Scottish gaffer Scott Napier has had the good fortune of working on Starz/Sony TV Drama Outlander right from the very beginning through season two, which wrapped up at the start of the year. Although filming jumped from South England to Prague, the large majority took place just a stone's throw away from Scott's hometown of Duns in Berwick!
Shot across Scotland's famous highlands, in forests, wilderness and medieval castles, Outlander is a time-traveling adventure set between the 1700s and mid-1900s. Although sometimes a tricky feat, Scott welcomed the challenge of helping capture the vivid imagery for which Outlander has become famous.
One of the reasons that the show is so popular is because viewers are drawn into the scenes, they have a connection, Scott explains. We filmed in big exterior locations like forests and castles, and although the final product is strong, it was quite relentless and a challenge for us to achieve what was required.
Well-known within the lighting industry, Scott has grown up, so to speak, with Panalux, starting his career in Lee Lighting. A brief stint in maintenance made way for Scott's transition to Electrician on jobs like, Rebus, Sea of Souls, The Last King of Scotland and Your Highness. Scott then made the leap to Gaffer in 2006 before going freelance in 2010. Since then, he has built an impressive portfolio of projects that range from commercials to feature films to television dramas and include Penny Dreadful, Doctor Who, Shetland, Citadel and Filth. Along the way, Scott has collaborated with a number of DoPs, providing a complimentary vision for the likes of Steven McNutt, Nigel Willoughby, Neville Kidd, Cinders Forshaw, Danny Cohen and Tony Imi.
Currently, fans around the world are impatiently awaiting season two (to air mid-April) of Golden-Globe-nominated Outlander. After initially airing two years ago, the series immediately caught fire overseas, particularly in the North American market.
Before Outlander started filming in 2013, small BBC dramas and independent movies made up the majority of Scotland's production work. Since then, Scotland has enjoyed the spotlight as one of the UK's premier filming destinations. Outlander supported by Panalux Glasgow is the country's biggest-ever production and was even dubbed the Scottish Game of Thrones.
After starting off with two sound-proof stages, Outlander production expanded so quickly that another had to be added by the middle of filming season one. On hand from day one, Scott was responsible for assisting in the planning, creation and set up of the studio complex, now boasting an impressive four main stages. At one point, Scott rigged one of the Outlander sets with 50 Highlights overhead and 125 Flobanks.
Having Panalux's expertise and huge selection of kit right on my doorstep makes my job a whole lot easier, Scott says about being able to access the entire Panalux inventory from Glasgow.
Unlike in the studio, remodeling 15th century castles and other historic buildings used on-location was strictly prohibited. Instead, Scott had to cleverly work around mostly solid stone walls by favoring non-heat-producing, battery-powered LED products. Scott and Panalux Glasgow General Manager Audrei Hendry had this in mind when they selected a load of Panalux LED Hilo Softsources, fluorescent Flobanks and NessLED panels, all wireless and all equipped with Panalux's proprietary flicker-free F-Stop technology.
We knew that power generation would be somewhat tricky considering the settings Scott was going into, says Hendry, who has worked closely with Scott since 2004. The wireless lights made the Sparks' jobs a lot easier as they didn't need to run cables everywhere.
In total, Panalux supplied 265 tons of equipment between seasons one and two. According to Scott, Panalux was the only lighting company in the UK with the inventory and fleet to service a production of such size and scope.
When you are in difficult situations, you need to be creative and clever. Access to the right equipment makes these situations a little more bearable. I knew that with Panalux's extensive range of kit, I could make things work regardless of the circumstances my team and I were in.
Panalux has been committed to helping develop Scotland into a major UK shooting destination since they opened. With additional regional offices throughout the UK in Wales and Manchester, Panalux provide a localized service to each market.
I have a good relationship with Audrei, Scott confirms. She is personable and friendly and a great problem solver. When normal issues arise between the lighting provider, the crew and the production company, she knows exactly how to take care of the situation.
From left: Behind the scenes with Spark Callum Milne & Panalux Glasgow General Manager Audrei Hendry; Gaffer Scott Napier.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
New appointments to Screen Australia board 7 July 2026
The Albanese Labor Government has made new appointments to the Screen Australia board.
