Sites Unseen

Early in 2023, I was commissioned by Unesco RILA, based in the University of Glasgow, to produce a short educational film about the Highland Clearances. 

The brief was to create a clear and accessible summary of this period in Scotland’s history, with the help of local contributors and a presenter fluent in Gaelic, so that the film could be produced in both Gaelic and English. The piece required extensive research and careful scripting in order to arrive at a balanced overview of a complex subject. 

Filming links

charging all the kit

Enlisting the expert help of Coinneach Rankin, who gamely took the project on, we headed to the UNESCO North West Highlands Geopark and began filming, with the temperatures still low and the highlands still devoid of the NC500 hordes. 

Coinneach and I had two days to film all our links in both Gaelic and English, and to produce pieces with two contributors. Following this, I was left to my own devices to hoover up appropriate landscape scenery using ground camera and drone. 

In the absence of a voiceover booth, a well insulated van can work well

getting hammered by scottish weather filming gvs

The piece is available to watch below.