Watch: Filmmaker captures comparison between life now and at the start of lockdown in 'Empty Edinburgh - One Year On'

An Edinburgh-based filmmaker has created a short piece to show the stark difference between life now, as we begin to exit lockdown, and life one year ago in the Capital – when lockdown was beginning.
Richard Nicholls has released a short film showing a drastic comparison between life now and life one year ago in Edinburgh.Richard Nicholls has released a short film showing a drastic comparison between life now and life one year ago in Edinburgh.
Richard Nicholls has released a short film showing a drastic comparison between life now and life one year ago in Edinburgh.

Richard Nicholls, 42, runs Swift Films, an Edinburgh-based production company, and has just released a five-minute feature on an eerie comparison between the streets of Edinburgh now, and the ghostly vibes that could be felt as lockdown was first enforced across the country.

Speaking to the Evening News, Mr Nicholls said he filmed the original footage one morning in April, 2020, during what would normally have been rush hour.

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He said: "I looked at the footage and I thought ‘one day I’ll probably use this’, but because the mood of the nation was so bleak at the time, I didn’t want to add to the despondency.”

He described the city as a “complete ghost town” as he cycled along a deserted Princes Street and through the Old Town.

He returned to the centre on March, 27, 2021, to film the new footage and said: "I just wandered around for a few hours, it was still pretty quiet but it didn’t have the same empty feeling that it had last year.”

Mr Nicholls went on to say that he finds Edinburgh an incredibly inspiring place.

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He said: “I remember talking to Ian Rankin a number of years ago and he talked about how as a writer, he just finds the place endlessly fascinating, and I completely agree.

The film features a completely deserted Princes Street.The film features a completely deserted Princes Street.
The film features a completely deserted Princes Street.

“Experiences like these just make me want to make more films about the city, I really love it.”

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