Start-up in the spotlight with Trainspotting 2 role

A Glasgow-based film industry start-up is set to hit the big screen after its lighting technology was used in the production of the hotly-anticipated sequel to Trainspotting.

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The Trainspotting sequel, starring Ewan McGregor and Ewan Bremner, hits the screens this month. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA WireThe Trainspotting sequel, starring Ewan McGregor and Ewan Bremner, hits the screens this month. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire
The Trainspotting sequel, starring Ewan McGregor and Ewan Bremner, hits the screens this month. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

Blind Spot Gear was founded three years ago by a trio of entrepreneurs who said they had become “fed up” with what they described as a lack of innovation in the “over-priced” world of movies.

Its lightweight Scorpion light, which launched in 2015 following a £45,000 fundraising campaign on the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform, has already been used by the BBC, Sky Sports and National Geographic – as well as the hit television show Outlander.

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The firm has now revealed that Scorpion was used throughout the entire production of T2 Trainspotting, which is to have its world premiere in Edinburgh this month.

From left: Blind Spot Gear founders Jamie Campbell, Billy Campbell and Alan Easdale. Picture: ContributedFrom left: Blind Spot Gear founders Jamie Campbell, Billy Campbell and Alan Easdale. Picture: Contributed
From left: Blind Spot Gear founders Jamie Campbell, Billy Campbell and Alan Easdale. Picture: Contributed
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Blind Spot Gear co-founder Billy Campbell said: “To have been involved in helping the filmmakers create the look and style they wanted for T2 Trainspotting has been an honour.

“No other lighting is as portable or as flexible, which is why they were so popular on the production. We are unbelievably excited for the Scottish premier to see our lights in action.”

From left: Blind Spot Gear founders Jamie Campbell, Billy Campbell and Alan Easdale. Picture: ContributedFrom left: Blind Spot Gear founders Jamie Campbell, Billy Campbell and Alan Easdale. Picture: Contributed
From left: Blind Spot Gear founders Jamie Campbell, Billy Campbell and Alan Easdale. Picture: Contributed

Campbell, a Bafta-award winning filmmaker, set up Blind Spot Gear with engineers Alan Easdale and Jamie Campbell, and the firm has also secured a further £45,000 of funding through the Scottish Edge fund to launch its second product, the Tile light, which will hit the market later this year.

T2, directed by Danny Boyle, is based on the book Porno, Edinburgh writer Irvine Welsh’s follow-up to Trainspotting. It sees stars including Ewen Bremner, Robert Carlyle, Ewan McGregor and Jonny Lee Miller reunited two decades on from the original film.

Producer Bernard Bellew said: “The crew loved using Blind Spot Gear’s lights and even more so due to the fact they are designed by a local Scottish company.”