Hannah Collins catches up with one of the country’s biggest studios – Dragon, recent hosts to Disney+’s Willow – and finds that post-COVID, operations director Tom Guy has never been busier.

From your point of view, how do you think the film industry in Wales has managed, post-pandemic? Would you say it’s bounced back stronger, about the same, or been badly affected?

Tom Guy: It’s been really busy since the pandemic, and I was so glad to see that happen. Many of our amazing crew, unfortunately, fell through the gaps when it came to government funding during lockdown so to get them back working and earning was really important. We noticed that the streamers got back to work quickly and the output in the industry during the first quarter post-pandemic was the highest we’ve ever seen – mainly driven, I think, by the fact that everyone watched so much of their content during lockdown so they had to come up with new content! Good news for us as a studio and for the crew!

Do you feel optimistic about the future of film in Wales?

I do and have done for some time. We’ve built a reputation in Wales for having talented crew, great facilities and amazing locations, and are recognised for those things worldwide. Because of that, we’ve attracted some of the largest production companies from all over the world to Wales.

Here at Dragon Studios, we’ve been fortunate enough to work with NBCUniversal and Lucasfilm in the past few years and continue to build on those relationships. I also work closely with both higher education and further education colleges and universities in south Wales. The work they are doing in preparing the next generation to work in this industry is great. It’s vital that we invest in the next generation of crew in Wales to keep attracting these global productions and because I’ve seen the work going into this, I’m optimistic that the TV and film industry in Wales will keep growing.

What’s the importance of homegrown filmmaking to the culture and economy of the country? 

It’s vitally important. I was fortunate enough to be trained at the BBC many years ago and worked on some great S4C dramas all over Wales. The grounding I received on those shows and the skills I learned taught me so much and have led me to where I am now. Some of the best people I know in the industry in Wales trained in the same way.

It’s not all about working on the largest shows with the largest budgets – it’s about working on shows that push you to think for yourself, find creative solutions and for me, most importantly, to learn and observe what other departments do so that you can understand and appreciate their roles too.

We have some incredibly talented homegrown companies and individuals in Wales that are key in bringing people into the industry. That, in turn, has a direct impact on the economy by getting people into work and showcasing what Wales has to offer. At the moment, we’re fortunate to have so many talented individuals in Wales whose work is recognised on a global stage – people like Gareth Evans [Gangs Of London, Havoc, Marc Evans [The Pembrokeshire Murders director], Dafydd James [Lost Boys And Fairies, Llwyth], Russell T. Davies and many, many more are doing incredible work and promote the Welsh culture so incredibly well.

How do you attract big studios from overseas to work here? 

In a way, Wales does a lot of that for me with its incredible landscapes and talented crew. Here at Dragon Studios, we’ve invested heavily in building bigger and better facilities so that crews have the best possible environment in which to work. This means that large-scale High-End TV shows have the facilities they need to produce epic shows, making use of our stages, workshops, offices and outdoor build spaces. Studios are very bespoke buildings, requiring large spaces to build huge sets, and suspending large loads from the ceilings. Productions also need large workshops on-site to build these incredible sets as well, in most cases, to manufacture their own costumes, props, creatures etc.

All that needs space, which is why we’ve been hard at work building these facilities here at Dragon. We’re also really keen to make sure that crew have somewhere relaxing to sit and enjoy their lunch or to step away from their desk, which is why we’re also working on keeping the green spaces we have and encouraging them to make use of our woodlands when they’re not in the studios. 

I know one of the biggest things you’ve been working on at the studio is Willow. Is there anything you can share about the filming of that? Was it mostly shot in the studio or on-location? 

I can’t say much, unfortunately, but I’d say it was pretty much a mix of 50/50 between studio and location. The crew did make use of some of the very best landscapes and locations that Wales has to offer, I can’t wait to see it on screen.

If you’re allowed to say, what productions coming out soon should people look out for that were filmed in Wales?

There were so many great shows made in Wales last year that it would be unfair to pick out any over the others, but I’m confident in saying that people will recognise some of the locations when they see them on screen, and hopefully, some that they won’t recognise!

As a former location manager, I always loved the challenge of finding the little secluded places that weren’t instantly recognisable and that maybe hadn’t been shot before. People always tell me they love playing ’spot the location’ when they’re watching shows that were made in Wales, so I won’t spoil that game for anyone. We’re also in talks with some very exciting shows about filming here at Dragon Studios, so keep an eye out for those!

Willow is scheduled to be released on Disney+ on Wed 30 Nov.

Info for Dragon Studios: here

words HANNAH COLLINS