Offscreen Magazine Online

There comes a point, less often than you would expect as a designer, where you are actually asked to do a drawing. Not just a drawing to show the layout or the construction of something, but a drawing to try and sell an idea. I was recently involved in one of the current episodes of the Bill, just prior to the plug being pulled, when they were still trying to increase their viewing figures and keep the commission. The script for “new style” (one hour long, post watershed) episode 41 called for a kidnapped child’s life to put in jeopardy. The jeopardy had to escalate, and involve heroic actions from both Inspector Dale Smith and PC Mel Ryder to rescue 4 year old Billy.

The director, Reza Moradi wanted much more drama and tension than was initially written. He needed a cliff hanger ending that would have not only put Billy in danger, but nearly see off both Mel and Smithy. We devised the idea of rising water within a drain, caused by the rising tide of the Thames. Billy was scared; he had fled from his abductor and then found the first place to hide, down a man hole. As officers of Sunhill Police station scour the area searching for the child, the river level increases, and time is running out for Billy.

First we had to convince the producers that the idea would work. Before finding a location I did a quick sketch (Pic 1) giving both of our police officers a reason to be there. Smithy holding open a heavy hatch, slimmer Mel squeezing through, and Billy stuck around a pipe. This had to be made presentable for a meeting to get extra funding for the sequence. After importing the sketch into Photoshop, initially just to tidy it up, I then started to play adding colour and texture (Pic 2) this was all a first for me, using Photoshop in this way and it was remarkably easy. I’ve always found adding colour to drawings to be the hardest part, but with Photoshop it is effortless and reversible. The concept was well received and was given £20,000 extra funding to try and realise the scene, less than was hoped for.

Having now found the location, a disused building site alongside the Thames in Bermondsey, we could now finalise the design. The site had unfinished lift shafts which could easily be the approach to our drain. A hatch would form the cut between our real world and the set. Smithy needed more to do than hold a hatch open, so we gave him another level to climb into and encourage Mel. Billy needed a better way to get stuck, with his leg going through a gap at the end where he thought he could escape. Again another sketch, (Pic 3) and again Photoshop brought it to life. Colour and texture were added, and elements from this used on the location dress too (Pic 4).

After pricing up building and filming on the underwater set at Pinewood, it was cheaper to use The Bill’s own studio in Merton. For the water, we went with a steel tank hired from Diving Services at Pinewood, which they described as “one big puppy”. 8 metres long, 4 metres wide and 2 metres deep, and weighing nearly 70 tons filled. Dave Shaw from the company supervised the installation, and after taking the draft excluders off the doors it scraped in. The main reason for using a steel tank is that they don’t leak, especially when placing a ten ton scaffold and steel rig inside of it.

Chris Reynolds was employed to do the special effects and build the main set rig, all working off the second concept sketch. To avoid having a secondary tank to change the water level, it was decided the cheaper option was to move the set up and down in the single tank. By building the set as a steel framed structure, it could be raised up and down on demand. Initial ideas of electric winches were abandoned as the studio in Merton has no grid. Instead we went for a seriously big Manitou crane which lifted the entire set, with the riggers locking of legs into the bottom of the tank. For simplicity we went for four fixed heights, from splashing in over feet to head under. Another Photoshop enhanced drawing was dispatched for the framework (Pic 5) which was then clad on site. Detail elements were hired in from both the Stockyard and Trading Post.

The scene was shot over two days, shooting with a tiny Panasonic AG-HMR10 HD camera in a waterproof housing. The water was heated to room temperature, essential to keep actors in the water for the whole day. Also hired in was a heated Jacuzzi, which gave the actors a place to sit off set when, still wet. Shooting in water is never easy, especially when it involves a four year old child and two fully uniformed police officers. The entire set also needs electrical isolation, qualified underwater electricians, specialist lighting, standby divers and had an exclusion zone for all electrical appliances within 6 metres of the rig.

Reza got the results that he wanted and “The Truth Will Out” achieved record viewing figures for the Bill of nearly 5 million and critical acclaim when it was broadcast in early April. Sadly this wasn’t enough to save the show and the Bill was officially axed the following week. Photoshop helped me in a small part to pitch the idea, used to enhance simple sketches. Unlike drawings done entirely with computers, the results still look natural. After a few disasters along the way there are a few tips. Always save after every ten minutes; using Photoshop in this way seems to really overload it. Always merge layers as often as possible, as this reduces the size of the file. Try all the different tools; some have really surprising results for which they weren’t intended. Don’t be afraid and get it to do what you want. Photoshop is a fantastically complex but rewarding programme, and not just for photographs.

I really enjoyed my brief stint designing for the Bill, and would like to wish all the people who worked on the show good luck in the future. The shows demise is a great loss to our industry and it will be sadly missed.

Thanks to Diving Services, Pinewood contact Dave Shaw 01753 785401. If Dave says it will fit, it will! Chris Reynolds at All Effects 07774 612241, Frame build, rigging water heating and effects.