Filming at UCL
Encyclopedia
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
is used as a location for film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
recording because of its position within London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and the historical nature of the UCL Main Building
UCL Main Building
The Main Building at University College London, includes the Octagon, Quad, Cloisters, Main Library, Flaxman Gallery and the Wilkins building. The North Wing, South Wing, Chadwick Building and Pearson Building are also considered part of the main UCL building .- History :In 1827, a year after the...
and quad. A list of films and TV appearances includes:
Fiction
- InceptionInceptionInception: The Subconscious Jams 1994-1995 is a compilation of unreleased tracks by the band Download.-Track listing:# "Primitive Tekno Jam" – 3:23# "Bee Sting Sickness" – 8:04# "Weed Acid Techno" – 8:19...
(2010) - starring Leonardo DiCaprio, directed by Chris Nolan - Seen filming in the UCL Quad, a Lecture Theatre and Main library on the 15th July 2009. - Law and Order: UK (ITV) - for 2011 series, use of main quad, space under portico, cloisers among other smaller parts
- Burn Up (BBC 2008) - portico and quadrangle used as the High Court of JusticeHigh Court of JusticeThe High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
- Jhoom Barabar JhoomJhoom Barabar JhoomJhoom Barabar Jhoom is a 2007 Bollywood film starring Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Bobby Deol and Lara Dutta. It is directed by Shaad Ali. The film is produced by Aditya Chopra and Yash Chopra under Yash Raj Films...
(2007 Bollywood film) - the stairs up to the portico are used for the title song - SpooksSpooksSpooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
(Series III, episode II) features the front quad and the Gustav Tuck Lecture Theatre. - The Mummy ReturnsThe Mummy ReturnsThe Mummy Returns is a 2001 American adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers, starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr, Patricia Velásquez and Freddie Boath. The film is a sequel to the 1999 film The Mummy...
uses parts of UCL (mainly the Main Quad) to masquerade as the British MuseumBritish MuseumThe British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its... - Agatha Christie's PoirotAgatha Christie's PoirotAgatha Christie's Poirot is a British television drama that has aired on ITV since 1989. It stars David Suchet as Agatha Christie's fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It was originally made by LWT and is now made by ITV Studios...
, 9th series, "5 Little Pigs" episode, filmed in old main library entrance and in main quad. In addition, "Four and twenty blackbirds" was filmed in the UCL Main Library's Law reading room. Also used British MuseumBritish MuseumThe British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
Reading Room, and Room 34 whilst in the area. Also episode Hickory Dickory Dock was used filming of both the Cruciform Building and the main UCL Quad and exterior. - Batman BeginsBatman BeginsBatman Begins is a 2005 American superhero action film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars Christian Bale as Batman, along with Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman, Ken Watanabe, Tom Wilkinson,...
features the DMS Watson library as "Gotham Print Room" and the exterior of the Medawar building as part of the police department headquarters; this film also uses the National Institute for Medical ResearchNational Institute for Medical ResearchThe National Institute for Medical Research, commonly abbreviated to NIMR, is a medical research facility situated in Mill Hill, on the outskirts of London, England. It is mainly funded by the Medical Research Council, or MRC, and is its largest establishment and the only one designated as an...
(as Arkham Asylum), and the cloisters of Senate HouseSenate House (University of London)Senate House is the administrative centre of the University of London, situated in the heart of Bloomsbury, London between the School of Oriental and African Studies to the north, with the British Museum to the south...
. The Thomas Lewis room in UCL, in the Rockefeller Building, was the setting for the courtroom scene. - ThunderbirdsThunderbirds (film)Thunderbirds is a 2004 science-fiction adventure film loosely based upon the television series of the same name of the 1960s, directed by Jonathan Frakes....
used the main Quad and Building as the "Bank of London", sited on the north side of Trafalgar SquareTrafalgar SquareTrafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
looking down WhitehallWhitehallWhitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
. On this site in reality is the National GalleryNational Gallery, LondonThe National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
, designed by the same architect as UCL (William WilkinsWilliam Wilkins (architect)William Wilkins RA was an English architect, classical scholar and archaeologist. He designed the National Gallery and University College in London, and buildings for several Cambridge colleges.-Life:...
). - Doctor in the HouseDoctor in the HouseDoctor in the House is a 1954 British comedy film, directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty Box. The screenplay, by Nicholas Phipps, Richard Gordon and Ronald Wilkinson, is based on the novel by Gordon, and follows a group of students through medical school.It was the most popular box office...
used the Portico as the entrance to "St Swithin's Hospital" - GladiatorGladiatorA gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
used the main Quad as one of its models for ancient RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. - Silent WitnessSilent WitnessSilent Witness is a BBC crime thriller series focusing on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in February 1996, the series is still airing to the present day, with a fifteenth series expected to air in January 2012. The series was...
uses the main Quad (carefully avoiding the Observatories), the main door, and the South and North Cloisters as well as the Octagon. And, while they were in the area, they also used the ULUUluAn ulu is an all-purpose knife traditionally used by Eskimo women, both Yupik and Inuit. It is utilized in applications as diverse as skinning and cleaning animals, cutting a child's hair, cutting food and, if necessary, trimming blocks of snow and ice used to build an igloo...