Dr Tania Chamber...
07/07/2026
The right team. The right time.' How The Killings at Parrish Station stuck t...
07/07/2026
Berklee College of Music Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's...
07/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists train the immune system to make antibodies against numerous HIV strains Preclinical findings mark progress toward a long-sought vacc...
06/07/2026
Long-developed relationships and informal access, three production models, and c...
06/07/2026
The deal follows Lumine's recent acquisition of Synamedia's video-networ...
06/07/2026
This former SportsCenter producer is shaping local-team studio coverage to surro...
06/07/2026
IMS Productions and FOX Sports deployed more than 100 cameras, 32 onboard feeds,...
06/07/2026
Lumine Group Inc. has announced the completion of its acquisition of the Video Network Business from Synamedia. The business will operate as a standalone compan...
06/07/2026
NASCAR has announced a content and commercial partnership with Motorsport Network, a motorsports and automotive media platform, to distribute NASCAR original co...
06/07/2026
Versant Media Group has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Full Swing, a sports technology company, from Bruin Capital and a group of minority investor...
06/07/2026
DAZN has announced global broadcast rights to 3ICE, a professional hockey format featuring three skaters and a goalkeeper per side, with no power plays or offsi...
06/07/2026
Bundle gains 100 new synths & more
Synth Anthology 5 the largest and most feature-packed edition of UVI's hardware synth emulation bundle, bringing toge...
06/07/2026
Available now via free firmware update
MOTU have just announced that three of their popular audio interfaces now boast official Milan Certification. The 16A...
06/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz completes Hunter Preliminary Design Review for the Integrated Co...
06/07/2026
The R&S IMAGER from Rohde & Schwarz uses millimeter wave imaging to inspect the ...
06/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
06/07/2026
Digital Domain Appoints Industry Veteran Patrick Davenport as Executive Vice Pre...
06/07/2026
Gravity Media USA appoints Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development
Brie Clayton July 6, 2026
0 Comments
The strategic new appointment supports...
06/07/2026
Remote Editing Without Cloud Storage in Resolve
Michael Cioni July 6, 2026
0 Comments
This is a step-by-step guide that demonstrates how to setup your...
06/07/2026
Automatic Caption Translation in Adobe Premiere Pro
Colin Smith July 6, 2026
0 Comments
Here I showcase the innovative automatic caption translation f...
06/07/2026
Flavor's First Ever Managing Director Neal Cohen Retires; Longstanding Execu...
06/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Medtech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might think...
06/07/2026
Zhongyi Optics unveils the Dreamy Zone T1 FF Cine Lens Series on Indiegogo with ...
06/07/2026
Open source AI has shown how quickly developers can innovate when models, data a...
06/07/2026
Techtel debuts insyght: making ST 2110 media discovery easy
intellisphereinsyght2026
6 July Written By Suzanne Costello
Sydney, Australia - 06 July 2026 T...
06/07/2026
Monday 6 July 2026
Sky agrees to acquire ITV Media & Entertainment, creating a ...
06/07/2026
Fresh from his World Cup heroics with Cabo Verde, Roberto Pico' Lopes will join the RT panel for Argentina v Egypt tomorrow and for the England v Norway q...
06/07/2026
Nations have long invested in domestic infrastructure to advance their economies, protect and use their data, and take advantage of technology opportunities in ...
06/07/2026
Every year, the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) reveals where thousands of AI researchers have decided to put their work.
This year's ...
06/07/2026
A death can be unsuspicious, but it has to be explained
What happened to Ke...
05/07/2026
We've gone to another level of integrating the graphics into the set architecture' - Zac Fields, SVP, Graphic Technology and Integration, FOX Sports...
05/07/2026
Browser-based and desktop apps available
Digital Sunset Studios have been busy working on an interesting project: a free software tool that provides compute...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Scottish gaffer Scott Napier has had the good fortune of working on Starz/Sony TV Drama Outlander right from the very beginning through season two, which wrapped up at the start of the year. Although filming jumped from South England to Prague, the large majority took place just a stone's throw away from Scott's hometown of Duns in Berwick! 
