About the Cheshire and Warrington Film Liaison Officer

EMMA Welland has only been in her job for a couple of years, but already she’s established the Cheshire and Warrington Film Office as a one-stop-shop for all potential productions.

“I’ve worked hard to get the word out that I’m here, and that I’m ready to assist with any kind of filming enquiry, from location sourcing to pinning down a particular permit or finding the perfect crew member,” explains Emma, who works for Northwest Vision and Media, the film, TV and digital media development agency for the Northwest.

Her hard work is paying off. In 2006 Cheshire saw a 49% increase in the number of filming days taking place, compared to 2005 figures. In all, 52 productions came to Cheshire and Warrington, with over 50% of all Film Office enquiries leading to production companies finding locations in Cheshire.

“Film and TV production helped to generate £3.3 million worth of inward investment directly into the Cheshire and Warrington economy over the last 12 months, which is something I’m immensely proud of,” says Emma, who has always had an interest in film and TV.

“I did a Media Production degree at university and afterwards sort of fell into arts marketing, which I enjoyed, but really I felt I wanted to get back to what I’d learnt at university,” she explains.

After working for Macclesfield Borough Council, in the leisure services marketing department, Emma applied for the Film Liaison Officer’s role.

“The job was perfect for me,” she confides. “It’s not only about promoting the area, but it’s about film and TV too, which is a passion of mine,” explains Emma.

After taking up her post however, Emma realised there was much work that needed to be done – and most of it wasn’t that glamorous! “When I came to the job I found there was quite a backlog of forms that needed logging onto the computer.

“A huge part of my job is having the databases up to date, so that when someone enquires about a location or facilities in the area, then I have the details immediately on hand,” she says. Due to the pressures of the job, lots of that detail hadn’t been recorded.

“A lot of the images we had on the data base were also several years old and really needed to be updated. So in a way, it was like starting the Film Office from scratch, but that was great because it meant I got to know about everything inside and out.”

Emma is now something of an expert when it comes to finding answers to specific filming questions.

But she admits, it wasn’t always easy. “When the first lot of inquiries came in I wasn’t sure who I should be contacting, and which person in which department would be able to help me,” she confides.

“Thankfully, though, I’ve now got all the right connections in the police, highways and council, and I know exactly who to contact to get the paperwork and permits needed for filming. But it’s also a constant learning curve, and I pick up something new every week.”

A typical day for Emma, therefore, is usually very untypical. “I go through my emails first thing and attend to anything urgent that’s come in overnight,” she explains. “Some days I might then visit locations and take photos for the database, other days I spend reply to filming queries, and do my best to promote the region to potential filmmakers,” Emma says.

“I’m always on the lookout for more locations of every kind, right across Cheshire. Whether someone lives in a grand mansion or a two-up-two-down, I want to hear about it. Location mangers need particular sights and backdrops, but they also need garages, gardens, sheds - you name it, we get asked for it.”

And when a production does come to town, Emma is always on hand to smooth out any problems.

“Goldplated shot here, and it was really good to have a quality TV drama in production. It was quite challenging in that it gave us the most filming days from one production for quite a while,” adds Emma, who is based within Warrington Borough Council’s Economic Development Department.

“Although I’m the only member of the Film Office team based here, I’m really lucky to be working within the Economic Department. They’re a great team, and always willing to help out whenever they can.

“They’re used to me putting the phone down after talking to a Location Manager then just shouting across the office things like “Does anybody know where I can find an outside toilet?!”

Like her Economic Department colleagues, Emma is acutely aware of the long term benefits which film and TV production can bring to the area. “When the drama Pride and Prejudice shot in Lyme Park I know tourism rates shot up by nearly 200 per cent – so filming definitely does have benefits for the region, and I’d love to see more productions coming to Cheshire,” she says.

To do that, Emma is continuing her crusade to spread the word about what Cheshire can offer to production companies. “Cheshire isn’t only about green open spaces and big house, we also have the industrial areas of Halton and Warrington, and that’s what I try to get across to the industry,” she says.

“Of course, I don’t mind playing on the image of the Cheshire set brigade – it gives us an identity – but there’s so much more that Cheshire has to offer.”

Contact Emma

Cheshire and Warrington Film Office