Locations

In Waterfoot, behind a fish and chip shop facing Cordey's, is a decrepit house with boarded up windows, fire damage and all its copper and wiring nearly completely scavenged; I noticed this was an ideal place to film since it can symbolise what survivors must do to survive in our dystopian setting. Adjacent to this location is a useful route onto the river that runs through town. Even better news is that this route leads to where the river stems and appears akin to a dried out river basin which I personally think gives a strong ''wasteland'' ambience, especially once we incorporate Chroma keys and grey filters in the editing process. Following the river down a few yards there is an old mill/factory that has been left abandoned and as a result is now beset with weeds and overgrown foliage; a perfect component for the 'Chernobyl' aura and the feeling of desertion, death and even hopelessness. In addition to this, the area is quiet and riddled with run down metalwork and material, both common in post-apocalyptic settings. The most ideal factor for using this location is its proximity to school meaning we could film either straight after school or during lessons when it is still visible, as opposed to having to trek to a location and run the risk of it going dark early as it tends to do in the autumn.

In the end we didn't prompt for the Bacup location as it was under construction the week after I found it, meaning we couldn't get permission to film there due to health hazards and possible interference with working employees. 

Our next location was a burnt out and disused mill in Whitworth nearby Healey Dell and opposite a motor garage. The actual destitute mill is surrounded by a useful material 'dump' dotted with shattered walls and heaps of abandoned miscellaneous items littered about the perimeter. The windows of the building are mostly boarded up and an assortment of plant life riddles the exterior, some even bursts into the inside through fissures in the ceiling and walls. The rusted and dilapidated corrugated steel roofing is partially torn down, leaving a grotesquely shaped hole from which a deluge of murky light meets equally murky pools of rainwater and debris. The far corners of the mill are shrouded in gloom, and in the mid-ground what was once probably a loading bay for trucks and HGV's is now an unsettlingly dark abyss all of which evoke fear and venture. Ruptures in the walls reveal rusted piping that connects to filthy machinery, some of which have collapsed into metal corpses on the ground, whilst areas of erosion echo occasionally as rain drops trickle down the jagged sides and disturb murky puddles. The place is silent too, which is probably the most appealing aspect of the building; overall it fits perfectly with our ideal image of a place to shoot. 

Also in Whitworth is a wooded area next to an industrial estate and football pitch that is shadowy, rank with shrubbery and relatively quiet. We opted to shoot some dialogue shots at this location due to rampant nature spreading into man-made areas (which would happen in a post-apocalyptic setting as nature’s growth would be unchecked. A better, Hollywood CGI rendered version of what we were going for would be Post-Apocalyptic Manhattan in I Am Legend). 

In addition to this, we found a long abandoned facility near Spotland in Rochdale which is vast enough to cover an array of shots appearing to be in different locations. The main building in the epicentre of the area was once an asbestos manufacturing plant until recently when it created alternatives to asbestos up till it became defunct (the place has already been emptied of any volatile or potentially dangerous material so we're safe to be shooting in this location). Traversing through the centre of the area, and continuing on towards a dark wooded area (which we may also use), is a land subsidence containing a shallow river. There is a point where the river dries out below a bridge and looks desolate and evokes a sense of struggling to survive. The bridge can also act as a vantage point from which we can do some high angled shots. Inside the building, there are traces of humanity but they are scarce and diminished which is perfect to fit in with our post apocalyptic tale. Although deserted, the building has an uncanny feel to it like it still harbours ghosts of the past which we would like to encapsulate into our production, yet it is only a trailer and this would be a difficult task. 

We also used our deputy head teacher’s office as an FOB for the enclave antagonist in our plot. The room is neat, orderly and easily facilitated all the props we included, such as the Union Jack pillow. We used it as an idiosyncrasy of the setting that connotes a homely, mild mannered atmosphere whilst also acting as a contrast to the enclave’s destructive attitude towards Britain (they have had some role to play in the apocalyptic incident). Another clear advantage of using this location is that we can access it during school hours, alleviating us of any travel plans, and with very limited downsides. The room fits well with the chosen temperament of our antagonist since we opted for him to be of a suave, mellow and surprisingly amiable for a villain. An antagonist of the same ilk as a typical 'Bond Baddie' requires a suitable setting and the reasonably sophisticated room for a country wrought with desolation is more than sufficient. With the right camera angles and working of the rooms dark spots and curtains, we can make the room feel like it is isolated from the chaos of the world i.e.  underground in a bunker or a completely different location.