Dàna Series 3 — Hamish Macleod

Following a lot of height gain, mileage and hours spent in Premiere Pro, Dàna series 3 has materialised on the iPlayer. The challenge of shooting, directing and editing this series was no less than in previous years, and as such, it’s satisfying to have another round of programmes out in the wild.

This series involved filming on The Old Man of Stoer, marching through the Cairngorms, scrambling round Torridon in all weathers and heading up to Shetland to film climbing on sea-cliffs. Each location presented its own set of hurdles and opportunities for capturing great material and as always, my favourite sequences are those which took place above the water. The constant motion of the sea can lend even quite mundane shots a great sense of movement and drama, so if you manage to nail a few elements - the most important of those being where you are in relation to the climber - the results are fantastic.

me and malky hanging out at the top of the route

The days we spent in the mountains required a lot more from everyone physically. The pressure of having to make a television half-hour in a short space of time is amplified by the heavy rucksacks that have to be carried a long way over rough ground, often for several days in a row. For instance, undertaking the journey we did in the Cairngorms episode would be a trying enough proposal under ordinary circumstances. The reality of having to film the journey at the same time is some seriously early starts and late bedtimes, with very little time to stop during the day. However, the satisfaction you feel in getting back to the car park with an episode in the bag is mighty, and the constant moderate suffering helps to bond a crew in record time.

filming on the black carls of beinn eighe

The Dàna team has remained more or less unchanged since the first series, and as such, we’re getting very good at covering a lot of ground in a day and getting good results on the fly. A lot of the areas we film in would usually require days of prep in order to mitigate the hazards enough to make filming viable, but thanks to the expertise of the team, we’re able to arrive at these places and leave six hours later with a comprehensive sequence in the bag. In this respect, working with the crew continues to be a brilliant masterclass in how to operate effectively, comfortably and efficiently in a mountain environment.

a small crew comprised entirely of legends

Once we were finished recording the episodes, I blocked all the light out of the spare bedroom, researched the viability of having a saline drip installed next to the desk and commenced the edit. No experience could be more different from the days on location than sitting in a dressing gown and staring at Premiere for ten to twelve hours a day. Repetitive strain injury aside, the assembly is usually straightforward, as the narrative is established during the filming process and it’s just a case of selecting the best pictures from the course of each journey. With Dàna, the edit is kept simple by hard graft on location.

Once again, directing the series has left me with a collection of memories that will define the year for me when I look back on it. The sun rising in the Cairngorms at 4am, filming pieces to camera balanced on top of a sea stack and enduring driving wind and rain in Torridon are all things I’m unlikely to forget. As always, I’m tremendously grateful to Solus Productions, Kenny, Rich, Kirk and everyone else who worked hard on the series for making the endeavour possible.

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Hamish Macleod