Winton Castle plays host to superstars in-front of a back-drop of smoke guns, drones and heated bean bags.
Last week, Winton Castle was delighted to open its doors to Freak Films as they filmed a TV commercial for Ganten Water, the next Scottish chapter in their storytelling advertising campaign. A production crew of nearly sixty people set up camp on the estate, making the Castle and its beautiful surroundings their film set.
“Please thank everyone there (Winton Castle) for their amazing help and support, it was greatly and totally appreciated,” says Hamish Allison, CEO of Freak Films.
It was an honour for Winton to host the CEO of Ganten Water, the largest volumetric water production company in the world, which generates over 40 million litres of water a day. The CEO himself has a true love of the country, choosing previous commercials to be filmed in and around Edinburgh and the Lothians.
The lead role is played by Chinese superstar Jing Tian, who has cemented her status in recent blockbusters such as ‘The Great Wall’ alongside Matt Damon, ‘Kong: Skull Island’ and ‘Pacific Rim Uprising.’ Jing Tian is an entrepreneur in her own right, with her own business empire based in China, and she is one of the highest net-worth actresses in the world.
Playing her love interest is Donny Lewis, an American model, actor and writer, who has been commissioned by Amazon Prime to write and star in the upcoming series ‘Oasis Bound’.
It was fascinating to catch a glimpse behind the scenes of such an important shoot and be made aware of the intricacies of filming. From scouring the 2,400-acre estate to find the perfect tree for Jing Tian to climb, to keeping her warm and dry while dressed in a beautiful gown.
Winton also lent itself to several other beautiful backdrops including a woodland driveway with a classic Sunbeam Alpine car, and a gorgeous Georgian fireplace in the castle’s stunning Octagon Hall. The thought and vision behind the project was spellbinding and the team at Winton cannot wait to see the finished result.
“It was a genuine pleasure to meet you and many others as part of the team filming at Winton these past two days…My personal thanks to you all (Ganten & Freak Film) for bringing something out of the ordinary to our side of the country,” says Francis Ogilvy, owner of Winton Estate.
You can watch the Ganten Water Commercial shot at Winton for Chinese TV if you click above.
