Prince William takes motorcycle for a spin against Arizona backdrop

By Hannah Furness

The Prince of Wales took a special effects motorcycle for a spin through an Arizona desert as he tried out cutting-edge filming techniques on a visit to a video production training centre.

The Prince had a turn behind the camera to try filming, before climbing onto a stationary motorcycle to be filmed himself.

Saying he would take "any excuse" to ride one, he conducted part of his official royal engagement from its seat, peppering his hosts with questions about Northern Ireland's world-leading creative sector.

Watch the video above.

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The Prince is in Belfast for a one-day visit, originally due to take place in May but postponed for the general election.

In the second of two engagements, at Ulster University, he was introduced to the virtual production training suite created to teach the next generation the skills to continue Belfast's reputation as a destination for the world's film and television industry.

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It is the first university in the UK and Ireland to have the "in-camera visual effects stage", which provides a dramatic LED backdrop upon which any scene can be screened behind actors.

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Studio Ulster, a £75 million (approx. $147 million) development in the city's harbour, has built a full-scale version, which will allow film and television makers to appear to shoot in all climates and locations from their building – saving carbon, travel costs and eliminating the need to take a full crew to difficult or dangerous locations.

In a visit to the university's studio, the Prince was given a short tour by Professor Declan Keeney, before being invited to take control of a large film camera.

As student Lucy Rodgers played the part of the motorcycle rider, the Prince attempted to move the camera backwards and forwards, at one point telling her apologetically that he had cut off her head.

He was then invited to take a turn, saying: "Any excuse to get on a motorbike!"

"I feel like someone needs to take this for a real spin," he added, asking if it was possible to move it from its gimbal.

As he dismounted, the Prince – who is known to have ridden his own motorcycle in his younger years – took a closer look, saying: "I love that exhaust."

"It's incredibly realistic," he said of the set.

© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2024

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