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London Underground Films Are Becoming More Popular than ever

Video Production in London has been on the boom for the last couple of decades. With an amazing skyline, plenty of iconic landmarks, and diverse architecture, the city has become an ideal location for filmmakers. In many of the famous scenes that have been filmed in London, we can see the beauty of the city captured all around. A few of the most famous scenes filmed in the London Underground are listed below:

Doctor Who (1986)

Doctor Who is a British television series. Doctor Who is about a time traveller who goes through space and time, helping people out of various situations. The show has since been retooled and modernized over the years, with many changes made to its main characters, villains, and stories that are being told.

In The Trial of a Time Lord, at 12 minutes, Doctor finds a Marble Arch in a mysterious place, and after watching the surroundings, he thinks London was destroyed, and this is all left of it. This particular scene was filmed in London.

Fast and Furious 6 (2013)

The Fast and Furious is a series of movies about illegal street racing, car-jacking, and espionage. The movie has been filmed in various locations worldwide, including London, where it was shot at Aldwych Tube Station which had an iconic fight sequence between two female characters .

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Thor: The Dark World is a movie based on the Marvel Comics superhero Thor. It was released on October 30th, 2013, and it is the sequel to Thor (2011).

This is yet another movie with some scenes filmed in London Underground, and the important scene that we are talking about was shot in Charing Cross tube station. The scene shows the landing of the Thor, and he asks a female passenger, “How do get to Greenwich?”, she responds “Take this train, three stops”.

Londoners were furious after watching this scene and called it a blunder by Marvel as Greenwich is not just three stops away.

Reasons Why London Underground is a Popular Filming Location

London Underground has a network of train lines that runs throughout the city. It provides a convenient and fast way to commute from one place to another in this big city. Let’s see why filmmakers love this place so much.

1.    Rich History and Culture

Filmmakers prefer to work in a place that has a rich history and culture. Being one of the world’s most ancient cities, London has a lot of ancient buildings and train stations. This helps the producers capture something unique and interesting for their movie.

2.    Crew

London has become a hub for filmmakers as it is very easy to find the crew in this city. Whether you need a stuntman, special effects artist, editor, make-up artist, or any professional, you will find them there. This helps the production process go smoothly without any major hurdles.

3.    Equipment

London offers a lot of resources in terms of equipment. Whether you want to buy it or need it on rent, you can find it in London. You will get all kinds of equipment, from lighting tools, camera support to vehicles, and much more.

Several production companies in London provide various services to filmmakers, which means that they can access almost any equipment they need for their movies.

4.    Tax Incentives

London offers tax incentives to all the filmmakers who come and make their movies in London. Filmmakers can get 25% of their expenditure back, and the good thing is that there is no Cap.

This means that you can make your movie at a much lower cost as compared to other locations. The government also provides various types of support services and assistance to the people who come to make a movie in London.

What restrictions are there for filming in London?

While there are many advantages of making movies in London, there are some restrictions as well. Some places usually remain out of bounds for filmmakers. However, if you work with the authorities, you can access almost all locations.

Also, London Underground does not allow filming during the rush hours as it causes delays and damages their equipment. The best time to shoot there is early morning or late night when no one is around.

How filming in London has boosted the UK economy?

The UK has become a home to many filmmakers in recent years, and it has helped boost the economy, especially their creative industry. According to this report by BBC in 2018, Filming on location in London adds £168m to the UK economy every year.

This helped local businesses a lot as these people made their purchases from the local stores and malls. These numbers will keep growing in the future if they keep offering such opportunities to filmmakers around the world. So eventually, it’s a win-win situation for both sides! Apart from that, filming also impacts the tourism industry positively. People love to visit these locations after watching the movie in theatres to get a feel of it.