Nestled along the coastline of South Tyneside is Souter Lighthouse. Run by National Trust, the lighthouse and the surrounding land have felt the impact of climate change and coastal erosion. Metres of the cliffs are being lost every year and the lighthouse itself is at risk of eventually disappearing. Approaching the issue of climate change is a challenging one, because it can cause anxiety in people, and leave them feeling powerless. In the summer of 2023 we were contacted by Glimpse, a marketing agency who were working in partnership with National Trust to create videos addressing climate change at places in its care. As the production company, we were tasked with planning, filming, editing and delivering the video.

Filming on a nature reserve or heritage site requires careful planning. We worked closely with the team at Souter Lighthouse to ensure we took every care on the day not to disturb nature, the structure or members of the public. This involved visiting Souter and identifying places where filming could take place and how we could have as little impact as possible on the site. We also climbed all the way to the top of the lighthouse - a splendid experience we would never repeat again while carrying camera equipment!

What we loved about the approach for this video was, rather than use standard talking head interviews to camera, we filmed people in conversation instead. It mean’t they were free to talk openly about their connection to Souter, their thoughts on the changing landscape and their love for the surrounding environment.

The resulting video is structured around these conversations, showing people’s love for the area and what they hope for the future. We went for a very unobtrusive style of filming for the video. A three camera set up on long lenses, giving people the chance to forget about the camera. The participants were great, and we filmed scenes with them around the lighthouse, beach and fields. We then captured shots of Souter using a drone which effectively showed the beauty of Souter but also the effects coastal erosion and climate change were having on the area. The highlight of the day came at the very end, where the team from Souter turned the lighthouse on! The weather got a little stormy but the lighthouse looked incredible lit up and it was well worth the 10.30pm wrap time!

You can watch the video here: