UNIT Completes Full Picture Post on New BBC Thriller Nightsleeper Starring Joe Cole

UNIT Film & TV, the Fitzrovia based boutique longform and short form facility recently completed full picture post including grade to enhance the new high octane series, Nightsleeper.

The series was created by Fremantle’s Production Company Euston Films, and was written by BAFTA award-winning writer Nick Leather (Murdered For Being Different) for the BBC.

The series is directed by Jamie Magnus Stone (Doctor Who, Ten Pound Poms) and John Hayes (Dublin Murders). Created and written by Nick Leather with Laura Grace (episodes four and five). The producer is Jonathan Curling (The Sister, Baghdad Central) and co-producer is Daisy Costello. Fremantle handles global distribution.

Alexandra Roach (The Light in the Hall) and Joe Cole (Gangs of London) lead the cast of Nightsleeper, the fast paced thriller set on a train on which passengers find a dangerous hacking device. 

Across six episodes, Nightsleeper traces the intense events aboard a six hour sleeper train from Glasgow to London. In the journey’s early moments, it becomes clear the train – called the Heart of Britain – is under attack with this device. Onboard, Joe Roag (Joe Cole) is an off-duty police officer thankful for a quiet night. On the ground, Abby Asgarth (Alexandra Roach) is finally about to take a well-earned holiday from her new role as Acting Technical Director at the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre when she receives a phone call that will change everything.

The real-time thriller Nightsleeper, aired last night, Sunday 15 September, with all episodes available on BBC iPlayer from 6am. The whole series will air on Sunday and Monday nights across three weeks from 9pm.

Dan Coles UNIT colourist said of working on Nightsleeper, “Everyone at Unit Scripted was delighted to be involved in this exciting and ambitious project. I became involved in some early pre-production camera tests with DOP Arthur Mullen ISC. We discussed his aim for the show visually, and how it was intended to look, as well as testing the results of the large LED wall which was used to back project the journey through the windows of the set of train carriages. We very quickly realised that the results were so good we could go for a really bold look – colourful and vibrant with a rich mix of colours – using strong contrast and shaping to add depth and more of a cinematic feel. The show is incredibly fast paced with a significant amount of VFX and so for myself, Arthur, Jamie Magnus Stone & John Hayes (Directors) and Jonathan Curling (Producer) meant lots of matching of the different worlds to create a continuity and cohesiveness to the series. Different looks and setups included carriage interiors and Victoria Station where we went for an overall warmer feel; then the guard’s office, outside the train, and the government building which tended to embrace cooler tones; the main intention was to have something that looked bold, exciting and cinematic - combined with Arthur’s stunning cinematography we all felt a huge amount was achieved in the grade”.

Nightsleeper aired on Sunday 15th September on BBC One with all episodes available on iPlayer.