A film extra's perspective...
Text needs updating and improving, this is the page as it stands on the 26th September 2007....
It needs redoing with the photos as thumbnails......
Some old scanned photos taken in June 1987 at Dinorwic quarry near the village of Llanberis in North Wales (UK), while
I was working as a film extra for Lucasfilms. The quality of the photos is pretty bad I'm afraid.... The result of
using 1000ASA film (for the dark scenes), which however seemed to screw up the camera settings for daytime use...
It may also have been badly developed.... (This was 14 years before I got a digital camera...)
Better photos (from the castle) were taken by a friend.
One could never get to take photos of the interesting scenes, such as the pig transformation
as one was busily participating in them........ (I only survived one night as a pig.....)
As for meeting the stars, one was kept well separated ! My only vivid memory is of Warwick Davis
roaring out of the car park in his Mini Metro......
(Above) Taken in the field below Dinorwic Quarry, where all the marquees were for the costume fitting and changing into. Also all
the (excellent!)catering was down here. One got taken up to the castle where they were filming by minibus or one
walked up along the track. Photo taken looking West, with the tower of Dolbadarn castle against the
skyline in the middle, and Llyn Peris in front.
The Dinorwic quarry site has since then become the "Welsh Slate Quarry Museum" though whether the
actual site where the Willow castle was built has changed at all I do not know....
Click here for an Aerial view of the quarry where the castle was situated....
(The costume fitting and catering , took place in the the fields to the right
at the bottom end of the lake.... The castle was -more or less-
in the middle of the photo, in the large flat green
elevated area within the piles of slate...)
Me looking in a grumpy bad mood........ Director Ron Howard (?) looking through the camera behind......
Bavmordas Castle, on set, before the CG(?) effects were added in the film making it appear enormous...
The castle was created by sculptor 'Keith Short', who has a website with more photos of this castle.
Waiting around.....As a film extra one often seems to be hanging around..... The haze in the background
may have been from artificially generated 'fog'. My memory is sketchy on this point, but I remember
there being some sort of pipe placed around the edge of the site, which produced a sort of 'smoke'.
Bavmorda's castle, with the camp in front, where the pig transformation took place....
Missing the red scarf.... Helmet made out of plastic. Swords (Roman 10th legion!) and shields etc.
were only handed out on the set which was up in the disused quarries....They probably
though people might pinch them....
Taken from the castle ramparts.
*** This photo was taken by someone I knew at the time,whose name
I'm not sure of now, if he sees the photos here and wishes them to be removed (or recredited), I will do so...
Just prove that you are him.....
Taken from the castle ramparts.
*** This photo was taken by someone I knew at the time,whose name
I'm not sure of now, if he sees the photos here and wishes them to be removed (or recredited), I will do so...
Just prove that you are him.....
Taken from the castle ramparts. The 'charge' into Bavmordas castle , where in the film the horsemen appear to
be coming out of the ground... In the back, were film extras (including me) charging in on foot. I managed to
slip up nicely and cut my arm, on the slate. Note the cars on the main road (the A4086) in the background, below
a bit of the lake can be seen....
One could hear the whistling of the Snowdon Mountain Train in the quieter moments....
*** This photo was taken by someone I knew at the time,whose name
I'm not sure of now, if he sees the photos here and wishes them to be removed (or recredited), I will do so...
Just prove that you are him.....
What is an Airk, doing up in Bavmordas castle, chatting to a Nockmar?
*** This photo was taken by someone I knew at the time,whose name
I'm not sure of now, if he sees the photos here and wishes them to be removed (or recredited), I will do so...
Just prove that you are him.....
About 9 more photos to still be scanned. (When there's time.....)
Check out my website, if you so wish....
Sketches of medieval armour.....
Last updated : 24th December 2007