Friday 29 March 2013

World War Z

A little change from my normal blog!

As many of you will know, there is a little movie coming out soon called "World War Z".  What many of you may not know is that some of the scenes were filmed in Scotland.  As a fan of movies, hence why I wrote a M.A.S.K. Script, I thought it would be good to go and see the "set" for myself!

So, my wife, son and I went to have a look to see what all the fuss was about! 



Above is an image from Google Maps - just search "George Square, Glasgow" for your own interactive look.

Some of the movie is set in Philadelphia and Glasgow was chosen due to it's likeness in architecture.  The whole of the area above in the centre of Glasgow was shut down for several days to allow the filming to take place.  Although not at the filming itself, we went a few days afterwards as the "set" was left as a sort of tourist attraction and I'm guessing that they may have wanted to make sure they had all of their shots before taking everything away.

There were many American Vehicles shipped in for the filming including Emergency Vehicles, Trucks, Buses, etc. as the vehicles we have in the UK differ immensely from those over the pond.







This shot taken on South Frederick Street shows the holding area for some of the vehicles - two ambulances, couple of Police motorcycles and in the back right a camper van (RV).







Confirmation that the scenes filmed in Glasgow take place in Philadelphia.






This American Police car was found on Cochrane Street.  As part of the "Set Dressing" there are some Newspaper Dispensers in the background of the shot - a familiar sight in the US but not in the UK.

A little pic of my wife (Heather) and my little boy (Reece) in front of a US Fire Engine.

This shot is taken in George Square itself, in front of the Glasgow City Chambers.

Being a fan of many movies, seeing vehicles like these in real life was a bit of treat!






Not very clear in this picture, but there is a Ford 4*4 (SUV) Police Car sitting on the pavement.












Another shot in front of the City Chambers on George Square - this time a S.W.A.T. vehicle.  We have a clue that we are on a movie set as you can see the green tape marking it's position on the ground.


Not the most exciting of vehicles but nevertheless it's noteworthy!






A few Army Hummers were also present so I assume that the S.W.A.T. team couldn't manage to contain the situation!!!




Moving away from Emergency and Army vehicles, we also have some more common vehicles such as this US Taxi cab which looks like it needs a bit of TLC.

In the background there is a Saab 9-3 and in other shots you'll see the likes of a Ford focus and other vehicles that are familiar sights in the UK.  There were also Jaguar XJ's and other European vehicles.  

I'm guessing to make the movie budget go further they used a number of vehicles that are available both in the US and in European markets.  Especially if Left Hand Drive vehicles were required but I did notice some of them were Right Hand Drive - not that you'd notice when watching the movie itself.



The Volvo above is sitting a cradle - I'm assuming to make it easier for it to be moved about the set.  From watching the Trailer for World War Z, I think this might be the vehicle that the main character, played by Brad Pitt, and his family are driving.


From what I can tell, the majority of the filming took place on Cochrane Street (the road running East to West) on the bottom of Google image above and in George Square.



Above, one of three Jamboree RV's scattered about.  I assume plenty were brought as pivotal to the storyline.  In the trailer we see Brad Pitt and his family taking possession of these vehicle.

This isn't the only vehicle to have had a doppelganger present though as the next few images clearly show -






When I saw this box van I knew I had to get a picture of me and my wee boy with it as it does have our Surname on it after all!

This vehicle was on the North side of George Square.







This Bin Lorry (Garbage Truck) was on the South side of George Square.

To the left of it is another of the Jamboree RV's and in the background you may see some damaged vehicles - see below for some better views.







The image above shows an identical Garbage Truck crashed on through an identical Crawford Brothers Butcher box truck.  The vehicles even have the same number (license) plates.

At the bottom of the shot you can see a metal plinth held down by some concrete blocks - this is part of the set dressing again and this is an American Style Street Sign.  Below you will see some more shots of the above carnage.






And no, the picture below ISN'T the result of me sitting in the back of this car!!



Obviously, things in the UK are different from the US so some set dressing was necessary from Intersection Road Signs to traffic lights to make it more realistic.





The final two pictures above were both taken near the "A" pinpoint on the Google map image above.

I thought it fitting that the posters mention the word "Mask" as I was writing my M.A.S.K. script at the time and thought this would tie in well with my blog!  It was an interesting day out to see behind the scenes and there are some great videos on Youtube; including some shots of the sequence that results in the Garbage Truck crashing.

I'll post the complete set of the images I took on my Facebook Page.

Thank you for looking and normal service will resume soon with my review of Issue 10 of M.A.S.K. Comic UK.

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