Empire Theatre, Sunderland

1. Production Diary – Filming at The Empire, Sunderland
January4th
2022
AfterconcludingonwhatI will includeinmyshortdocumentaryon The History of Live Music in the
Northeast,Idecidedthata mainfocus pointwill be the SunderlandEmpire,andwhileIdowantto
discussthe entiretyof the Northeast( beingaregionallyidentitytask),Iwouldlike toshine lighton
Sunderlandasintoday'sage placeslike Newcastle acquiremore live musicactsthanwe do,and
since myclientisSunderlandCulture thiswouldbe more appropriate. Afterbeingprovidedwitha
camera fromcollege,Imade myway tothe venue tomeetSteph Durkin,the Creative Learning
Officer. Arrivingatthe venue IexplainedtoStephthatI am unsure of the venue’sfacilities,andthat
it wouldbe bestif she ledme wherevershe wasable to,meaningIcouldgetenoughfootage asI
could.
Firstly,she tookme to the Stalls,directlyinfrontof the stage,allowingme to geta variationof
differentcamerashots. Standingdirectlyinfrontof the stage,Iwas able toget a panningshot from
the floortowardsthe magnificentceilingandchandelier above me.Aswell asthis, close upshotsof
the seating,andseveral wide shotsof the whole venue,showingthe differentseatingareas. After
climbingup whatfeltlike several flightsof stairs,Iwasable to filminthe prosceniumboxesonthe
Upper Circle Balcony,whichunfortunatelyaren’tusedanymore.Fromhere Iwasable to take
differentshotslike wide angle shotsof the stage,andclose-upsof the chandelier.
Afterwards,Stephtookme tothe Gallery,the steepest pointinthe venue,andfromthisheightitlet
me take several wide shotsof almost all the interiorof the entire venueandstage. While filming,
Stephtoldme a varietyof differentstoriestodowithThe Empire,fromThe Beatlesperforming
there in1963 and people inthe audience throwingthemselvesatJohnLennon,orto the different
ghoststhat are knowntohaunt the venue. Uponfilmingall aroundthe venuewhere possible,Iwas
ledto the dressingrooms – these were the mostrecentonesasthe olderonesare basedbehindthe
stage,where we unfortunatelyweren’tallowedtoaccess. Followingthis,Stephtookme tothe
venue’sentrance aswell asbarwhere Icapturedsome more footage,rangingfroma panningshot
of the entrance interiortoclose-upsof inside the barandof smallerdetails.
All of the filmingwentsuccessfully,andIgot more than enoughfootage formydocumentary.
SomethingIwoulddodifferentlynexttimewouldbe totake a tripod,assome of myfootage was
slightlyunsteady.