Behind the Scenes: Hiraeth

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0:00:02 > 0:00:05Hiraeth was filmed in West Wales, around Pembrey Country Park

0:00:05 > 0:00:07and the town of Kidwelly.

0:00:07 > 0:00:10It's one of the six short dramas that It's My Shout,

0:00:10 > 0:00:12a training scheme, is making for BBC Wales.

0:00:14 > 0:00:16For director Nerys Wyn Davies,

0:00:16 > 0:00:17the title is important.

0:00:17 > 0:00:19I think the word itself explains that.

0:00:19 > 0:00:24It's Hiraeth. It's not explainable, it's not translatable.

0:00:24 > 0:00:28I think, as Welsh people, there's something in us all, I think,

0:00:28 > 0:00:31that, when we go away, we do want to go home.

0:00:31 > 0:00:35I actually directed for It's My Shout eight years ago

0:00:35 > 0:00:39and I haven't really done much since then.

0:00:39 > 0:00:41I've done an episode of Pobol Y Cwm,

0:00:41 > 0:00:45but I've had this, kind of, feeling that's, sort of, eating away at me,

0:00:45 > 0:00:47"You need to go and direct again!"

0:00:48 > 0:00:51The producer of the film relishes the challenge.

0:00:51 > 0:00:55Daniel Harris moved away from Wales for many years.

0:00:55 > 0:00:58He is also captured by the title of the film.

0:00:59 > 0:01:01Moving back to Wales and,

0:01:01 > 0:01:03kind of, producing this film right away,

0:01:03 > 0:01:06I did definitely have a sense of hiraeth, coming back home

0:01:06 > 0:01:08and the beauty of Wales and being out on a beautiful place

0:01:08 > 0:01:10like Pembrey Beach on a day like today.

0:01:10 > 0:01:13It's fantastic to be back. It's such a beautiful country.

0:01:15 > 0:01:19Pembrey Country Park has an eight-mile-long beach.

0:01:19 > 0:01:21Locally called Cefn Sidan,

0:01:21 > 0:01:24the stretch of sand is one of the longest in Wales.

0:01:27 > 0:01:30The beach we filmed on the first day of filming

0:01:30 > 0:01:31and the weather was beautiful,

0:01:31 > 0:01:35the beach was beautiful, everything about it was fantastic.

0:01:35 > 0:01:38There were different elements to it.

0:01:38 > 0:01:39Really, from my point of view,

0:01:39 > 0:01:43just taking advantage of the whole expanse

0:01:43 > 0:01:45and every shot was beautiful.

0:01:48 > 0:01:52The problem faced in Pembrey was capturing such a spectacular expanse.

0:01:54 > 0:01:57The interior scenes provided a very different challenge,

0:01:57 > 0:02:00with over 40 people in a confined space.

0:02:02 > 0:02:09Then, filming in the pub, we had lots of supporting artists there,

0:02:09 > 0:02:11a confined space,

0:02:11 > 0:02:13lots of people in one room, actually,

0:02:13 > 0:02:15which can make things quite difficult,

0:02:15 > 0:02:19with people talking across each other and so on,

0:02:19 > 0:02:22so just, yeah, two very different challenges.

0:02:24 > 0:02:26The pub was all about the dialogue,

0:02:26 > 0:02:30the beach was all about capturing the grandeur.

0:02:30 > 0:02:34It needed some specialist equipment called a drone,

0:02:34 > 0:02:36which is often used in feature films.

0:02:37 > 0:02:41When I first read the script and I was interested in Hiraeth,

0:02:41 > 0:02:43in my mind I'd imagined a drone,

0:02:43 > 0:02:47but I never thought I'd be actually working with a drone.

0:02:47 > 0:02:48We decided it'd be great

0:02:48 > 0:02:51if we could use a drone for those shots on the beach.

0:02:53 > 0:02:56Producer Dan also runs a company providing drones

0:02:56 > 0:02:58for the film and television industry.

0:02:58 > 0:03:03It's specialised equipment, as the drones are essentially mini aircraft,

0:03:03 > 0:03:06which have to be operated by experts.

0:03:06 > 0:03:08Air traffic control had to be informed

0:03:08 > 0:03:09when they filmed on the beach.

0:03:11 > 0:03:13A drone - most people call them a drone -

0:03:13 > 0:03:18an unmanned aerial vehicle, a UAV, is basically a small helicopter,

0:03:18 > 0:03:21a remote-controlled helicopter that has a camera attached.

0:03:21 > 0:03:24A real nice, crisp image, it's quite a wide lens,

0:03:24 > 0:03:27you've got quite a wide field of view.

0:03:27 > 0:03:28The boys will be setting that up,

0:03:28 > 0:03:31so one of them will fly the helicopter and manage the flight

0:03:31 > 0:03:34and then the other person manages the camera movements.

0:03:34 > 0:03:37The bird sends back the information to them on the ground,

0:03:37 > 0:03:39so they can see exactly what they need to see.

0:03:39 > 0:03:41The director can see it, the DOP can see it,

0:03:41 > 0:03:45so they can make sure that the visuals that the drone,

0:03:45 > 0:03:48the UAV, is getting is up to standard,

0:03:48 > 0:03:51is the shot they want and is going to work for the film.

0:03:53 > 0:03:54For Nerys, the director,

0:03:54 > 0:03:59the drone provided all the shots she needed for the climax to the film.

0:04:06 > 0:04:10It meant that she could convey what the writer wanted in writing Hiraeth.

0:04:13 > 0:04:14As you've seen in the film...

0:04:16 > 0:04:19..I think it makes it look really, really special.

0:04:20 > 0:04:23The writer spoke to us, "Where is home?"

0:04:24 > 0:04:28I think it's something really, really deep, isn't it?

0:04:28 > 0:04:29Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, and all that.