Recent Work
| JULY 08 : ON THE AIR, IN THE AIR Our current broadcast output for July includes Top Gear (Sundays BBC2 8pm). Series 11 features our work in the Black Mountains with JC and the CLK Black. And look out for one incredible hunt : horses, hounds, Herefordshire in the TG style. Marco Pierre White's Great British Feast (Wednesdays ITV1 9pm) features our work across the south of England. We've completed a BBC documentary about Bryn Terfel where we recorded the great tenor singing at the top of his favourite mountain - Snowdon. (Picture above shows the helicopter landed near Snowdon's peak.) Snowdon also features in our coverage of the Mountain Race - year 4 for S4C and Sky Sports. And we are staging and filming an enormous shoot for the new series of Britain's biggest entertainment show, The X Factor (ITV1, Autumn 08). In addition, XF will also be using Mastershot material throughout the new series. And there's more............ Five is re-inventing the classic sports series Superstars - tx July/August, C4 is showing the Corus Elite Triathlon series, BBC is into festival season and shows Beach Break in Cornwall, Jamie Oliver's new C4 series is set around Rotherham, Animal Planet has a monkey sanctuary series in Staffordshire, BBC Northern Ireland has Laurence Llewelyn Bowen driving the coastal roads of the province, The Culture Show has land art in Scotland and northern England. And TwoFour Media have us flying to the Wye Valley, Cornwall, Yorkshire, Scotland, the Lake District and Snowdonia for Britain's Best Drives with actor Richard Wilson and some classic vehicles. Add in numerous London and the south-east shoots and you'll understand why we can claim over 200 clients in all corners of the UK Call us to discuss your idea for an aerial filming project. Live or recorded, there is no more efficient way than FlyingTV. Standard Def ? High Def ? Stills ? We can handle it all. |
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| Suddenly, the weather has turned. A big high pressure area develops over the UK and the long awaited spring weather arrives. The leaves are on the trees - and it's a perfect time to go aerial filming. It's a beautiful 4th birthday for us. And to celebrate - we've lowered our prices. Now our rates INCLUDE stock and landing fees. So when you commission us for your task, you can be assured that you are getting value for money and total control of your budget. We are the only UK aerial filming operator to actually innovate on pricing - reducing prices when all the others are increasing. May 18th is the 4th anniversary of our first task - just a few days after getting CAA Certification for our first helicopter. G-PIXX was sent by BBC News to get aerial video at Heathrow after a failed bullion robbery. (Screengrab above) Major events coming up include The Derby for BBC Sport, a series of triathlons throughout the UK for Channel 4, all the aerial filming for the new series of The X Factor (ITV). All you need for great aerials - from just £900. For our new reduced price ratecard, simply call or email. You can get an outline at RATES. |
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| When the world's biggest cruise liner arrives in port, there's only one way to get the shots that matter. FlyingTV was exclusively on-scene for Royal Caribbean in Southampton when Independence of the Seas arrived for the first time on April 25. Any ship that can carry over 4000 passengers in complete luxury has to be big. And this is the biggest - the length of 5 jumbo jets. And someone, of course, mentioned football pitches and London double-decker buses of a type we no longer have. Anyway, it's bloody gigantic. We supplied stabilised video and stills in the same mission - starting before sunrise. By 0715 the job was done and all images were with the client for worldwide media distribution. Elsewhere we've been working hard around the UK on new shoots for Top Gear (Wales and Gloucestershire), TalkbackThames Sea Rescues (Snowdonia), Spooks series 7 (throughout London), Tiger Aspect's Restoration Man (Kent coast) and live sports coverage for BBC (Aintree Grand National) and ITV (The Boat Race in London). We've also been adding shots to our new MASTERSHOT collection. This can be viewed by you free online - and has the added advantage that you can download lo-res QT clips for use as placeholders in an edit. Then, when you're certain what you need, you can return and order & pay for the hi-res material. It's a simple, easy, low-cost way of getting high quality stabilised aerials into any production. Click MASTERSHOT on the left of this page and enjoy Britain's only dedicated collection of aerials. |
