Stepping Through Film: Man trots globe blending scenes into film locations

An Essex lensman who turned a "passion project" into a full-time occupation that has taken him astir the satellite said it had been a "truly astonishing adventure".

As a movie student, Thomas Duke, 24, started lining up scenes from movies oregon TV bid with the locations wherever they were changeable oregon inspired by, and took photographs of the result.

He enactment his examples of the technique, known arsenic rephotography, connected societal media and gained a following.

Soon helium was approached by companies to observe movie releases oregon locations and now, nether his Stepping Through Film banner, helium has gained astir 300,000 followers connected Instagram and 131,000 connected Facebook and works astatine it full-time.

The photographer, from Newport adjacent Saffron Walden, said helium ever wanted to beryllium an animator and studied movie and TV.

It was portion astatine assemblage successful London that determination photography became a abstracted hobby.

He said: "I've ever liked question and going to movie locations and I emotion photography, truthful I thought, wherefore not enactment them together?

"It's a passionateness task and is thing I ne'er thought I would bash [as a job] - it was conscionable selling connected societal media, really, it's rather surreal."

The process involves printing arsenic galore shots of the movie oregon TV amusement arsenic helium tin and past lining everything up arsenic intimately arsenic imaginable erstwhile helium finds the location.

"I emotion trying to get it arsenic cleanable arsenic possible," helium said.

"I'm ever excited to spot what mightiness person changed from erstwhile it was filmed. Is the gathering the same, is thing different?"

Mr Duke said helium tried his archetypal photograph utilizing this method astatine the National Portrait Gallery, wherever a country for 007 blockbuster Skyfall was shot.

He went connected to instrumentality galore images astir London, including visiting Whitehall, wherever Atonement with James McEvoy was filmed, and photographing extracurricular the Ministry of Defence, wherever the Edge of Tomorrow was changeable - an acquisition helium described arsenic "quite scary".

"They don't let you to instrumentality photos of it, truthful you person to inquire support and a information defender comes with you," helium said.

He was archetypal approached to instrumentality photos professionally successful 2019 to observe wherever the caller Men successful Black movie had been filmed successful the capital.

Since past helium has travelled successful the UK and astir the satellite and captured moments similar the last formation country from Netflix deed Heartstoppers successful Herne Bay, and helium has been successful Sheffield for his latest task connected the caller TV spin-off of The Full Monty film.

With Hertfordshire's maturation arsenic a filming county, helium has worked with Visit Herts to beforehand surface tourism.

He has been to St Albans Cathedral, wherever madcap spy Johnny English, played by Rowan Atkinson, was crowned King. He has besides worked astatine Knebworth House, the tract of astir 90 films, and Hatfield House, recognisable successful The Favourite, Bridgerton, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and more.

Earlier this year, the South Carolina Tourist Board asked Mr Duke to grounds each the films that had been changeable there, including The Notebook and Forrest Gump.

He said that astatine "particularly iconic locations", similar The Notebook house, it felt "surreal" not lone to deliberation the actors had stood there, but besides that "a communicative that has touched millions of lives astir the satellite was close there".

"There's lone 1 spot for this communicative and that ne'er changes," helium said.

Beach scenes were among the astir hard to get right, helium said, particularly if the upwind was atrocious - specified arsenic erstwhile helium went to a windy Dunkirk.

It was besides hard to find immoderate locations successful animated films similar areas of Paris for Ratatouille and Regent's Park for 101 Dalmatians.

But astatine the aforesaid time, helium said animation was a favourite genre due to the fact that it was "more of an creation form".

"I emotion however animation is inspired by the existent satellite astir america and that inspires maine to spot what tin beryllium created," helium said.

The "most magical" acquisition for him was going to the Cinque Terra connected the Italian Riviera, wherever the Pixar squad went for inspiration for Luca.

"I stayed wherever they stayed and with the crystal bluish waters, it truly looked the aforesaid arsenic the animated world," helium said.

The coronavirus lockdowns were besides hard for the question enthusiast, but helium said it conscionable "forced maine to beryllium much creative".

"I couldn't assistance trying immoderate supermarket shots from films successful my section Sainsbury's, specified arsenic from Elf and Hot Fuzz," helium said.

"I besides did A Bug's Life successful my backmost plot - I chopped retired tiny pictures of the characters and stuck them amongst the tiny blades of grass.

"I conscionable tried to enactment with what I had."

In the future, helium said helium would similar to spell to Iceland, arsenic galore of his favourite films were made there.

"Interstellar utilized an crystal glacier arsenic a basal successful for different satellite and past determination was Batman Begins, Game of Thrones and the Secret Life of Walter Mitty with Ben Stiller," helium said.

As good arsenic the excitement of visiting a location, helium said helium loved however his images sparked conversations astir film.

"It's ever beauteous [on societal media] to speech astir a film, wherefore we emotion it, our favourite moments and however the determination was found," helium said.

"I person nary thought if I'll beryllium doing my photography forever," helium added. "It's been a genuinely astonishing escapade immoderate the lawsuit and I person truthful galore memories from it all."