Servicing the feature film industry for over 35 years
King Arthur was another one of those productions that has stayed with me, although probably more for the experience of making it than for the finished film.
Directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Clive Owen, Keira Knightley, Mads Mikkelsen and Ray Winstone, we spent the duration back in Ireland, returning to some of the areas I already knew from Saving Private Ryan, but travelling further inland for many of the locations.
For the Special Effects department it was a very physical job — large-scale battlefield effects, smoke, arrow hits, fire effects and all the mud, rain and controlled chaos that came with creating that world practically. There was a real rawness to the shoot: freezing mornings, wet costumes, difficult ground and long days out on location.
But when I think back on King Arthur, what I remember most is the crew and the social side of the job. We had a lot of fun making it, and Ireland once again delivered the sort of location experience that creates stories you end up talking about for years afterwards.
Unfortunately, I don’t think the finished film quite lived up to the experience we had making it. But not every production is remembered because of the end result. Some stay with you because of the people, the places and the time you had along the way.
King Arthur was definitely one of those.
