The End We Start From

We were engaged by the production team to provide our expert marine services and coordination for the film. As part of this, during pre-production, we were excited to travel up to Scotland with the crew – many of whom we had successfully worked with on other recent projects, including the upcoming Netflix movie Back In Action.

In August 2022, we ventured to Scotland’s west coast for a recce. The initial challenge was to find the right hero boat for the shoot. We spoke to local boat owners and, after collaborating with the art and creative departments, we decided on the right vessel for the scenes.

We believe it’s always important to secure local marine support when working away from the River Thames. Not only does this show respect to local marine companies, but also allows us to utilise their local knowledge so that we can safely execute the production team’s specific needs.

With this in mind, we were delighted to work with skipper Sandy from Venture West. Sandy helped us source a suitable base to operate out of – Dunrostan Pier – as well as a range of fantastic vessels to support the shoot.

When shooting did roll around, we travelled back to Scotland alongside a team of safety swimmers and a plethora of marine safety equipment. The first scene in the can involved four vessels – a camera, support, safety, and hero boat – as well as lots of cast and crew, including babies! It was a busy shoot, but we are delighted to say it went without a hitch.

Production then moved to the remote but beautiful Kilmory Beach. As it was not possible to load the kit onto the boats on the beach, we used Dunrostan Pier for this task and instead accessed the beach from the water.

This scene involved star Jodie Comer going into the water on a bright, but very cold, September day. We worked closely with the crew to ensure Jodie was not in the water any longer than she had to be. We also had a female safety swimmer in place to both protect Jodie and act as a body double when needed.

A hero boat, camera boat, and prop rowing boat were all deployed for these scenes. Our marine logistics expertise were also called upon to regularly move the hero boat in the back of certain shots during filming in a house that looked out over the sea. This was in order to cheat the perspective for continuity purposes.

Filming then moved to the Thames estuary, specifically Tilbury Fort. As the water here is not very deep, this can be a tricky location to film in, so we used a Manitou to lift our boats into the water. It was here that Echo Lima I and Indigo Lima were used as the hero boat and safety boat respectively.

Additionally we built a pontoon off the side of the moat to enable their 50ft Technocrane to get the reach needed for the shots. A green screen was set up behind the boat to help with special effects in post-production.

Working on The End We Start From proved to be a varied job with unique requirements on each day, but one we absolutely loved! We always relish a challenge on the water, and filming in remote locations with babies amongst the cast certainly ticked that box.

The film looks set to be a hit – it was nominated for nine awards following its teaser trailer launch – and arrived in UK cinemas on 19 January 2024.