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| IS IT SPRING ? First weekend in April - and snow. That's what we faced with our first commission ever to provide the BBC with live aerials for the world's most difficult horse race - The Grand National at Aintree. Over 3 days we covered 15 races, including the classic over 30 fences. The challenge of holding 40 runners in the frame and operating over some very tight turns is what we love. See the fence-by-fence BBC analysis coverage here. Just a few days before, ITV's Boat Race got record audiences of 7.4 million. We provided live aerials from 2 helicopters. And we brought in a third helicopter for a recorded air-to-air guide to the course. The Race is now seen in over 60 territories worldwide and is the world's biggest wireless outside broadcast. See our coverage here. Whether you need a complex live OB or a simple one hour aerial shoot, you get the same solid treatment from FlyingTV. Every client matters. For any aerial filming or specialist aviation requirements, simply call us for a chat or send an email. |
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| HELLO SPRING! Blue Peter cleaning the windows of Canary Wharf, Top Gear testing the new Mercedes in the Black Mountains, ITV Factual filming a Mini on the streets of London - just one early March week in the life of FTV. Throw in a power station for EON, the conclusion of our year-long filming for BBC Fossil Detectives, the start of filming for Spooks 7 and a bank job for - er a bank..........and you can tell that we don't stop for lunch too often. SPORT A first for us this spring. Not just supplying three helicopters for ITV Sport's live coverage of The Boat Race. But 5 days later we cover the Grand National for BBC Sport - our first crack at this "crown jewel" event. And not just the main race - but all 3 days of the Aintree classic. FlyingTV MASTERSHOT The aerial collection. Almost there. We've dry run the whole system and we're nearly ready to go live. By Easter. Promise. Simple to surf - easy to purchase - and hand-crafted quality in every shot. Plus an easy, low-cost, royalty-free price structure making high quality aerials affordable for everyone. In 07 we supplied over 200 productions with high quality, gyro-stabilised aerials. Our 2 "flying studio" helicopters worked across the breadth of television production and performed brilliantly. And all at rates that will make you smile. Call us to discuss your project - the talk is free and comes with 1600 hours aerial & over 30 years broadcast experience. MIKE |
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| After a break of 8 years, ITV has returned News At Ten to its timeslot. And we helped out with helicopter work in launch week. We organised ferry flights to breaking news stories and performed aerial filming around some of the worst January weather. From a sinking ship off Devon to yet more flooding in England, we delivered people and pictures. HEATHROW CRASH We were the only helicopter company who kept working into the night following the crash landing of a BA 777 at Heathrow - delivering live and exclusive shots to ITV News, C4 News and ITV's London Tonight programmes after dark. See Channel 4 news report here. And we got the only "pilot's eye view" helicopter shots of the final approach to Heathrow's 27L runway and the crash site - in both video and stills formats. See the shots on BBC News here. Download free stills here. No resale permitted and all use subject to credit for FlyingTV. These are unique shots of the crash site. WINTER FLYING Generally speaking, wind is our friend and it would take hurricane-strengths to keep us on the ground. But some of the headwinds we have seen in mid January have made progress slow - in one direction. Getting from London to Cornwall 2h 15m - getting from Cornwall to London 1h 15 mins ! This is winter in the UK - and who knows what lies between here and spring? |
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| WINNING THE WEMBLEY RACE The unique Race of Champions was at Wembley Stadium on December 16. The sight of a tarmac race circuit built over the famous pitch was quite something. We were asked to provide live aerials for the events as well as stills for press and pr circulation. As Schumacher and co ripped around NW10, we circled above shooting live tv and digital stills. Within 15 minutes of landing the stills were emailed to the client and on their way to the world's press before the racing had finished. We love the challenges that land in front of us. Keep them coming. 600 hours and 60,000 miles of tv & stills flying in 07 - the busiest aerial media company in the UK. ON TV RECENTLY Top Gear, BBC2, Sunday 23rd December and various repeats - see our aerials of the new Jaguar HF in Capt Slow's roadtest. Welsh Grand National, Chepstow, BBC2, Thursday 27th December - live aerials. Three Men In Another Boat, BBC2, New Year's Day - Griff Rhys-Jones, Dara O'Brein, Rory McGrath and a classic yacht. All aerials by us. |
