User:Davidsimmons/Roanoke: The Lost Colony

Roanoke: The Lost Colony is an independant film produced by The BSDS Production Company, UK.

It follows the story of John White and his expedition to Roanoke Island in 1587, when all colonial residents bizarrely vanished from the first English settlement on American soil.

Synopsis of film
 by screenplay writer from their website

A fictional tale based on the true events of the Lost Colony of Roanoke in 1587

When supplies became paltry, John White, as governor of the Colony at Roanoke, was elected to return to England. In doing so he left his pregnant daughter, Eleanor, behind to govern the colony. Upon his homecoming, White found the return to Roanoke to be delayed by war. Desperate and with few options he turns to an enemy, Simon Fernandez, for help. After a time of preparation and the turmoil, the unauthorized expedition left for the colony. As her father struggles to return, Eleanor struggles to keep the fledgling colony afloat. With food and supplies depleted, dissent begins to grow. Each day brings a longing for White's return and fears of the consequences should he fail. With the struggles of the journey behind them, White and Fernandez arrive at Roanoke only to receive a shock. Every single inhabitant of the island has mysteriously vanished, never to be heard from again. By Shane Robert

Major Crew
Director: Bertie Stephens

Screenplay: Shane Robert

1st AD:  Daniel Shirley 

2nd AD: Jenna Street

3rd AD: Sam Weeden

Set Photographer: Angela Keocharoen

Production Designer: Gary McMonnies

Supervising Art Director,: Karl Power

Art Director: Sarah Wolley

produced by and funded by: Bertie Stephens

Technical
Color info: Color

Sound mix: STEREO/DOLBY 5.1

Laboratory: SONY

Negative format: DIGITAL High Definition

Printed format: TBA

Aspect ratio: 1.85 : 1

Trivia
> The first scene shot for the film is in fact the last scene in the film

> Prior to ‘any’ shooting taking place the main cameras LCD screen was damaged, forcing the crew to all have to peek through the viewfinder to see what each shot looked like

> The White and Raleigh beach scene was shot at 4 o’clock in the morning

> Due to only being allowed to film in a museum out of hours, crew had to do 6am – 10am, and 6pm-9pm shoots.

> When shooting in a supposed ‘haunted’ building crew members picked up unusual interference on microphone hearing voices with Spanish accents.

> All the ‘English’ dialogue in the script was written by an American, Shane Robert.

> Bertie Stephens (Director) lost his keys an impressive 6 times in two shooting weeks.

> The crew slept on the floor of a meeting room in a Travel Inn Hotel for some essential kip between morning and evening shoots in Chichester.

> The characters of Simon Fernandez and Ananias Dare wear exactly the same boots.

> Bar the shooting of model boats, not a single electric lighting setup has been used on the film.

> The New AirBus and the Red Arrows flew into frame whilst shooting at Fleet Pond during the Farnborough Air Show.

> All outdoor representations of Roanoke Island are in fact shot in a nature reserve in Fleet, Hampshire.

> Some of the scenes set in Roanoke were shot on the official hottest day of the year in Britain.

> To scale model boats were shot in the directors swimming pool

> When Charlotte Hunter (Eleanor) had to dash out of a building and down a hill, barefooted, in a scene for the film, she was unable to prevent herself from running into a large pile of Horse Manure at the bottom.

> Unbeknown to viewers, Charlotte, who plays Eleanor, walked past as an extra in a scene where McNair was looking for her.

> James Alexander, who plays Sir Walter Raleigh, appears in the background working on an ivy branch in the Market scenes.

> The man seen flat out, drunk, on a table in the pub scene with White and Simon is in fact the Director himself, Bertie Stephens (who in real life does not drink).

> The soldiers in black cloaks in a supplies scene in the film are played by two of the Assistant Directors, Daniel and Sam.

> To make Eleanor seem ‘spooky’ in one scene she was covered in black ash found on a old fire pit found nearby to shooting.

> It took lead actor, Andy Sweet several weeks to remember the correct pronunciation of the word Roanoke!

> Countless phallic symbols appear throughout the film ‘unintentionally’ with objects placed in frame.

> There are only 2 female speaking parts in the film

> Michael Armstrong who plays Waits, fell down the stairs in the market scene, making a rather interesting entrance to the frame.

> Extras In the market scenes were not told what to say but to the crew’s amazement all delivered perfect, relevant lines

> Children were asked to simply ‘run around’ in the a market scene but surprisingly always perfectly timed a dash across the screen at the end of the scene