Cinderella was my second project with Kenneth Branagh and producer David Barron. We were based at Pinewood Studios, with our main location work just down the road in Black Park — so no distant locations on this one. As I’ve since come to realise, Ken isn’t particularly keen on travelling!

One of the main Special Effects challenges was Cinderella’s carriage. We worked closely with my good friend Stuart Heath from BGI Supplies, who built the carriage from scratch. Once completed, we mounted the entire carriage onto a purpose-built towing rig incorporating bellows, allowing us to create the movement and suspension needed to make it feel convincing on camera. You can see some of the development and test work in the footage below.

Stuart also helped us with another slightly unusual build — the flexible greenhouse used for the close-up shots of Cinderella being pushed against the glass. Rather than relying on visual effects, we created a practical section that could physically distort and flex around the performer while still reading as solid greenhouse glass on camera.

A very different job from some of the larger action pictures, but one that involved plenty of practical engineering, mechanical effects and bespoke problem-solving — exactly the sort of work that often goes unnoticed when it’s done properly.