Flying Pictures have issued this press release, which I post with their permission:
A YEAR OF BONDING FOR FLYING PICTURES
Having worked on the new James Bond film, Skyfall, earlier in the year, Flying Pictures was delighted to be offered the opportunity to supply their expertise to Danny Boyle and his team for the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The stunt involving Mr Bond and Her Majesty was performed as a result of 6 months of planning and absolute secrecy.
The challenge involved the complexities of permission, meticulous organisation and management, perfect camerawork and precise timing. The ultimate show depended entirely on everything being in place precisely on cue so that the live stunt could be intercut with the recorded footage, which Flying Pictures had shot for the BBC over several months.
Even though the recorded footage included mythically flying the monarch and spy by helicopter through Tower Bridge (it had to be closed for almost an hour), the media never caught on to what would eventually result.
Flying Pictures supplied live aerial coverage of the Ceremony and all the recorded aerial footage of the Isles of Wonder sequence along the Thames, the four choirs and of course the flight of Mr Bond and Her Majesty as they travelled from Buckingham Palace to overhead the stadium.
Head of Film Services, Andy Stephens said “This was the Flying Pictures team at its best, but our thanks must also go to all the production teams at LOCOG and BBC, Wing Commanders Dawn Lindsey and Paul Moss who assisted with the co-ordination as well as the Civil Aviation Authority inspectors Howard Mersey and Lawrence Hay for granting the permissions required for this most memorable event”
The Flying Pictures team included the following:
Helicopter pilots: Marc Wolff, Will Samuelson, Peter Hall and Sam Eddings; Aerial cameramen: John Marzano and Adam Dale; Head of Film Services: Andy Stephens; Administration: Lucia Foster-Found and Paul Rosser; Microwave Technicians: Richard Lincoln and Pierre Chenot; Safety Engineers: Steve North, Phil Pickford and Tom Clode; Technical support: Will Handley, Glyn Williams and Dave Francis.
Isles of wonder
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tm7NWsxRRc&feature=relmfu
Happy & glorious
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW5abat5NEU&feature=player_embedded
More information can be found in the latest news section on their website Aerial Filming, Cineflex, Aerostats and Adventure Management from the The Flying Pictures Group Or on their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/flyingpictures
Last edited by TRC; 17th Aug 2012 at 13:40.
Reason: Tidy up cut and paste