Funding helped Green Screen to play vital role in film

But viewers shocked by the special effects used in the film The Knife That Killed Me might be surprised to know that the company behind them comes from Bubwith, near Selby.

The company responsible for the film’s visual effects has been awarded a business loan from Finance Yorkshire. Green Screen Productions, (GSPL) has completed filming The Knife That Killed Me after the funding helped purchase state-of-the-art equipment and support capital.

GSPL was awarded a £150,000 business loan which has been used to buy computer hardware, specialist lighting, and a green screen studio facility.

Actors perform in front of a green screen and film makers insert a scene of their choice behind them. The loan is also funding working capital to cover labour costs including the use of eight graduates from the University of York. Alan Latham, GSPL managing director, said: “I established the company in 2008 with Thomas Mattinson to create a lasting business in Yorkshire for visual effects.”

In July 2011, the company took over the former film studios in Bubwith to create a permanent home. In November 2011 Mr Latham approached Finance Yorkshire for help supporting the company’s umbrella agreement with Heslington Studios, the commercial arm of the Department of Theatre, Film and Television at the University of York.

GPSL was introduced to Finance Yorkshire by Martin Bell of Red Sky Business Finance who helped the company put together its business loan application.

The Knife That Killed Me is based on the award-winning novel, of the same name, by Antony McGowan. It will be released in the UK by Universal Pictures at the end of the year. Mr Latham said: “It is a movie about teenage issues, but what makes it unique is that the film was shot entirely on a green screen stage and will be 100 per cent computer generated with live actors composited into stylised computer-generated scenes using an all-digital production pipeline.”

Finance Yorkshire can provide seedcorn, loan and equity-linked investments, ranging from £15,000 to £2m, to support small and medium-sized businesses.