 Winter’s End began life after a meeting with the head of ITV West about the possible screening of the 2005 short film "The Christmas Eve Snowfall". ITV agreed to screen it but in order to fill the other half of the 30 minute slot on Christmas Day another short film would have to be made. And so Winter’s End was born.
A call was put in straight away to Will Griffin, and Simon and Roger Pearce. Will to help with the story and eventually write the script and Simon and Roger to operate and light respectively. Everyone agreed. The story then evolved slowly over the next few weeks. Director Paul Dudbridge had always wanted to revisit the Second World War again after "Katie’s Mission" (2004) and wanted to work with Will Griffin again. "Will has a great understanding of story and after Snowfall, turning to him for a Christmas themed plot was a no brainer."
 Will comments " It was never about someone walking in and just making someone get over the loss of a spouse there and then. It was about recognising they needed help and starting them on that grieving process. Paul and I always like the juxtaposition of sorrow in a place and time that should be celebrating and happy."
Faced with the largest film project to date, Producer/Director Paul Dudbridge needed help. He turned to Bristol theatre Producer Anna Charlett. "I needed someone with great organisational skills and someone who’s always thinking ahead. Anna was that person" comments Paul. All admin, location finding, and bringing in half the heads of department was all now down to Anna. Anna had worked as an AD on other short films but "Winter's End" was her biggest challenge. She was applying what she already knew from past projects and having to learn new things too.
 It was a real coup for the production when award winning Camera Operator/Director of Photography Roger Pearce agreed to shoot the film. Roger recently won Best Camera Operator from the GBCT for his work on "Casino Royale". Meetings were held to talk about the style and look of the film and the approach to shooting. Read more on Roger’s lighting of "Winter’s End" here. For sound the production turned to long time collaborator Simon Cole. Having worked previously on "Coldharbour" (2003), and "The Christmas Eve Snowfall" (2005) it was the film's first and only call.
 Auditions were held at ITV West where actors from all over the country attended to audition for the four parts. In the end Amie Higgs from BAPA (Bristol Academy of Performing Arts) musical theatre school secured the lead role of "Julia". Amie comments "I remember the auditions and thinking the other actors weren’t reading the text right, that’s not how that line should be said. I felt I knew it so well even at that stage."
Actor David Hopewell was cast in the role of "The Old Man" after meeting with Paul on another film. "David was playing a west country farmer in a viral for the web. I was two weeks away from auditions and still hadn’t found my ‘Old Man’ actor. When I approached David, the west country accent dropped and this gentle low voice greeted me. It was then I knew I had found him."
 Fay Simcox and Phil Noall were approached to be the film's Production Designers. Sourcing all props and set dressings for the period. Phil says, "I work on ‘Deal or no Deal’ for Channel 4 during the day but really wanted to get into drama. Fay approached me after working with Paul before and we were off researching Christmas tree decorations, food, and the design of the hall straight away". Phil and Fay used blackout drapes to cut light from the windows in addition to covering the white double glazed frames with wooden texture coverings. Pia Pispa was brought in by Anna as Costume Supervisor. Pia spent time researching the era and had her work cut out but did an excellent job. With extras from the ITV West Television Workshop and the Kelvin theatre drama group of all ages, Pia had to look at every possible outfit before okaying for production. This included some soldier’s uniforms and making sure they all looked correct with regard to ranks and insignias.
 Principle photography took place on Friday 6th June to Sunday 8th June 2008 in Kenn village hall, Kenn, North Somerset. After looking at a few other village halls in the surrounding areas, Kenn was chosen for the fact that it hadn’t been touched since it’s construction in 1918. It was a quiet neighbourhood with fields surrounding it for adequate parking and kit. Shooting this weekend proved to be one of the hottest of the year for the extras in period costumes and the crew under lights in a tin roofed hall. The schedule was dictated by the two night shoots that ended the first two days of filming. Filming in June meant the sun didn’t set till at least 10.30pm so the crew set up the camera and then had to wait till dark to grab the shots required.
The first evening shooting required crew members to lay over 100ft of special effect snow for the opening of the film. Fibre glass roll out snow, coupled with paper snow and fine snow powder for detail was used to surround the hall, and finally to finish the effect, falling snow was produced from a snow machine.
The film will play part of "The Christmas Storybook" along with the 2005 film "The Christmas Eve Snowfall". The TV show is set for broadcast Christmas Day 11.45pm 2008 on ITV West.
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Winter's End DVD is out now. The DVD includes, "Snow in June" a 25 minute look behind the scenes, "Reflections on Winter's End" a 3 part interview with the cast and crew, TV News Item, Location Recce video diary, 3 audio commentaries from the cast and crew, and photo galleries...