and Senate HouseSenate House (University of London)Senate House is the administrative centre of the University of London, situated in the heart of Bloomsbury, London between the School of Oriental and African Studies to the north, with the British Museum to the south...
buildings/ surrounding areas. - MinderMinder (TV series)Minder is a British comedy-drama about the London criminal underworld. Initially produced by Verity Lambert, it was made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television and shown on ITV...
used Quad in episode 'Sorry Pal, Wrong Number' (Season 4) - Never the TwainNever the TwainNever the Twain is a British sitcom that ran for eleven series from 1981 to 1991. It was created by Johnnie Mortimer, and was the only sitcom he ever created without his usual writing partner, Brian Cooke...
used main Quad as "Lord Smallbridge's House". - Eyes Wide ShutEyes Wide ShutEyes Wide Shut is a 1999 drama film based upon Arthur Schnitzler's 1926 novella Traumnovelle . The film was directed, produced and co-written by Stanley Kubrick, and was his last film. The story, set in and around New York City, follows the sexually-charged adventures of Dr...
uses the UCL GP practice as the clinic for Tom CruiseTom CruiseThomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
's character. - The Sooty ShowThe Sooty ShowThe Sooty Show is a British children's television series that aired on the BBC from 1955 to 1967 when the BBC eventually cancelled The Sooty Show after Paul Fox, the controller of BBC1 at the time, cleared out some of the long running shows. After it was cancelled from the BBC that year, The Sooty...
filmed around UCL in episode 'Hot Air Balloon'. - BBC FourBBC FourBBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
's 2005 remake of The Quatermass ExperimentThe Quatermass ExperimentThe Quatermass Experiment is a British science-fiction serial broadcast by BBC Television in the summer of 1953 and re-staged by BBC Four in 2005. Set in the near future against the background of a British space programme, it tells the story of the first manned flight into space, overseen by...
used the part of Gower Street which runs past various laboratories in the scene where Carroon breaks into a Chemistry laboratory. The original 1953 version had been rehearsed at the Student Movement House on the same street. - Raising the WindRaising the Wind (1961 film)Raising the Wind is a 1961 British comedy film written by Bruce Montgomery and directed by Gerald Thomas. It starred James Robertson Justice, Leslie Phillips, Kenneth Williams, Liz Fraser, Eric Barker and Sid James...
(1961) uses the main quad and portico as the exterior of the fictional 'London Academy of Music and the Arts' ('LAMA'). - The Complete Guide to ParentingThe Complete Guide to ParentingThe Complete Guide to Parenting is an ITV comedy drama, starring Peter Davison as George Huntley, Professor of Child Psychology at London University, best-selling author of Hey Mum & Dad, Get Your Act Together and LBC resident parenting guru. He finds his so-called parenting expertise put to the...
s opening uses scenes shot in UCL's Quad. Some scenes from certain episodes were also filmed here. - The 1959 film version of The 39 StepsThe 39 Steps (1959 film)The 39 Steps is a 1959 British thriller film directed by Ralph Thomas, starring Kenneth More and Taina Elg. It is a remake of the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film, based on the novel The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan....
showed the quad and main building as "St John's WoodSt John's WoodSt John's Wood is a district of north-west London, England, in the City of Westminster, and at the north-west end of Regent's Park. It is approximately 2.5 miles north-west of Charing Cross. Once part of the Great Middlesex Forest, it was later owned by the Knights of St John of Jerusalem...
Hospital". - The 2007 film Starter for 10 used the main quad, Gustav Tuck lecture theatre, parts of the history library and other areas of campus to masquerade as Bristol University.
- BritzBritz (TV serial)Britz is a two-part drama serial written and directed by BAFTA-winning director Peter Kosminsky and first screened by Channel 4 in the UK in October and November 2007....
, a film made by Channel 4 (2007) uses many parts of UCL: the Main Library, and parts of the Cloisters are used for cadaver dissection rooms. - AtonementAtonement (film)Atonement is a 2007 British romantic suspense war film directed by Joe Wright. It is a film adaptation of the 2001 novel of the same name by Ian McEwan. The film stars James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, and Saoirse Ronan. It was produced by Working Title Films and filmed throughout the summer of 2006...
uses the Physics Yard for shots of the casualty clearing area. - Some scenes of the 2008 film The Dark KnightThe Dark Knight (film)The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins...
were also filmed in and around UCL.
Non-fiction
- Derren BrownDerren BrownDerren Victor Brown is a British illusionist, mentalist, painter, writer and sceptic. He is known for his appearances in television specials, stage productions and British television series such as Trick of the Mind and Trick or Treat...
