An expectant party of Peak District promoters and business people climbed one of Chatsworth’s imposing staircases to attend the launch of “Get Here” - a new short film extolling the wonders of the region. The venue for the screening was the little- known private theatre, with its impressive painted ceiling panels and eighteenth- century-style proscenium arch, but the film itself had a very modern vibe. Over a soundtrack sung by Chesterfield’s very own X-Factor contestant Chelsea Redfern, clouds swept over a classic Peak District landscape of heather moorland and rocky edges, followed by an energetic array of walkers, climbers, sailors and cyclists, all seeking to “Get Here” by what ever means.
David Thornton, deputy CEO of Visit Peak District and Head of Marketing explained the film’s genesis: It happened one snowy evening in Bakewell when 16-year-old Darcy Rae heard the song “Get Here” on a car radio. She suggested using it as the backing to a promotional video to the driver – who just so happened to work in the marketing department of Visit Peak District. (Well, okay, it was her mother driving her home from Lady Manners School). There were a few hurdles to cross before the idea became a runner – getting permission from Warner Brothers and Brenda Russell, the American songwriter, for example – but luckily Brenda herself lives in a U.S. national park and is a keen environmentalist, so she understood the ethos behind the project.
Some of the musicians backing Chelsea’s vocals are from Lady Manners School, so it was great to hear and see so much local artistic talent to the fore.
The aim of the new film is less about a check-list of places to visit and more of an emotional experience, capturing the thrill of our wonderful landscape and the multitude of ways to approach it. There was certainly some fantastic film work in evidence, though sometimes the attempt to marry the words of the song to the activities on offer did not quite pay off – “cross the desert like an Arab man” does not bring to mind hiking on a Peak District moor; but we get the drift. There is such a wide range of open-air attractions within this region and the film put that message across forcibly.
At the end of the film, David Thornton explained how easy it was to embed the video into any website seeking to promote the Peak District and then went on to talk about a promotion that Visit England is launching nation-wide for 2012. “Great Britain” is offering a discount of 20.12% at selected attractions and events. Quirky, but effective; let’s hope no one loses their calculator when the bill is called for.
After the screening, Chelsea sang “Get Here” live and then entertained us further with two more songs of her own choice. The second of these had a seasonal flavour and sent us out into a chill December night, with a warm glow as the stars shone brightly over the Chatsworth parkland. As if to further emphasise the surprising beauty and grandeur of the Peak District, a magnificent Fallow Deer stag had stationed itself under an oak tree, illuminated by the headlights of a departing vehicle. It remained almost motionless as the guests turned homeward; there were even rumours it had been stuffed, but, no, it was just Nature’s way of saying “Get Here”
