Images

L1

The studio 'flower bedroom' scene. This was to advertise their new themed bedrooms. Hanging at the top of the photo is the back wall. One shot with, one without to allow the dissolve through on film. Behind the bed a perspective garden is visible. This is all shot against chromakey blue with a motion controlled camera to allow the exact same camera move when repeated.

L2

This is the scene from the final commercial. The bedroom has dissolved into the garden scene. The background, shot on location at Alton Towers, has been superimposed onto the chromakey blue. As the studio set was built on a ramp, in perspective, it matches exactly with the location.

M1

The hotel model is seen here with the modelmaker Dave Babcock, making last minute adjustments. The practical lights dictated the scale of this model. They were golf ball bulbs with little gold mouldings stuck on their bases to look like their full size counterparts. This was all built without seeing the real hotel (as it was still being built).

R1

Here is the same model from the camera POV. The floor had special holes drilled to allow smoke to release when the ship touched down. When filming was over it was taken to Alton Towers as a momento.

R2

The real hotel shown from one of the staircases. The ships clock can be seen in the foreground. It would have been impossible to shoot the ship here as you just couldn't get far enough back. This photo was taken on the last days filming almost two months after we built and shot the model. Thank goodness they look similar!

R3

One of the rides seen on the final commercial. Forty locals were employed to ride round and round whilst being filmed, they must have gone around at least twenty times. Not surprisingly they all looked quite sick at the end.

R4

Peter Rabbit was shot at Alton Towers ice rink and one month later the cocktail glass with its rising ice cube was shot. The 24" diameter cocktail glass was built as a large model and the ice cube out of resin on a perspex rod. I still have the ice cube in my office!

R5

This shows the exterior of the real hotel just prior to filming. It had been snowing all day and the fountain was frozen solid. Hot water jet sprayers were used to get rid of the snow.

R6

The same hotel seen here on the final commercial. The sky was put in later in postproduction.

R7

The tea room at the location. The clocks and the tea set were hired. The star tea cup was especially made but shot separately on a motion controlled turntable in a studio. As the cup spins towards us it replicates the movement of the real teacup ride at Alton towers. The tracking of this needed calculating from the real ride and replicating, but scaled down, on the miniature turntable. Taking actual measurements of the camera height and teacup rotation on the first location shoot proved invaluable three months later.