Catalyst Video Services was commissioned by the National Trust Film Unit to provide aerial video footage for a series of short marketing films to promote their organically grown baking products.
The location for the filming was the Wimpole Farm estate next to Wimpole House in Cambridgeshire. The National Trust Film Unit had been there previously to shoot the ground-based footage but required the expertise of Catalyst Video Services to provide a series of aerial shots that could be edited into the final short films.
Intelligent Flight Modes
One of the shots required was of the Estate Manager standing in the centre of a wheat field whilst ‘talking’ to the circling (drone) camera. What might seem like quite a tricky shot was actually relatively straightforward as the drone has a pre-set series of ‘Intelligent Flight Modes’ one of which, ‘point of interest’, allows the drone to circle a specific point once certain co-ordinates have been entered. After the central point has been established the drone can be flown to a pre-determined distance and height away from the point and can be speeded up or slowed down as required as it circles. The final shots are incredibly smooth and accurate, maintaining pin-sharp focus on the ‘point of interest’.
Reversing the footage
A second shot required the ‘camera’ to fly in towards the Estate Manager – a tricky and potentially dangerous shot to achieve. The solution was to shoot the footage in reverse, starting close to the person and slowly pulling away and rising into the air. This technique ensures that you always ‘hit your mark’ and the footage is easy to reverse in post-production.
Harvesting until dusk
As the day drew to a close and the sun dropped towards the horizon, Catalyst shot some final footage of the harvesting operation, flying low across the fields towards the harvesters before a rising panorama shot finally revealed the extent of the estate. A very satisfying shoot and satisfying day for all concerned.
More information
Catalyst Video Services has built up a strong reputation for proven high quality video production. If you would like more information about Catalyst’s services please contact us on tel: 01832 293175 or email: info@catalyst-video.co.uk
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