A post-apocalyptic world with invaders from another universe looming ominously overhead.
Not something you see every day in Banchory, but for one local filmmaker, it was the perfect setting for a new science-fiction film.
Elizabeth Brown, 28, grew up in the town before moving to London, where she is now managing director of production company, Bigview Media.
Since September 2012, the former Banchory Academy pupil and her company have been in the process of making Beyond – a film which mixes sci-fi and romance.
Miss Brown says despite her roots in the town, it was her partners in the company who saw its potential. She said: “The boys came up with me for a family event and they just fell in love with the place and decided we had to make a film there.
“I think when you come from the area, you can actually forget just how beautiful it is.
“They pitched the idea of a romantic sci-fi film to me and it was a perfect setting for that, with the natural landscape.”
Once they had decided on the story, they began principal photography in the autumn of 2012 and chose various locations in the town and surrounding area including the River Dee, Crathes Hall, St Cyrus Beach, Cowie Beach and the Cairn O’Mount.
The filmmakers also enlisted the help of some of Miss Brown’s family and friends who still live in the town.
She continued: “A lot of the locations I planned with the help of people I still know in the town.
“But as well as that, we used some of my family and friends in the film, there is a house party scene so we needed a lot of extras for that, someone from the town even played the part of a dead body.
“It was really nice to take my work home with me and show my family and friends what I do and what it takes to make a film.”
In April, the film – which stars Paul Brannigan from The Angel’s Share and Gillian McGregor from A Lonely Place To Die – was screened at the Sci-Fi London Film Festival where it was given a positive reception.