Air-to-air filming specialist Impact Image has been commissioned to provide the high-definition aerial photography for a BBC1 documentary on the Royal Air Force's official aerobatics display team, the Red Arrows.
Air-to-air filming specialist Impact Image has been commissioned to provide the high-definition aerial photography for a BBC1 documentary on the Royal Air Force's official aerobatics display team, the Red Arrows.

The 60-minute show, Red Arrows, is being produced through IWC and presented by Watchdog's Julia Bradbury. Greenlit by BBC documentary commissioning editor Richard Klein, the one-off doc follows the Red Arrows' selection process in which pilots are recruited by the team itself.

To capture the high-flying action an Ikegami HDL-20 ultra-compact camera was chosen with a Fujinon 4.8mm HD prime lens to record onto a Sony HDW-S280 HDCam recorder.

Camera mounts were then engineered to fit either in the cockpit looking at the pilot or in a specially modified pod positioned under the aircraft to give a rear-facing view of the formation.

Impact Image flew approximately 40 times in two weeks and production director Bob Hayes and Steve Case, the technical operator for the BBC, worked with engineers to prepare the camera before each flight. 'It all had to run like clockwork as the turnround between flights is very tight,' said Hayes.

Red Arrows is set to air over the August bank holiday weekend

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