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An unexpected visitor, an archaeological mystery and a race against time.
 "The Stone Unturned" is written by Brian S. Matthews (Hidden Frontier - The Helena Chronicles) and features an unexpected visitor in the guise of Captain Jean-Luc Picard played by Giles Aston. Along with the crew of the Intrepid they have an archaeological mystery to unravel and of course, it's a race against time. "Sometime last year I approached Brian about doing a script that features Picard on an Indiana Jones type adventure, and that's exactly what he produced. It's a fun story, and I think it brings us back to Picard's roots as an explorer, rather than the more brooding Picard we've seen in the TNG movies." Nick Cook May the 9th 2008 saw the start of filming for this, the next full episode from Intrepid and was possibly the most ambitious shoot to date. Shot in 4 locations, involving nearly 20 people, it promised to be a challenge. As well as the usual Dundee studio location, which was used to film the standing sets, we also had the use of a much larger studio location in Arbroath which was used for the green screen work. The team once again found itself on location, this time in both Glen Doll and Dunkeld. Amazingly, there was only 10 minutes of rain. Glen Doll provided the rocky, hilly landscape seen in "Heavy Lies the Crown" and yet to be seen in "Transitions and Lamentations" whilst Dunkeld was a woody location more remeniscient of productions such as Stargate and The X-Files. It was a pleasure to have Giles Aston (http://www.jeanlucpicard.com/) aboard and it was certainly a surreal experience working alongside someone as similar to Patrick Stewart. When Giles first realised the similarity and people "spotted" him he was a bit retiscent, he now thorougly enjoys being recognised and does a lot of Patrick Stewart impersonation work. "I was really quite excited about the idea of having a Picard story, and having Giles on set was really rather spooky. He looks a lot like Patrick Stewart, and while you know he isn't, there are times you almost forget. Plus, Giles was a genuinely nice guy to have around, so it was a fun experience." Nick Cook You can see a very short video of Giles as he wraps his scenes here : Giles Aston - Youtube Another newcomer to Intrepid was Ric Forster (http://www.ricforster.com/). Well, sort of, he was part of the Sci-Fi team that filmed a "behind the scenes" short last year and liked it so much he came back to help out. Bringing years of professional TV experience in lighting and filming techniques, he was a pleasure to work with and made a great contribution to the shoot. "Having Ric there made a world of difference. We had a very, very heavy schedule, our most ambitious to date. In hindsight, I'm not certain we could have gotten everything we needed without Ric's help, and he taught us a hell of a lot." Nick Cook  Nick Cook (Producer) on how the shoot went : "Overall, very well. There are always areas where you think you could have done better, or in some cases you know you just blew it. This shoot was certainly no exception, but regardless, I'd say it's probably been our most productive, exciting and fun shoot to date. Between all the new faces, returning faces, and the general buzz on set, I think we all came together in way that we probably haven't on previous shoots. It was great." "We probably shot around twenty pages over the two and half days, basically all of Picard's scenes. The entire script totals about 32 pages, which leaves another 12 or so to do. " Steve Hammond (Director) summarises his thoughts on the shoot : "As I was attempting to elucidate late on Sunday night, when it was all over and we were attacking a defenceless bottle of Scrumpy, I think the best thing about being part of Intrepid is that we never play it safe." "Every time we shoot, or do some FX or do some part of a project, we somehow end up doing something we've never tried before. Even if it's difficult, new, or unfamiliar, we try it anyway. If it works, it makes us better. If it doesn't, we try something else." "Either way we've learnt something. Shooting "The Stone Unturned" didn't disappoint in that we've pushed our boundaries the furthest yet, from the most elaborate physical sets we've attempted to our most demanding schedule ever. And as ever, the most remarkable fact is that no matter how hard it gets, there are few if any complaints and everyone steps up to the mark. On behalf of Nick Cook and Steve Hammond, thank you Giles and Ric for being involved and to everyone else in front and behind the cameras, without which we couldn't do this. For more images from "The Stone Unturned" please visit the gallery. "The Stone Unturned" is slated for release in 2009. Intrepid Productions |
