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How we made 'I Belong to Glasgow'

By Emma Lennox and Emily Rimmer, Researchers, Hopscotch Films

I Belong To Glasgow is your personal tour of the Commonwealth city by well-kent faces Elaine C Smith, Alex Norton, Sanjeev Kohli and Karen Dunbar. Each of our hosts have had vastly different experiences living in Glasgow and we wanted to celebrate the diversity of the city whilst revealing a few home truths.

We’ve come a long way from our No Mean City reputation but how has it shaped our brightest stars?

The special technique we used for the opening titles

To create the opening titles of I Belong To Glasgow and its atmospheric shots of the presenters in the city, we built what’s known as a SnorriCam.

Although the Snorricam is large and slightly embarrassing to wear it creates great footage and provides an intimate view of the city. Karen was the first presenter to wear the SnorriCam, it didn’t take long before she was bounding through Queen Street station and down Buchanan street as fans shouted hello.

What exactly is a SnorriCam?

A SnorriCam is hands-free camera device that gives the impression that while the presenter is still, the city moves around them.

Karen and Glasgow’s Voice Of The Town Choir ed in Central Station for a spontaneous version of the song I Belong To Glasgow

People ing through the station were surprised and delighted to hear the classic song, and one lucky er-by got to dance with Karen when she pulled him out of the crowd for a birl.

Alex’s favourite moment was undoubtedly at the great Glasgow institution The Grand Ole Opry

The bar is a tiny part of Texas in Tradeston where people dress up in Stetsons and cowboy boots, have gunfights and dance to Country and Western music. And it seemed we were fulfilling a long forgotten childhood dream when we handed Alex a pistol and told him to get up on stage for an old time duel.

Fortunately they don’t use real bullets any more, a fancy machine precisely measures who fires first and, in a concession to the ‘health and safety varmints’, a plastic screen is used to shield the spectators from any shrapnel. Surprisingly (to us at least), Alex was quickest off the draw and he won the stand off on the first try. Taggart in Texas anyone? But before he got the chance to saddle up and ride off into the sunset, the compere persuaded him to celebrate his victory with a song. Soon he was back on stage and got the whole crowd up dancing to Hank Thompson’s ‘Wild Side of Life’.

Despite the fantasy Western setting this was a typical Glasgow night out where a warm welcome is guaranteed to all but particularly to anyone who can do a turn.

A fantasy Western setting

Alex performing at 'The Grand Ole Opry'

Sanjeev Kohli returns to his alma mater... and leaves with more than he came with!

Sanjeev was a little apprehensive about his return to his old school St Aloysius. The director had asked him to deliver a speech to the students about his experiences of studying there in the 1980s and to give them some sage life advice. No pressure then!

Sanjeev receiving his Academic Colours from Heaster John Browne

Unbelievably, Sanjeev found that he could still fit into his old school uniform and he even found the original Kohli label sewn into his tie. Sanjeev spoke fondly of school life but also acknowledged the difficulties of being one of the only Asian kids. And of course, there were a few jokes in there too.

Everyone was excited to see him, especially the teachers who ed Sanjeev from the last time he wore the uniform. Kids shouted ‘Navid, Navid!’ as Sanjeev handled dozens of selfie requests by taking one huge playground selfie.

And the school righted a wrong that had haunted Sanjeev all these years. Despite achieving six As at Higher level, Sanjeev had never been awarded his ‘Academic Colours’. John Browne the Heaster of the school surprised Sanjeev with the award, which he was delighted to receive.

Filming on the Finnieston Crane

We climbed to the top of Finnieston Crane. It felt surprisingly high but the views of the City were incredible even on a classic foggy Glasgow day. Sanjeev commented that The Armadillo looked like ‘A giant Sikh rising from the ground’

With Elaine, it was impossible to film outside without someone stopping for a chat

Elaine is very friendly and approachable and to be honest, she loves having a bit of a blether with fellow Glaswegians. We thought we’d really give the public something to talk about and set Elaine to work on Buchanan street, busking. As a tribute to the women of Glasgow Elaine sang Michael Marra’s ‘Mother Glasgow’ and it was a bit of a traffic stopper (pedestrian traffic at least).

Mary Barbour Glasgow’s first women councilor and rent striker.

We made Elaine sing the song four times for camera coverage, and were a bit worried the crowds would dwindle over time, but with each recital came an even more enthusiastic crowd. People were tweeting, taking photos and even throwing a few pennies into the bucket. Within an hour we’d raised almost £100, which we donated to the Mary Barbour campaign. Hopefully we’ll soon have a statue to Glasgow’s first woman councillor and rent striker, Mary Barbour, something we can all be proud of!

Let Glasgow flourish!

Elaine C Smith busking on Buchanan Street, singing Michael Marra’s ‘Mother Glasgow’.

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