Case Studies
Bridlington Pipeline
Tasked by Arup, working for Yorkshire Water, we were asked to capture the moment a large waste water pipe was placed across the beach into Bridlington, part of a large scheme to keep the east coast beaches safe from pollution.
Peter Smith commissioned Helijet to fly this task with him, due to their experience in survey and photography work. It was necessary to tell the whole story from when the Tugs arrived offshore towing the 1 kilometre long pipeline, through to completion, to be on station with the helicopter, shooting video and stills throughout the day. To give some scale to the picture you can see 7 tugs in attendance.
The task had to be completed at certain times to coincide with tidal conditions, meaning that it was impossible to stay in the air for the whole 8-hour period. In advance of the task we established an air to ship comms link to the lead tug to make the job easier, we then landed at a pre-arranged site nearby and waited for the call to come in on 6 occasions, in between we had to fly twice to refuel to a nearby airfield already pre arranged.
With tasks like this planning is the key to success, sometimes the planning time is far greater than the actual flying time.
Peter Smith ABIPP. AMPA. ARPS www.petersmith.com
Britain’s Biggest Adventures with Bear Grylls
We teamed up with production company Nutopia to carry out aerial filming tasks for the second episode of a three-part series for ITV, as adventurer Bear Grylls heads out on an epic journey of discovery across England, Scotland and Wales to experience the British Isles at their most spectacular.
The second episode sees Bear exploring one of England’s most iconic landscapes, the Yorkshire Dales, going on an extraordinary adventure through this spectacular terrain.
From the giddy heights of its craggy peaks to its tumbling torrents, Bear meets some remarkable creatures and races the fastest bird on the planet, before a squeeze through its underbelly leads to a living nightmare. Bear’s adventure starts at one of the most impressive limestone formations in the world, the magnificent amphitheatre of Malham Cove.
Prior to filming the crew from Nutopia and Capt Scott Myers from Heli-Jet had a thorough briefing to establish the requirements of the task, but also to run through key safety points, local restrictions and budgetary constraints. Utilising our Bell 206 and the filming equipment and crew provided by Nutopia we carried out a series of passes along the cove and limestone pavement to capture the scale and detail of this area, all in HD to be cut into the programme. From here we worked around the Dales capturing GVs (General Views), which were used to provide a backdrop for commentary and introduction to the ground based filming.
Working within a remote area and for such an exciting project in terms of how the programme would be edited can present challenges, however with thorough planning and good communications the final outcome was a great success.
Aerial Photography & Video Over Teeside
Being commissioned by Arup, acting for Yorkshire Water, to shoot aerial still images and gyro stabilised video, of an ocean going tug, towing a half kilometre long pipeline from Scandinavia into the river Tees, it appeared a challenging task, due to tidal and weather limitations.
Having worked the area for a good many years it was apparent that certain legal considerations needed to be met. Working closely with Capt. Scott Myers at Heli-Jet we obtained permission to fly within the restricted Danger Area which is a 2 mile radius exclusion zone of Hartlepool Power Station, which extends into our proposed flight area. Without this permission we would have been refused permission to operate. To obtain this exemption the helicopter must operate under an AOC (air operators certificate) as Heli-Jet does.
Other permissions were required as the area contains heavy industry working in the chemical fields; these were obtained and adhered to.
The exact arrival time of the tug was uncertain but within a high-tide envelope, liaising with the tug master via comms in the heli we were able to be over target at exactly the right time.
Using an UltraMedia 2, 5 axis gyro stabilised camera fitted to a Jet Ranger helicopter we were able to record perfect video shots. At the same time using Canon stabilised stills cameras we obtained excellent still images. They were transmitted to the client for web use the same day.
By planning every detail in advance Peter Smith Photography and Heli-Jet Aviation were able to fulfil a difficult brief, working in a very demanding environment, on time and within budget.
Peter Smith ABIPP. AMPA. ARPS www.petersmith.com
