Hot on the heels of the news earlier this week that both The Model Unit and The Magic Camera Company are working on the model shoot for the upcoming two series, we’ve been provided with a surprise look at the shoot from Dan Kay, the Production Manager for Series XI/XII.
The Dwarf model, a motion control camera, and what appears to be a nice close up fly by shot.
What’s not to love?
It’s a lovely sight, isn’t it? We talked previously about how great it was to see two experienced companies involved in the model shoot this time around, and we can already see the benefit of using them in this photo with the very apparent motion control camera. Anyone that’s watched We’re Smegged and the deleted scenes for Series X will know that this wasn’t the case for that series, and in trying to create the end credit fly over the camera literally had to be hand moved, leading to a result that didn’t quite work. Clearly we are off to a great start here with what should hopefully make for some truly stunning model shots.
With regards to the model that is on display here, interestingly e would hazard a guess that this isn’t the bigature we have seen previously, nor the model used in Series X. While it’s difficult to be certain either way given that there isn’t a huge amount to judge the scale against, it does appear a bit too small to be the giant nose cone, but equally the meteorite doesn’t look the same as on the smaller model, and the incompleteness of the model in order to lay it flat would necessitate taking the model apart in a way we don’t anticipate. We’d certainly not rule out this being the second model made by The Magic Camera Company and separate from both of the previous Dwarf models we’ve seen, but we just can’t say for certain one way or the other.
Either way though, all of the signs are promising here. We’re getting back to how the best model work in the show’s history was filmed, all be it on green screen this time, and really this is precisely what we all hoped for after Series X. With the model shoot presently ongoing still, it’ll be very interesting to see if we see any other tidbits over the coming weeks.