: The Heist, shown at 9.00p.m. on Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
on Wednesday 4 January 2006, featured brief exterior shots of the main Quad and University Street. It was implied one experiment conducted was filmed inside one UCL building, although which one was not established, it was most likely to be the Cruciform Building which is located opposite the Front Quad. - BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
chose to film in and around UCL to provide some of the footage used to cover the news regarding nationwide strike action by university staff when the story finally hit the headlines on Saturday 13 May 2006. Ongoing news coverage of this story has used shots of UCL, for example on Channel 4 NewsChannel 4 NewsChannel 4 News is the news division of British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since the broadcaster's launch in 1982.-Channel 4 News:...
on Tuesday 6 June 2006. - BBC London NewsBBC London NewsFor other uses of the BBC London brand, see BBC London .BBC London News is the BBC's regional television news programme for the English region encompassing London and surrounding suburbs...
filmed outside the main Quad in 2006 with the reporter reading from one of the Geography Department's standard risk assessmentRisk assessmentRisk assessment is a step in a risk management procedure. Risk assessment is the determination of quantitative or qualitative value of risk related to a concrete situation and a recognized threat...
forms for a story regarding difficulties surrounding field trips. - James MayJames MayJames Daniel May is an English television presenter, journalist and writer. He is best known for his role as co-presenter of the award-winning motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond....
filmed part of an episode of James May's Big IdeasJames May's Big IdeasJames May's Big Ideas is a three-part British television miniseries in which James May, a journalist and self-acknowledged geek travels the globe in search of implementations for concepts widely considered science fiction, or his big ideas...
around UCL and inside the CAVECave Automatic Virtual EnvironmentA Cave Automatic Virtual Environment is an immersive virtual reality environment where projectors are directed to three, four, five or six of the walls of a room-sized cube...
in Malet Place Engineering Building in February 2008, involving the famous Karthik Parthiban in a virtual reality experiment.
Advert recordings
- Kit KatKit KatKit Kat is a chocolate-coated wafer confection that was created by Rowntree's of York, England, and is now produced worldwide by Nestlé, which acquired Rowntree in 1988, except in the United States where it is made under licence by The Hershey Company. Each bar consists of fingers composed of three...
filmed an advert featuring pop group Girls AloudGirls AloudGirls Aloud are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London. They were created through the ITV1 talent show Popstars The Rivals in 2002. The group consists of Cheryl Cole , Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. They are signed to Fascination Records, a Polydor...
for the Kit Kat Senses bar in the evening of Tuesday 18 into the early morning of Wednesday 19 March 2008. The presence of Girls Aloud attracted much attention from the pressJournalismJournalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, the paparazziPaparazziPaparazzi is an Italian term used to refer to photojournalists who specialize in candid photography of celebrities, politicians, and other prominent people...
and bloggers and the filming was discussed on UCL's student radio station, Rare FMRare FMRare FM is the student-run radio station of UCL. The current station manager is Tom Riste-Smith.-Background:Rare FM was set up in 1998 as an affiliated society of UCL Union, headed at that time by Ed Jackson...
, by DJs presenting at the time.
DVD recordings
The Bloomsbury Theatre has been used as the venue for DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
recordings of famous stand-up comedians' tours.
- Former UCL student Ricky GervaisRicky GervaisRicky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
recorded Ricky Gervais Live: AnimalsAnimals (comedy)Animals is a stand-up show written and performed by the comedian Ricky Gervais. As the title suggests Gervais uses aspects of the animal kingdom as his central theme. The show toured in 2003 and is now available on DVD.-Introduction:...
for DVD in the Bloomsbury Theatre in 2003. - Jimmy CarrJimmy CarrJames Anthony Patrick "Jimmy" Carr is an English-Irish comedian and humourist. He is known for his deadpan delivery and dark humour. He is also a writer, actor and presenter of radio and television....
recorded Jimmy Carr: Live in 2004 , Jimmy Carr: Stand Up in 2005 and Jimmy Carr: Comedian in 2007 for DVD in the Bloomsbury Theatre. - Harry HillHarry HillHarry Hill , is a Perrier Award–winning English comedian, author and television presenter. A former medical doctor , Hill began his career in comedy with the popular radio show Harry Hill's Fruit Corner.-Personal life:Hill was born in Woking,...
's recorded Harry Hill in Hooves for DVD in the Bloomsbury Theatre in 2005. - Lee MackLee MackLee Gordon McKillop is an English stand-up comedian and actor, known by the stage name Lee Mack. He is well known in the United Kingdom for writing and starring in the sitcom Not Going Out, for being a team captain on Would I Lie to You? and for hosting Lee Mack's All Star Cast.-Personal life:Mack...
recorded Lee Mack: Live for DVD in the Bloomsbury Theatre in 2006. - Caroline Reid played Pam AnnPam AnnPam Ann is the air hostess alter-ego of Australian comedienne Caroline Reid. Performances focus on the nuances of air travel, identifying the individual quirks of some of the biggest international airlines and their media stereotypes. Her style leans towards camp humour, in the vein of Dame Edna...
in a DVD recording of her show Come Fly With Me performed in the Bloomsbury Theatre in September 2007.
Additionally, musicians The Zombies
The Zombies
The Zombies are an English rock band, formed in 1961 in St Albans and led by Rod Argent, on piano and keyboards, and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group scored a UK and US hit in 1964 with "She's Not There"...
recorded The Zombies Live At The Bloomsbury Theatre, London for CD and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in the Bloomsbury Theatre in 2006.