Good Omens - Behind the Scenes at Tadfield ManorExcerpt from The Nice and Accurate Good Omens TV Com

Good Omens - Behind the Scenes at Tadfield Manor

Excerpt from The Nice and Accurate Good Omens TV Companion:

Eleven years later, on his return to the scene of the diabolical switcheroo, this time with Aziraphale in tow, Crowley finds himself in a very different setting. Gone are the Satanic Nuns of the Chattering Order of St. Beryl’s and their movements in the shadows. Now, with St. Beryl’s never having risen from the ashes, they find the building transformed. Instead, the demon and his angelic associate walk into Tadfield Manor, which has been converted into a venue for office teambuilding away days. Across the manor grounds, an interdepartmental paintball skirmish is in full swing. Naturally, in the presence of such entities, the exercise becomes something altogether more dangerous and deadly.

“Michael Ralph [production designer] did a fantastic job of transforming the forecourt outside the building by dressing it as a battle zone,” says [first assistant director] Cesco Reidy. “We had military vehicles, camouflage nets and an obstacle course. It really was fit for purpose as an adventure playground for grown-ups with guns.”

In order to make the most of the conflict and the chaos that ensues, Douglas Mackinnon and the director of photography, Gavin Finney, called in the high-speed Phantom camera.

“You see it used on football replays, shooting a ridiculous number of frames per second,” explains script supervisor Jemima Thomas. “We wanted to see the paintballs flying as Crowley and Aziraphale walk through in super slow mo, and we staged and choreographed it carefully so they didn’t get splattered.”

While the pair depart without a mark on them, leaving bedlam in their wake, there’s no escaping the enormity of the task they face. For the Antichrist is missing, and Armageddon a matter of days away.