventure is in the can.
--Timothy Farr

Paul Mount:
Last scene filmed - several times - showed a dozen or more 'zombified' humans in gasmasks - they looked like patients, nurses, etc, lurching out of the hospital doors. lots of mist drifting across and a cleverly-placed arc light on the other side of the road cast an extremely spooky shadow of a treebranch right across the building. Looked quire eerie. in other news....filming quite behind schedule but no-one particularly worried. Daleks...(note plural) very effective and super-sophisticated in filming for the Shearman episode, filming moves to barry island (home of Delta and the bannermen) for a week's filming next week and...start date for series on TV said to be first week in March. Now some of this came from the security bod who also said they'd filmed 17 episodes so far and that Christopher Biggleswade was the Doctor (when I corrected him he said he was always getting the names confused....Bigglewade is apparently a guest star in one episode or other. I've never heard of him myself) so there may be cause for some uncertainty but he seemed to know what he was talking about. Also said CE was a great bloke (he was chatting amiably to some young fans between takes tonight) and Billie is "lovely..."


Alex Willcox:
There didn't seem to be much happening this morning, so I went back to bed for a couple of hours. I've just got back, and the place is being set up for tonight's filming. It is indeed Albion Hospital. There's a big Red Cross flag on the front of the building, and sandbags around the entrance and the gates. A quick chat with a security guard revealed a couple of titbits - they've been filming inside since noon, and will be doing exterior work after dark. The whole road's going to be blocked off, as "It'd look a bit odd, set in the 1930s, with modern cars going past."

The Hospital was mocked up with the same Albion Hospital sign used previously. Sandbags were placed around the doors and the main gate. A big Red Cross flag hung from the front of the building, and the windows had crosses of tape over them. A corrugated iron fence had been erected above the outer wall, with KEEP OUT signs, and several wartime posters, about A4 in size. The three I saw were: one about reusing old bottles, another giving advice on constructing your own air raid shelter, and the third warning not to burn or destroy wastepaper - every scrap is needed for the war effort. Another large sign saying Danger - Keep out was on the gates.

The first shot recorded was of The Doctor walking up to the gates of Albion Hospital, rattling them and, finding them locked. He takes out his sonic screwdriver, which shines a blue light, and the padlock opens. He then opens the gate and walks through. The camera starts high above the gate and swoops down, taking in the Albion Hospital sign, ending up at ground level as Chris walks into shot. We had a good view of the camera monitor, and this swoop looks very effective. After a few takes of this, a close-up of the sonic screwdriver and padlock was recorded.

The next shot was of the zombies coming out of the doorway (freshly painted blue!). There were about two dozen by my reckoning; men, women and children; all in period costume and wearing gas masks. I remember a large chap at the front in a purple tank top, two schoolgirls in brown coats, with satchels, and I think a nurse. They all appeared to have a cut or scar on their right hands. The zombies walked out of the door, and straight down the pathway to the main gates - no other movement or emotion at all. Three takes were recorded of this shot.

Finally, an establishing long shot of the Hospital was recorded from two positions on the far side of the road.

After all this had finished, we hung around for a few minutes, went over to the only member of the crew left around, tidying up, and asked if we could nab the posters. Much to our surprise, he said yes! We got props!

In between takes of the first shot, the camera assistant (whose name I didn't get) came over to chat to us. She confirmed that the filming was for The Empty Child, and told me about the shots they were filming, describing the Zombies as having "Empty Child Syndrome", though then told me that this was not a scripted name, and was just the name the crew use. She said she'd seen the TARDIS set, and that it was very good, and massive. I tried to find out where they were filming next, but naturally, she wouldn't tell me. She did say though that "You wouldn't want to go where we're filming next."

Finally, I'd just like to say that the crew were very courteous in tolerating our presence. Especially the Director who, after we were moved to the other side of the road when they noticed we were in view of the camera for the final scene, made the effort to come over and thank us for moving.

We have learned that all thirteen episodes of the first season will have their own titles, and not "part one / part two" tags. The working title for episode 5 (the second half of the "Aliens of London" segment) may be 10 Downing Street, while the title for episode 10 (the second half of the two-part story by Steven Moffat beginning with "The Empty Child") is likely The Doctor Dances.

As previously known, "The Empty Child," and its second chapter, are set during World War II and features John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness, who it is reported is actually a time traveler from the far future... and the story may feature a virus that turns people into gas-mask wearing zombies. Jack may also join the TARDIS crew, as previously rumored.

Yesterday (January 13) was the last day of filming at Cardiff's Royal Infirmary. "A security guard last night confirmed that it is Doctor Who, and that filming had finished for the day - Chris & Billie had already left. They should be there today from 8 am till 10pm. Don't know if it's interior or exterior," said correspondent Alex Willcox. Also, it has been noted by several people in our forums that that the building has been mocked-up as "Albion Hospital" again, so it does suggest the same story as had been filmed early on, or possibly in a different time period (possibly during "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances"). (We do know that pick-up and additional shots are being carried out for earlier episodes, as the shows are not being filmed in sequence.)

The new edition of Starburst magazine features shots of a wedding from 1986 attended by Rose's parents (along with a young Rose), the TARDIS in a side street and a green car which it says may be the one that kills Rose's father. Also shots of the Doctor and Rose together and the Doctor on his own looking sad. These are from episode 8, which is apparently a time travel story: Rose's father is killed in a car accident and Rose is unable to save him. (We've also been told that the topiary swans featured on the BBC Who Spy site seem to be the ones outside the church.)

A new series press "junket" (or invited press session) for interviews and photos took place earlier this week; expect to see reports from that coming out very soon, possibly even in the next week. (Thanks to Barry Piggott, Alex Willcox, Nathan "Obstreperous", Glen Hudgins)

On the afternoon of Sunday 9th January 2005, the two ends of Womanby Street (one in Quay Street and the other opposite Cardiff Castle) were sealed with traffic cones and security people in yellow reflective waistcoats. Shortly before 7pm, Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose Tyler were performing a sequence in which they run into an alley off Womanby Street opposite The Gatekeeper pub. The alley was dressed with washing hanging to dry from lines between the buildings and looked not unlike the closing credits to 1960's editions of soap opera Coronation Street, albeit in colour. This prompted speculation among onlookers that these scenes are intended for the rumoured storyline in which Rose finds herself in a time when her deceased father was still alive. There was one strong overhead light source on set shining into the Alley from Womanby Street all evening, suggesting both a moonlit scene and that all shots being recorded were taking place in the Alley. There was a break in recording at 9pm and Billie Piper left at this time. Sources on set claim that recording is set to continue through until 3am.