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| 60,000 MILES IN A YEAR In 07 we completed 600 hours of dedicated tv flying. This equates to a stunning 60,000 miles of flying for 2 helicopters. We have visited every corner of the UK - and some of those several times. Our 08 rates continue our low-cost, high-quality approach - you can get a copy of them by email now. We are open throughout the winter because some of the best visibility and light comes on short winter days. So call us if you need aerial video or stills anywhere in the UK. And if it's licensed shots you're after, go to our MASTERSHOT page and view our promo. Produced in-house and entirely composed of shots from our helicopters, these 3 fast-moving minutes will give you a real taste for our unique collection of aerials. |
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| VEYRON V EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON Those cool dudes at Top Gear admit that this was their biggest challenge yet - pitching the world's fastest road car against the utterly supersonic Typhoon Eurofighter of the RAF. We planned and filmed the aerials. 200mph vs 1200mph ? It's not easy having a 130mph helicopter trying to keep up with such rapid targets. We knew we would only get 4 goes to get all the angles - and the RAF imposed some serious clean zones around their aircraft. Add in the fact that the car was going horizontally whilst the jet spent most of it's time vertical....... a challenge. The most important bit of the day was the pilot-to-pilot meeting which determined the parameters. And the willingness of the production team to let us have one session with the Typhoon on our own - directing an aerial ballet over the radio. The noise was something else - it loosened our rivets for sure. An absolutely spectacular day in the company of the RAF at Coningsby. This also marked Richard Hammond's return to high-speed driving - it was quite an emotional sight when the entire air base turned out to take a look. Inside track : the Typhoon pilot told us he actually had to back-off the throttles to avoid going supersonic over the base. Otherwise there would have been another TG scandal - broken windows for miles around! G-PIXL Pilot: Quentin Smith Cam Op: Matt Wyer |
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| STILLS AND VIDEO TOGETHER A client needed gyro-stabilised video footage and high quality stills of a building project in central London. Using G-PIXX we got both tasks done in one flight, saving the client's budget and delivering video & stills in matching light. There really is no more cost-effective and efficient way to get aerial shots. We are now regularly working all over the UK delivering pleasant surprises to broadcasters, production companies, corporate clients and agencies. We make life extremely simple. You brief us, we get the shots. In between we meticulously plan the flight, get all the permissions and choose exactly the right time to get the most beautiful results. Within an hour of landing our client had results emailed to her desktop in Scotland. "Just to say thank you very much for all your work to deliver our aerial shoot. We're delighted with the end result. Tape arrived today and is already digitized and being worked on. Also delighted with the stills - thanks. It was a pleasure to deal with you. You are client focused and exceptionally realistic with your pricing (if it takes an hour you charge an hour, unlike others). Hopefully work with you again in the future." |
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| Our most recent work shows why we are now the busiest aerial filming company in the UK. In September alone we flew 100 hours of aerial filming tasks. But it's the story behind those hours that's worth investigating. We don't just take your money and go flying. We reckon to spend 3 ground hours in support of every flown hour. For our clients this means we take a concept and make it work - at no extra cost. Blue Peter wanted to do a grand "land art" project. Three presenters in three locations creating the Blue Peter name and logo in a giant style - all filmed from the air. And all on a childrens' tv budget. Working for a week or so ahead of the filming day we liaised with production on how to get the maximum effect for the least spend. We advised on locations, distances and flying times. We told them how long it would take to get each shot. On the day, timing was everything. Our base kept all locations informed of the helicopter's progress - this meant that targets were ready to film as the heli arrived overhead. And it was vital that we had recorded material back on the ground for 1800. After just over 600 miles of flying, the day ended when G-PIXL landed at base at 1757. Job done and within budget on our daily fee. All done to our plan. (Yes - it was one we'd made earlier..........) |
