Filming The River Tyne: Creative Shot of Baltic and Millenium Bridge from the Quayside, Newcastle
There’s something about standing on the Newcastle Quayside when I am filming The River Tyne, camera in hand, with the River breathing slowly beneath the bridges.
In this short landscape film, I captured a quiet moment looking across the water to two of the city’s most iconic structures: the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge. It’s a shot I’ve returned to more than once—because the view is never quite the same twice.
To the left of the frame, the imposing silhouette of BALTIC stands firm. Formerly a flour mill, now a leading contemporary art gallery, its surface seems to absorb and reflect the moods of the sky—shifting from sombre to radiant with every passing hour. Just to the right, the gentle arch of the Millennium Bridge curves upward like a poised eyelid, perfectly mirrored in the water on a still day.
The footage was captured handheld on an iPhone 11 Pro. There’s no pan or tilt, no drone or gimbal—just a simple, fixed perspective. Sometimes, the power of an image comes from restraint. I often shoot like this, especially when filming landscapes or cityscapes. It gives space for atmosphere to build and allows the natural dynamics—light, water, movement—to speak for themselves.
This wasn’t a commissioned film. It was just a moment I noticed while walking—one of those instinctive acts of recording a place as it quietly reveals itself. As a filmmaker who works regularly with heritage and landscape, I’ve learned to pay attention to these in-between times: the pauses between projects, the walks between meetings, the stretches of river between bridges. These are often the moments that give context to bigger stories.
I first worked with BALTIC on Flow by Ed Carter, a kinetic sound sculpture moored on the River Tyne that responded to environmental data from the river itself. It was a bold, poetic piece—part art installation, part musical instrument—and a powerful reminder of how creativity can connect deeply with place. Documenting Flow taught me to listen to the Tyne not just visually, but sonically, and that has stayed with me ever since.
Another memorable project was Glitches in the Stream, a short film I co-created with a group of talented young writers from New Writing North’s Cuckoo Young Writers programme. We explored the Ouseburn Valley together, reflecting on its layered histories, post-industrial textures, and digital echoes. The result was a poetic, part-digital, part-lyrical portrait of a place that’s both rooted and restless—mirroring the way I often feel when filming the Tyne.
That project was a reminder of how powerful collaborative filmmaking can be—especially when working with young people who bring new perspectives to familiar places. Their words shaped the rhythm and feel of the edit, and their curiosity pushed me to see Ouseburn—and by extension, the Tyne—with fresh eyes.
I’ve always been drawn to rivers. Perhaps it’s the way they hold memory, not in fixed landmarks but in constant motion. The Tyne, in particular, has been a recurring subject in my personal work and commissions alike. I’ve filmed it in summer haze and winter fog, by foot and by drone, in solitude and in the company of artists, historians, and academics. Each time it reveals something different—not just about the landscape, but about the way we relate to it.
This short film, focused on the stretch between the Quayside and the Gateshead bank, is one small piece in that larger mosaic. It’s not a grand narrative or a technical showcase—just a simple, still shot. But sometimes, that’s enough.
🎥 Explore more of my landscape films here:
https://alanfentiman.co.uk/vimeo-videos/landscape
📍 Location: Newcastle Quayside
📱 Shot on iPhone 11 Pro
🧭 Includes views of BALTIC and the Millennium Bridge
💬 Past collaborations: BALTIC (Flow by Ed Carter), New Writing North
🎞️ Featuring: ‘Glitches in the Stream’ with Cuckoo Young Writers