RAPT is a sci-fi drama set in a Dublin where, in a single instant, everyone has vanished. Everyone, that is, but paramedic and single mum Ange Smith, who finds herself alone in an empty world and desperate to find her way home to her baby daughter. Except the world isn’t as empty as she might have thought – strange and dangerous forces are on the prowl…
Kieron J. Walsh directed RAPT and many other films and television series for the BBC, Working Title, Channel 4, Granada, Sky and RTE. We spoke to Kieron about how he created this amazing ’empty world’.
How did you create the abandoned town? Was it difficult finding props and sets?
We had a very imaginative and resourceful Production Designer who managed to raid a prop store for the shoot. The hardest thing was getting the stuff in the shopping centre shot before they opened to the public. We started at 7 am and the shopping centre opened to the public at 12 noon. The last few shots were done shooting up at the lead actress from below as she ran through the centre so as we wouldn’t see shoppers!
Do you have any future plans for this series?
We would love to take it further. More webisodes would be great but we would really like to turn it into a TV show.
What do you want your audience to take away from this series?
There are greater forces at work in the world than you know about.
What is unique about your series?
A strong female character emotionally driven to find her baby against the background of a massive conspiracy.
How long did it take to produce and shoot the series?
2 week prep for a 4 day shoot.
What did you learn from making this series? What would you do differently?
Creating a world where everyone has disappeared isn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Just be imaginative and opportunistic.
What did you want to achieve in creating this series?
We wanted to make a cool futuristic thriller series set in Ireland. We weren’t aware of it being done before.
What advice would you give to emerging creators?
Be imaginative! Be bold!
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