My involvement on this production was specifically with the Jordan location shoot, which covered much of the film’s major exterior work.

Stuart Heath at BGI Supplies, working alongside our workshop team, built a full-size Stealth Hawk helicopter for the production. The aircraft was mounted onto a crane and fitted with a hydraulic control system, allowing us to manoeuvre and articulate it during filming and give the performers something substantial and practical to work around.

I travelled out to Jordan with Stuart and the helicopter, initially to floor supervise the Special Effects work associated with the aircraft and the sequences taking place on and around it.

As the shoot progressed, that responsibility expanded and I ultimately ended up running the floor for the Special Effects department across the Jordan unit, rather than concentrating solely on the helicopter work.

It was a demanding location shoot, combining a large practical aircraft build with extensive exterior effects work in some challenging environments, and a good example of a job where the original brief grew considerably once we were on the ground.