Arrow Media International is one of London’s premiere production agencies. They produce shows that include American Monster, Animal Fight Night, 9/11: The Lost Tapes, among many others for networks that include Discovery Channel, Investigation Discovery, National Geographic and more.
In August of 2018, I had the opportunity to work directly with Andrew Parkin, Wooddy, Jessica Hartley on a shoot for Investigation Discovery’s new show: Body Cam (working title). Body cameras on law enforcement has become a hot topic as of late. The 10-episode series is meant to shed light on law enforcement officers who act properly in intense and little-time-to-react situations.
Two of those episodes take place in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States: Bellingham, Washington and Sherwood, Oregon. Our two-person operating team traveled to each location to provide high quality aerial imagery to compliment the stories to be told. We shot each location with the DJI Inspire 2 drone with a Zenmuse x5s camera.
Bellingham, Washington, a four-hour drive from Portland, Oregon and near the border of Canada, was a day shoot that consisted of multiple locations including the Downtown area, alley-ways, and the coast. I vividly recall the alleyway shot. The shot started at one end of the alley looking toward the street, panning the camera quickly to the alley and flying low down the alley to raise about 60 feet above to focus on the location of the storyline’s altercation. This shot was meant to give the perspective of the subject running down the alleyway. This shot was technical, but beautiful, and a testament to our two-person crew to pull it off.
Sherwood, Oregon was a night shoot, of which our crew was out until midnight tracking a police car traveling along Highway 99 at nearly 80 mph. Sherwood was also an immensely technical shoot, where our team now consisted of three: Operator, Camera-man, and Visual Observer - abiding to FAA daylight (night-time) waivers and regulations.
// Visit to London //
In September of 2018, hot of the Underground Victoria Line to Oxford Circus, I made a short walk to the offices of Arrow Media.
I was greeted by Sarah Tucker of Arrow Media and given a private tour of the multi-level agency. I was shown the admin offices where I met many of the staff who produce award-winning series for Discovery. Sarah also brought me to the production house, where I was greeted by Andrew who was in the middle of editing the Bellingham episode.
Andrew was kind enough to allow me to watch a sneak peak at a raw edit of the episode, which featured many of the establishing drone shots we took the month prior. It was amazing and humbling to see the footage used so appropriately in the storyline, and gave me an immense appreciation for the time and effort that go into creating a series such as Body Cam. Their three person team was able to conduct interviews, create b-roll, and coordinate dozens of people across their 6-week United States excursion. I was honored to play a minor role in the creation of what should be an epic series.
Due to release in November of 2018, I am ecstatic to not only see our drone footage in the series, but also to see the work of several operators that Andrew and his team got to work with across the country. At PORTLANDRONE, our mission is to provide top-quality aerial imagery services to all clients. My hope is our team provided the best aerial imagery Arrow Media’s team had to work with.
With the multiple shows Arrow Media produces in the United States, we’re excited for the opportunity to work with them again very soon.