Align JV
Documentary FilmingGirder Team Case Study
Environment Case Study
Brunel University Case Study
Drone Video – July 2024
What was the brief?
Capture the progress and processes involved in the construction of the C1 package of the HS2 route, with the aim of producing an end-of-project documentary.
How did we do it?
We regularly filmed all sites along the 21.6km of Align JV-assigned HS2 construction route from the start of 2019 to the end of 2024. On these bi-monthly filming trips, we captured all working activities involved in the construction of a 3.37km viaduct, 16.04km twin-bored tunnel and five ventilation shafts, with the aim of creating a footage archive that documented the processes used and progress made. During this time, we would also produce monthly case studies that documented a variety of topics such as milestone events, innovative construction processes, community outreach, environmental innovation, and safety and wellbeing initiatives. We also captured the entire route via bi-monthly drone flights, providing footage used for internal progress updates, and also to add to the documentary footage archive.
years' worth of footage captured
case studies produced
drone videos captured
minute documentary created
For the past 5 years as head of communications at Align, I have worked closely with the team at White Hart Multimedia. They were involved in developing the augmented reality content that is currently on display in the Align visitor centre and they supplied what is a very user-friendly photographic library PicData, that we have been using on the project from the start and now which contains over 20,000 images that are easy to sort by date and location.
Since the start of the project we have used WHM to create video content that has been used and incorporated into multiple videos/case studies, totalling over 70. We have recoded drone footage bi-monthly since the start of the project, following the trace from north to south, which WHM has edited. This has resulted in us now having 30 drone videos that show the progress of the project over the years. Taking this content, and as the project is coming to an end, WHM has produce a documentary which provides an excellent visual summary of what the project has delivered.