Filming one of the world's most scenic rail routes in the depths of winter needed a planning operation that was second to none. Sohail Shah, MD of King of Sunshine Productions tells TVBEurope all about how it was done
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: December 19, 2024 Updated: December 23, 2024
Filming one of the world's most scenic rail routes in the depths of winter needed a planning operation that was second to none. Sohail Shah, MD of King of Sunshine Productions tells TVBEurope all about how it was done
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
There's something undeniably festive about the image of a plucky little passenger train wending its way through the picture-postcard perfection of an Alpine landscape, brightly lit carriages filled with excited travellers heading home or away for the holidays. So when the team at King of Sunshine Productions was asked to come up with some Christmas ideas for Channel 4, they saw the perfect opportunity to capture some magical footage for a forthcoming documentary about one of the most scenic rail journeys on the planet, Switzerland's delightful Bernina Express.
Sohail Shah, MD, King of Sunshine Productions Managing director Sohail Shah already knew assistant producer Beth White harboured an ambition to film the train, which makes a daily sightseeing trip between the Swiss city of Chur and Tirano, in the Italian region of Lombardy. It would, however, require a considerable planning effort. It seemed like the perfect time to dig down into the possibility, he says. Luckily, Beth's tenacity, the timing and the access opportunity all aligned.
The window was tight and the team hastily assembled. For such a big endeavour, our team wasn't especially massive, comments Shah, who, along with White, was joined by series producer/director, Ben Sheldon, Basilio Longo as producer/director, PM Andy Partington and Chloe Eckersley Bell as coordinator. Nat Bullen and Bill Bartlett were on location as DoP and sound respectively, with two local runners completing the line-up.
The British team flew out on November 18th for a six-day shoot, which managed to coincide with Switzerland's heaviest snowfall for a decade. The day we arrived, there was no snow, he says. The day after, the country was covered.
The majority of the documentary, named Alpine Train at Christmas, was filmed during a single four hour journey. Shah explains how the filming was managed, On that journey, we had one camera filmed by Ben, one camera filmed by Basilio and one crew camera, directed by me. We were split across various parts of the train to get as much coverage as we could. The train also had 4 GoPros placed on its exterior.
Further footage and non-sync content was captured on a second journey two days later, while the DoP crew were filming general views and externals for the wider documentary.
King of Sunshine's previous work includes the documentary series, The UK's National Parks, with Caroline Quentin. Shah considers the contrast between filming at home and in the Alps, during winter. The biggest differences were language, terrain and temperature. Whilst filming in the UK, we were always fine for conversation and interviews. Filming in two countries where several languages are spoken could have been problematic. However, we were prepared with an Italian PD and some crew with German skills.
The entire Bernina Railway is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, and passes through some incredible scenery. Its 55 tunnels and 196 bridges include the breathtaking Landwasser Viaduct and the Brusio spiral, an ingenious solution avoiding the need for a switchback junction. The environment, however, posed some unique problems. The landscapes were sometimes difficult to navigate with the extreme weather, but with the proper equipment and clothing, we managed to film what we needed. Plus the snow makes the show look beautiful and suitably Christmassy for the holidays.
The film was shot in HD with speed of edit a major consideration. It would have taken way longer to ingest in 4K than HD and our edit schedule was already ridiculously short, so for everyone involved, HD was better, says Shah.
Capturing the feel of one of rail's most romantic routes required a range of equipment. Tailoring the kit to the task, the team used Ronin4 and FX6 cameras as well as four GoPro devices (Hero10, 11 and 12). Drone footage was captured using an EJI Mavic3 Cine and Sennheiser's MKH50, MKH30, MKH40 and MKH8050 took care of audio requirements.
There was no particular requirement for specialist equipment, although it was essential to ensure all cameras and mics had extra protection from the freezing mountain temperatures, This also extended to the production team, added Shah. Many layers, hats and gloves! At its coldest, the temperature dropped to -22 degrees centigrade on a day when we were filming on a farm for one of the four vignettes featured within the show. No VFX was used for the footage, but map interludes during the documentary were designed and provided by freelance VFX and motion designer, Lynn Tidsey.
Throughout the shoot, the team was able to fall back on previous experiences. Shah recognised the need to take a realistic approach. With such a tight filming period, we utilised our planning skills to the nth degree. There wasn't much room for changes, but we also knew that we would have to roll with the punches with regards to filming with contribs for the vignettes and general views. The only non movable points in the schedule were the two train trips, so we had to be as prepared as possible for those, and plan exactly what we wanted at specific points. We had to film reactions, shots and chat about landmarks along the way, so it was a one chance thing with all three cameras.
As a popular
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
01/12/2025
L3Harris and PentenAmio formalise their teaming agreement at MilCIS 2025, streng...
01/12/2025
Artemis II is NASA's first crewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. The crew, from left: Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Vic...
01/12/2025
IRVINE, Calif. Wooden Camera has introduced its new Accessory Collection for the Canon EOS C50. The new lineup includes a low-profile, gimbal-ready cage, expand...
01/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for its Dec. 18 Open Commission Meeting that will include a vote on a report an...
01/12/2025
In most years, a graph of annual local TV ad spending is about as predictable as an electrocardiogram of a reasonably healthy patient in a doctor's office. ...
01/12/2025
Many industries have seen big-ticket hardware turn into software. Switchers, though, demand a combination of real-time performance and sheer bandwidth that has ...
01/12/2025
GENEVA Shanghai will host the next quadrennial Radiocommunication Assembly (RA-27) and World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-27), Oct. 11-Nov. 12, 2027. This...
01/12/2025
NEW YORK Just in time for Giving Tuesday tomorrow (Dec. 2), the Broadcasters Foundation of America is seeking out donations to help television and radio industr...
01/12/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Net Insight CEO Crister Fritzson has informed the company's board that he will retire from the video transport and media cloud technology ...
01/12/2025
01 Dec 2025
Kyivstar and Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation Select Go...
01/12/2025
The prequel to the global hit Sky Original mob crime saga, Gomorrah' is a s...
01/12/2025
Featuring Florence Welch, Red Hot Chilli Peppers' Flea, designer Bella Freud...
01/12/2025
Back to All News
A Down to Earth, All Too Relatable Hero: Cashero' Teaser ...
01/12/2025
In the rush to deliver content to every screen, many broadcasters overlook one of the most crucial steps in the workflow: format and frame rate conversion. Get ...
01/12/2025
Fox Corporation Chief Financial Officer Steve Tomsic to Participate in Upcoming ...
01/12/2025
Arvato Systems' Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) Receives BSI C5 Certification (T...
01/12/2025
Summary This short video gives you an summary of the changes in under two minutes.
--...
01/12/2025
As the festive season approaches, RT Supporting the Arts is proud to showcase a...
01/12/2025
Researchers worldwide rely on open-source technologies as the foundation of their work. To equip the community with the latest advancements in digital and physi...
01/12/2025
Festive specials of Christmas in Kilmainham presented by Marty Whelan, High Road Low Road, Callan Kicks the Year and Keys to My Life
Ring in the New Year with ...
01/12/2025
Architect and television presenter Hugh Wallace, best known to RT audiences as a long-serving judge on Home of the Year, has died at the age of 68.
In a state...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
Filming one of the world's most scenic rail routes in the depths of winter needed a planning operation that was second to none. Sohail Shah, MD of King of Sunshine Productions tells TVBEurope all about how it was done
