Hitting High Level Notes

“I haven’t laughed so much in years” said Carl Goss, JMS Production Director, after a studio session recording Geordie icon Tim Healy (still revered as Dennis in ‘Auf Weidersehen Pet’). “We’d written the script with Tim very much in mind, but his performance on the day added so much extra".

The production was a DVD celebrating the massive refurbishment of Newcastle on Tyne’s oldest bridge by contractors May Gurney. The bridge was closed to traffic whilst work went on, for a total of seven years – a fact that was celebrated by Tim’s closing outburst – “So if it’s alright with you, we want ‘wa bridge back – now!"

JMS designed high-grade 3D animated deconstructions of the bridge, which we blended with historic pictures, detailed stills of work in progress and video into a 16 minute programme which has been given to the bridge owners, Network Rail, and to the many other parties who made the £42 million job run so smoothly.

One of the more interesting elements of the production for JMS was the creation of a title song - a rocky, guitar-heavy piece with lyrics written by the programme’s producer, John Mountford. As the lead vocalist remarked ‘It’s the first time I’ve ever had to sing the words ‘High Level Bridge’”!

Published by JMS on Wednesday, Oct 1 2008.