Northwest Vision and Media, create the bigger picture
Manchester Filming Frenzy
Manchester Film Frenzy
Manchester has always been an attractive location for filmmakers but over the past two years the city's popularity as a filming location has soared dramatically, turning 2005 into the busiest filming year to date.
The continuing growth in filming activity assisted by North West Vision's Manchester Film Office has already exceeded last years record tally of 840 filming days. To date 342 productions have called upon the free services of the film office and 1062 filming days have been generated, of which 617 days are attributed to Manchester City Centre alone.
Last year over £30million of inward investment was generated for the local economy and hundreds of jobs created through filming in Manchester City Centre and Greater Manchester.
Commenting on the filming boom, Alice Morrison Chief Executive of North West Vision said:
" This is fantastic news and it shows that the work we have been doing to grow and sustain a strong and vibrant media industry in Manchester and across England's Northwest has been beneficial. Filming brings in a significant amount of inward investment and creates thousands of jobs for local talent. This boom can be attributed to several factors including the BBC's announcement to move a significant amount of production to Manchester, filming restrictions imposed in London (including congestion charges), Manchester's film friendly attitude and North West Vision's Regional Attraction Fund (RAF)."
Granada TV kindly supports the Manchester Film Office by providing office space in its Quay St premises.
The film office provides a free liaison service for all productions looking to film in Manchester and Greater Manchester. The office help with location requirements, organise filming access, and facilitate introductions to crew, facilities, local authorities and other partner agencies. Manchester City Council and partners from the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) fund the office.
Councillor Roy Walters, Manchester City Council's Deputy
Executive Member for Culture and Leisure said:
" Manchester earns international acclaim as a diverse and vibrant
city; an ideal filming location offering dramatic Gothic backdrops
and striking modern architecture as well as traditional friendly
communities and countryside parks. We are delighted that the city
has become a favourite choice for film producers."
ITV dramas Vincent (starring Ray Winstone), Cold Blood (starring John Hannah and Matthew Kelly) and Eleventh Hour (starring Patrick Stewart) are just some of the productions that have been shot on location in the city of Manchester and Greater Manchester over the last eighteen months.
At present the Manchester Film Office is assisting nine of ten dramas that are in various stages of production.
Earlier this year North West Vision launched an online locations database, which houses over 3000 location images of the Northwest. The database is a key tool used to attract filmmakers to the region.
