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question about post-apocalypse filming..

if i was to shoot a short film/youtube series based on a nuclear apocalypse set in the UK, would anybody have any suggestions on location, effects, set, etc? I'm based around Bury St Edmunds so driving distance of less than 45 minutes would be great. Thanks.
 
The main problem you're gonna have with trying to find a pre-existing set for a "nuclear apocalypse" is that the idea behind a nuclear apocalypse is "everything has been destroyed". Intact buildings or empty fields or whatever just wouldn't fit at all. Unless you're willing to burn down a forest, I suggest taking Gonzo's idea and setting it inside a room. If you can, find a place that looks like it's not been used for a while - so an old, abandoned building. There are safety and legal issues with that though. The best approach would probably be to just get a normal room, somewhat dark lighting and set it up to look like some sort of shelter.

Gonzo actually made a fantastic short film called The Island, which, whilst not based in a "nuclear apocalypse", did do a fantastic job of showing the story of a character who had secluded himself from society after the island had been invaded by... something. At least I think that's what the story was, it's been a while since I've watched it. The basic idea of a potential "end of the world" scenario is there though.

Also, Wayside Creations made a Fallout based short film recently that's being made into a web series. It's called Fallout: Nuka Break, and the backstory of the Fallout series is essentially a nuclear apocalypse, just like what you're aiming for. What they did for a location was, I think, go to some sort of desert. They however had that nearby, and had a much bigger budget.

The main problem you're going to come across in the UK is there's hardly any, if any at all, locations you could shoot a "nuclear apocalypse". It's best to aim for something within your own limits, especially when you're an independent film maker. Not everyone can pull a Nolan and tell people to do everything without post-production effects (I was watching The Dark Knight behind the scenes stuff yesterday - my god that man is insane).

I suggest working on other things until you can think of some way to properly do this. If you don't think the room idea of Gonzo's is good enough, then you're going to have a very tough job on your hands getting this to look right.

tl;dr: Go with Gonzo's advice, or perhaps work on something else until a "nuclear apocalypse" setting is within your limits.
 
Earlier today I drove past a shut-down, for sale, abandoned brick yard and thought to myself "D@mn. The front gate is open. I wish I had some friends that weren't pusses so that I could gin up a story to be shot in there among the tall weeds growing through the cracked asphalt and rusted open buildings!"

With that consideration...

Do a little online research for your local commercial real estate for sale, see what's doable within reasonable driving distance.

Also, consider rock quarries (asphalt stone has gotta come from somewhere!), sand pits, pea gravel quarries, brown field industrial sites, auto junk yards, metal recycling plants, the back-nine of train yards, etc.
An abandoned airport/airfield or dock/harbor would be gold! Train stations! Ya'll got plenty of those, right? Any abandoned?
Commercial farm equipment barns.
Call your local fire dept. and ask where they do their training. Surely they've got some burnt-to-h3ll concrete structures.
 
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I love the discussion. I would suggest this thread about shooting location belongs in another forum other than screenwriting. It might garner more attention and responses from those who are actively engaged in shooting.
 
I guess you could wait until late fall/early winter or late winter to do all the shooting. That way the general atmosphere is bleak, no leaves etc. Then look for places to shoot like farms etc, the more dilapidated the better. It's pretty hard to make it convincing.
 
iight, thanks you guys, that was all really helpful

rayw i think i'm gonna keep an eye out for that cuz i only live 5 hours away from Wales and they've got a lot of quarries there, or worst come to worst i take a holiday up to the crags in Scotland with my cast haha

but AndrewLee, i did like that advice and will most likeloy use it. when it snows here, it's got that barren/void-of-life feel if i went to a field
 
If I were you, I would get used to indoors scenes, waking up REALLY early, and greenscreen-matte paintings.

I think Chernobyl is open to the public again now. Not sure how much it'd cost you to get there, but once you do it's very inexpensive ;)

In all seriousness, that would be a kick ass trip. It's about $2500 tho...
 
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Any construction sites that have stopped work? Here in NYC there's always a bridge being built or an apartment complex going up that is waiting for more funding so workflow has stopped. Any locations like that would be pretty cool. You could shoot the whole thing indoors but you're gonna need stronger characters when you have fewer locations.

A little rule I try to think about when writing, the more locations and action, the less depth characters really need and vice versa.

Also open fields, maybe woods, long stretches of highway if anything is close, NY Rt 17 is where its at, but the mid west people are the luckiest.

You can always film something as an establishing and then cut to a more accessible location where the heart of your scene would take place.

Effects, what kind of effects? Whats the story? Is it a family surviving together after apoc.? is it a guy trying to avenge his wife and kids murder, Mel Gibson is crazy but he'll still sue you lol.

Post apocolyse settings:

Basements(shoudl be easy to create a make shift bomb shelter)
backyards with broken fences
junkyards
any location that's defunct maybe an abandoned warehouse

easy props, might be a good idea to take a look at a local junk yard, pawnshop, Craigslist garage sales, if you have access to a garbage dumps, finding shit like a rusted bed frame for your characters sleep on in your make shift bomb shelter will add some reality to your low budget apocalypse setting.

if you're smooth you don't need a permit. If they catch you they'll tell you to leave, Leave and go back tomorrow.
 
One thing that would help aside from shooting outdoors would be to make the people look very very dirty. Some post apocalyptic movies make the mistake of having the actors look a little clean. The movies The Proposition, and The Road is a good example of how dirty at least.
 
Oh another tip could be get the actors to wear heavy clothing, like tattered jackets and stuff. This will give the impression of coldness and that sort of adds to the effect.
 
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