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| Britain's Favourite View FlyingTV performs the aerial filming and provides a specially liveried helicopter for ITV's summer Sunday night series, Britain's Favourite View. The 4-part series started Sunday August 12 and won its timeslot with 5 million viewers and 23% share. It takes the audience for a trip around some of the UK's most stunning views, using G-PIXX and Sir Trevor MacDonald. We costed, organised, flew and filmed the series working with ITV Factual. It's a high quality, glossy series with some glorious aerials. Amongst the shots - our air-to-air work filming G-PIXX from G-PIXL. They make perfect partners. Pilots: Tony Brown, Jonathan Penny, Mark Walters Cameras: Richard Stevenson, Matt Wyer And it's not just the big projects. We have made aerials affordable and high-quality for all types of budget. Call us for a pleasant surprise! |
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| FIRST ON SCENE AGAIN It doesn't thrill us that much, but it was us who delivered the first aerials of the Foot & Mouth outbreak in Surrey on Sat 4th August 07. Working live for BBC News, with pictures shared to 8 networks including ITN, our G-PIXL left base at 0630 and was delivering live shots for the 0700 BBC News. We did 3 missions over the scene and also got the only aerials of the Pirbright laboratories at the centre of the investigation. With our inflight duration of 3 hrs and our low costs, we were able to fly continuously as the story developed. With direct comms to editorial staff we could move quickly and save the broadcasters a lot of money - getting shots in areas where ground crews were prohibited. Even when the airspace was restricted up to 3000ft, we could still offer coverage. And our low noise, single-engine meant we didn't interfere with operations on the ground. One helicopter, one engine, 8 networks. The most cost-effective helicopter newsgathering this side of the Atlantic. Pilot: Quentin Smith Cam Op: Mike Smith |
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| Tuesday 26th June 07 : Proving why our helis are indispensable for tv news As the British summer continued with floods, FTV was brought into action by all the major news providers on Tuesday. Leaving our base in G-PIXL at 0545, we were offering live coverage to GMTV by 0715 over the worst-affected area : South Yorkshire. That same machine continued working through the day for ITN. And was joined in the afternoon by G-PIXX working for BBC News - a late call at 1430, we still got the machine into the heart of the story for 1700. The whole op went smoothly at Sheffield's City airport until just before the main evening news bulletins when the base was suddenly shutdown after fears of a nearby gas plant exploding. We moved to another field in Nottinghamshire and continued with coverage until late evening. Yet again the R44 ENG proved itself to be the best at airborne tv coverage - faultless operation, a multitude of comms with differing news trucks, fast turnaround, endurance and rapid deployment. Despite the tragedy below, FTV's day over the floods delivered live and recorded television for over 12 hours. |
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| DERBY WEEKEND SUCCESS FOR FTV "Many thanks for your valuable part in what I thought were two days of exceptional sporting television" Steve Docherty, Director The Derby horse race meeting on Epsom Downs came to climax with Frankie Dettori winning the race at his 15th attempt. FTV were there for both days covering a total of 10 races live for BBC Sport. Our ability to offer a continuous stabilised aerial shot of the races brings more information and entertainment to the coverage. The FTV shot is used for post-race analysis. In the case of Dettori, it was the only shot which showed his progress from last away, up to 9th and then an incredible push to win by 3 lengths. With 33 cameras covering The Derby meeting, it is one of the most complex Outside Broadcasts. We're proud to have been a part of the success for Sunset+Vine and BBC Sport. Operating out of the Epsom Heliport, we fly only when necessary - saving the production budget. And minimising disturbance for horses and spectators - although our single-engine can hardly be heard. All the camera, transmission and talkback equipment is part of our standard fit on the helicopters. Helicopter: G-PIXL R44 ENG Pilot: Neil Jeffers Cam Op: Richard Stevenson Talking Ballast: Mike Smith |
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| RTS Sport Awards : London May 30th 2007 Best Live OB : The University Boat Race We're proud to be a part of the ITV Sport team which has just won the Best Live Outside Broadcast Award at the Royal Television Society Sports Awards in London. Since 05, FTV has provided all the aerials for ITV's coverage of the Boat Race. It was the 06 event which won the award. And in 07 we went one step further - with 2 helicopters providing a greater variety of shots. Pilots: Neil Jeffers & Jonathan Penny Cameramen: Matt Wyer & Richard Stevenson Aerial Director : Mike Smith |
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