Setting the Scene
At the end of October 2005, Bakers Quay was the venue for shooting
scenes for the feature film "Amazing Grace", which tells
the story of William Wilberforce's crusade to abolish the slave
trade. The tall ships Kaskelot, Earl of Pembroke and Phoenix
(pictured right), together with appropriate scenery and actors,
were used to recreate the atmosphere of the East India Docks in
London circa 1780. Prior to the filming, the production company
took over nearby premises to provide workshops, dressing rooms and
refreshment facilities, and they paid some local businesses not
to operate. Spectators were able watch all the activities from the
Llanthony Quay side of the canal, being asked to remain quiet while
the cameras were rolling. |
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Scenery and Actors
Although the old warehouses and the visiting ships provided much
of the background, the film crew had to build temporary scenery
to cover up modern buildings that would otherwise have ruined the
scene. The production company also brought in over 150 actors dressed
as dockers, boatmen and merchants etc. Some of these were to be
seen moving bales, carrying a sedan chair, leading animals and working
a crane, while others were climbing the rigging of the moored ships
and rowing small boats. The activities of all these people were
co-coordinated by instructions from the director relayed by a system
of loudspeakers. |
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Action
The main
scene being filmed was the passage of the Phoenix carrying
merchants and slave owners past the moored ships and quayside activities
in the background. Those on the moving ship were being served with
lavish refreshments while being entertained by a string quartet.
This passage had to be filmed many times with a variety of different
camera positions, and this involved Phoenix having to make
a reverse passage after each shot. To aid steerage while in reverse,
outboard-powered dinghies applied sideways pressure as required
and then rapidly disappeared out of camera shot prior to the next
forward passage. Another scene on the quayside required rain, which
was provided from a huge gantry suspended from a crane, and some
shooting was done at night. |
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The completed
film, directed by Michael Apted and starring Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic
Four, Hornblower) and Albert Finney (Erin Brokovich, Gathering Storm),
was released in February 2007. For more about the tall ships, click
here. |