#it must drive the special effects coordinators a bit mad

[mizgnomer]

Behind the scenes of The Sound of Drums/The Last of the Time Lords (Part Seven)

Excerpt from Doctor Who Magazine #385 - Any Effects’ Danny Hargreaves (Special Effects Supervisor) interviewed by Benjamin Cook:

DWM: What was the toughest thing to get right?

Danny: There were many problematic moments - mostly involving the main artists, for obvious reasons. When we blew up Martha’s flat, for instance, you have David, Freema, and John running out of the building, just before the blast. That kind of stuff’s very taxing: it’s not like we just turn up and rig the explosion! It takes weeks of preparation, evaluation, and conversation with production. We did several tests the day before and used a gas explosion, which makes it much more controllable than a pyro blast. That, together with factors like building a fire-protective box just inside the window, makes it possible to use the main artists. They were all smiling afterwards! The scene in which Jack fires at the TARDIS’ central column was also difficult, seeing as the TARDIS is quite a flammable set!

DWM: Was that the most nerve-wracking moment?

Danny: No, that was probably the scene in which police fire though the back window of a car with Martha driving, the Doctor in the passenger seat and Captain Jack in the back! Once again, you’re dealing with the three main artists, so it’s very problematic. I was on the floor, in a very uncomfortable position, triggering the bullet-hits, using the actors’ dialogue as my cues. I was hidden at John’s feet and climbing all over them, which he found hilarious!

Previous parts are available here: [one] [two] [three] [four] [five] [six] [seven] [eight] Other behind-the-scenes photosets are available here

Thank you to everyone who shared set photos!