davinci15 members of Mid and West Wales Branch have visited the home of TV series Da Vinci's Demons, Tonto Film Studios.

The series is written by David S Goyer (known for the Batman Trilogy and The Man of Steel films), he is also the executive producer. The Film Studios took over an old factory in Swansea and have built a film studio from scratch creating workshops, prosthetic development area, stunt area, green screen facilities, makeup area and green room. Everything for the series is sourced and created on site apart from the CGI work.

The Branch was met by Mr Gareth Skeldon (the Location/Studio Manager) who gave a talk on the background behind the creation of the Studios and how they came to be located in Swansea, he then gave an in depth and behind the scenes tour of the studio. No areas were off limits and although we are sworn to secrecy the next Season promises to be even better than the first.

The Branch was able to appreciate how the use of a wireless fire alarm system and clever use of a permit to work style of management enabled Fire Safety to work closely with Filming without causing false alarms. In bedding a Risk Assessment process and Health and Safety culture within the on-going filming process made for a safer site. The inclusion of compartment walls throughout the studios served both fire safety purpose as well as sound proofing. These compartment walls along with the high ceilings assisted with the extended travel distances that were in the original factory.

The Branch Secretary Simon Hawkes then presented Mr Gareth Skeldon with Branch Shield as a thank you, the ceremony taking place on the set that had been used as the Ponte Vecchio bridge in the first season.