Today we are sorting through a collection of archive film which was taken of HMS Hood at sea in the 1920's and 30's. There's a great deal to choose from, because the ship toured the world 'Showing the Flag' and many professional photographers were around to record this, mostly on 16mm film. A surprising amount of this in in colour. There are some issues with fading and scratching, but today there is software that can restore such damage quite easily. Some of the sequences show the ship in remarkably violent sea conditions, often with waves sweeping across her Quarterdeck. Not for nothing was she often referred to as 'The Royal Navy's largest submarine!' It's been decided that the aesthetic of the series we're involved in will be designed to put the viewer into the scenes as if they were there as it all happened. Perhaps on 24th May 1941, in the Denmark Strait...
One sequence we found stood out. It shows HMS Hood head-on, moving quickly towards the camera, which is at quite a low angle just above the wavetops, probably on the deck of an attendant Destroyer. Hood looks very imposing and threatening just by her presence. This was probably taken during a battle exercise. Coming disturbingly close to us, Hood begins a hard turn to port, and the shape of her bow wave changes as she meets the waves at a changing angle. Looking closely at this, it's apparent that, despite her size and mass, the Battlecruiser did not 'corner on rails': there are many varied undulations and movements of the ship apparent as the turbulent ocean 'pushes back' against the momentum and power of the huge ship. It's important to us that these subtleties are accurately brought to the cinema and TV screen. Fortunately, there are now ways of doing that. And I think that this may provide us with the shot that depicts 'The Mighty Hood' beginning her last ever turn to port, as she changes course in an endeavour to open up her rear main arcs. With her Boat Deck already ablaze and her Spotting Top wiped out, the ship presses on with the battle, heeling into the turn when a 38cm shell from KM Bismarck penetrates the aft magazines, and...
To check if this will work, today we're doing a Motion Capture analysis of the 30-second movie clip, frame by frame. That means that our computer operator has to look carefully at 600 images, and line up markers with a dozen identifiable fixed points on the hull and superstructure. We've also got to stabilise the image, since it was filmed from the moving deck of another ship, but fortunately there's a clear horizon line to help with that.Then, during the camera test tomorrow, we'll program the Model Mover to make our 12' miniature move in a studio move just like an 860' capital ship in the ocean. I want our film to convincingly show the behaviour of a real ship, but with the bonus that we can then use all this to tell a story. And the story is fundamental. It's got to be a human story, above all, that the audience can relate to.
The Screenwriter wants to show the 'Battle of the Denmark Strait' in real time, and although the ships will be on screen through most of this, we'll also be having scenes on the Compass Platform of HMS Hood, where we will meet Admiral Holland, Captain Kerr and the young Ted Briggs. These three characters will have been introduced in earlier scenes, so we'll know something about not just their duties, but also their strengths and weaknesses. Now their actions will help the audience to comprehend something of the chaos of the gun battle and unbelievably rapid sinking. And on Bismarck we'll see their counterparts, victors with just three days to live.
Ted Briggs was one of only three survivors from HMS Hood's complement of 1,418. He went back to serve in the Royal Navy and subsequently lived a full and productive life. I had the honour of meeting him on several occasions. In July 2001, while standing on the deck of a ship in the Denmark Strait, it was his hand that released the remote control grab that placed the Memorial Plaque and Roll of Honour next to the shattered bow wreckage of the newly-discovered HMS Hood. Quite a story.