THE 355

When the producers of spy film 355 got in touch with some set requirements, it marked one of our largest scale film projects to date. Working from the brief at our Hadleigh Park facility, we conjured up a 30-metre-long, five-metre-high neon set over the course of three weeks. We assembled and illuminated it as a dry run test before disassembling it and transporting it to Leavesden Studios for shooting. What you see here is 900 metres of handmade neon glass tube, lit up by 245 kilo volts of power. Filming took place inside the structure, set up as a Shanghai apartment that looks into a neighbouring Chinese laundry.
In addition, Kemp London was commissioned to construct a neon sign: the name ‘Paradis Hotel’ in large neon lettering backed with aged steel plates. This too was created at Hadleigh Park, but in this instance the piece was shipped to Paris where it was filmed on location. The Kemp Team Fitters were rewarded for their efforts by getting to see Penélope Cruz on set.
After the shoot, the signage was derigged and transported to Portland Place in London for further filming. A jet-setting piece of neon, it’s fair to say.