Hollywood comes to the NHC

Case study 18 - body image.jpgNational Hyperbaric Centre (NHC) in Aberdeen was transformed into a movie set for three days as highly authentic underwater scenes were filmed there for the Hollywood movie ‘Pressure’, now out on DVD.

If you watch the new movie, ‘Pressure’, very closely, you might just recognise a few of the extras as staff members of one of James Fisher’s newest acquisitions - National Hyperbaric Centre.

The movie, starring Danny Huston (of ‘X-men’ fame), Matthew Goode (‘The Imitation Game’) and Joe Cole (‘Skins’ and ‘Peaky Blinders’) tells the story of a four-man deep sea dive crew which becomes separated from its ship in a saturation diving bell, 650ft below sea level.

While shooting scenes at Stonehaven harbour in Scotland, the 70-strong crew heard about NHC and de-camped to the training facilities for three days to film key scenes.

NHC is one of the very few land-based rescue facilities in the UK, and the team was able to offer advice with regard to correct practice ensuring the actors looked credible in this highly technical environment. This included the provision of equipment and props, and a few lucky clients and members of staff were even called in as extras.

Maintenance electrical technician, Scott Shand was one staff member who got his Hollywood call-up:

"We didn’t have much notice," he says, "names were picked out of a hat and it was a case of “you’re up next, good luck!” and roll cameras."

"I play a service technician in a scene that took 30 minutes to film but lasts less than 10 seconds – you might just spot me in the background when Danny Huston walks past."

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