Quay Street Productions’ adaptation of Harlan Coben’s novel Fool Me Once stars Michelle Keegan as Maya Stern, a flight instructor who is dealing with the loss of her husband, Joe. In an effort to keep an eye on her daughter. Maya discovers her supposedly deceased husband in her home after she installs a nanny cam.

Providing Picture Ships

Quay Street Productions contacted our operations team at GB Helicopters.  After initial meetings, and a visit to view the different aircraft in our fleet. Production decided that the AS355 Twin Squirrel met their needs. In terms of the ‘on film’ appearance and the ample cabin space the aircraft offered for the cameraman and director. Using two aircraft maximised the flexibility to the production and have the ability to shoot in two places at once.  Two of our pilots were dedicated to the task, Captain’s Jonny Stocken and Dan Hagan. They both were briefed and carried out various scenes both on and off camera.

During the production of Fool Me Once, our AS355 helicopters were captured in several places and reinforced the helicopter pilot background of lead actress Michelle Keegan.  While filming Fool Me Once, our AS355 helicopters appeared prominently in multiple scenes, enhancing lead actress Michelle Keegan’s portrayal of a helicopter pilot.

Barton Aerodrome was a key location in filming. While briefings occurred on the ground and one aircraft remained stationary, our aircraft seamlessly flew through the captured frames.

Throughout the series, our aircraft appear in several episodes in various phases of flight. Filmed from the ground and from within. One instance includes landing in a clearing in Delamere Forest, following an unexpected helicopter based car chase.

Overall, GB Helicopters played a crucial role in the production of Fool Me Once, providing both aircraft and pilots for the filming process.

GB Helicopters Operations for Fool Me Once

As part of our risk assessment process, GB Helicopters Director and Chief Pilot, Will Banks, conducted a recce to Delamere Forest.  He travelled by road to verify there was adequate cleared space for the aircraft to land and depart safely. He also checked the suitability of the landing site for the aircraft.

Throughout filming, for this project, we obtained the permissions necessary to allow us to achieve the required footage. This includes landing permissions from Forestry England for Delamere Forest.

The booking of helicopter landings at Manchester Barton Aerodrome was expertly handled by our operations team, who also coordinated with Quay Street Productions ensuring all relevant parties were informed about the necessary filming tasks.

Fool Me Once was released on 1^st January and is available on Netflix.

GB Helicopters – Aerial Filming Enquiry

Our operations team is ready to assist you with any requirements you may have for your next production. You can contact our operations team by emailing them directly at ops@gbhelicopters.com or by completing the form below.

The post Helicopter Picture Ships for Fool Me Once appeared first on GB Helicopters.

Filming for the Hunted is unlike any other programme we shoot for. The fugitive’s drop-off and extraction locations are known to us in advance, and are filmed like any other TV project. However, due to the nature of the show, any additional filming we do depends entirely on where the fugitives flee to, how they get there and how close the hunters get.

Outside of the opening and final sequences to the series, we’re mainly on hand to assist the hunters in apprehending the fugitives. The contestants can run and hide anywhere in the country, and most of the time, even the fugitives don’t have a set plan of where they’re headed. Because of this, the call for shooting some sequences can come very late, sometimes just the night before. This is where our large fleet of H125 and AS355 helicopters comes in. While we normally have at least one helicopter reserved for aerial filming work, any of our seven single and twin-squirrels can be rigged with our GSS C516 camera system.

Nearing the end of series 5, the location of the extraction point is revealed to the fugitives. This year the remaining contestants had to reach a harbour in Anglesey. A boat would be there waiting to help them complete their escape and hand them £100,000. This information is kept from the hunters, but they’re hot on the heels of the fugitives and so get a rough idea of where they’re headed. With the end in sight, we’re back in the air and aiding the hunters. In our AS355N helicopter, G-CMRA, we pick up renowned hunter Karl Beverly, and race towards Anglesey. After spotting the escape boat that the fugitives are heading towards, we quickly land nearby so Karl can jump out to pursue on foot. We get back in the air to film the dramatic finale as the remaining fugitives attempt to make their escape.

Filming for the Hunted is always an adventure and we look forward to each series to see how our work played out in helping capture the fugitives. The programme is created by Shine TV and is aired on Channel 4.

The post Aerial Filming for the Hunted – Series 5 appeared first on GB Helicopters.

Hosted by Carol Vorderman, the ceremony honours those who have acted bravely or extraordinarily in challenging situations. Usually the event takes place at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, this year however, the show would take place outside London’s Royal Hospital Chelsea. With no audience and just Carol Vorderman hosting the ceremony, celebrities were deployed around the country to surprise and present the awards to the recipients.

For the opening sequence of the award ceremony, we were tasked with flying Carol into London in our AW109SP helicopter. On her journey through London we hovered over hospitals and police stations to pay tribute to those in the emergency services. These fantastic people have soldiered on through everything that has happened this year while putting themselves at risk.

As Carol made her way over the various landmarks of England’s capital, we filmed from our London based AS355 twin-squirrel, G-LINE. Equipped with our GSS C516 and Sony P1 camera, we captured gorgeous footage of our aircraft as it flew over the city and along the River Thames. Working closely with the ITV production team we spent over an hour and half completing the full shot list for the awards opener.

We returned to skies above London a few days later, this time at night to film the BT Tower. The names of those being honoured appeared one by one on the towers 360° LED display for all of London to see. This was only possible as we operated our Day/Night VFR aircraft along with our IFR capable aircraft. Our pilots are also night rated combined with extensive experience flying at night.

Planning for the shoot took place over the weeks prior along with us being granted various permissions to fly and film over London. This included obtaining non-standard flight numbers from NATS that allowed us to access the controlled airspace over the city.

With Carol Vorderman safely at her destination and all the footage in the bag, it was time to return to base and get ready for our next ITV project, I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here.

The post Proud to Fly for Pride of Britain appeared first on GB Helicopters.