Aerial Filming and Photography
Projection Projects
Aerial Filming
Aerial filming and Photography, using drones to capture visuals and perspectives from the air
What I do: Welcome to my web site, I’m Nick Fenwick, based in Brighton, East Sussex, where I am able to offer Aerial Filming and imagery using drones to capture perspectives from the air
Aerial video, photography, aerial surveys
My web site here originally set up for video projection, now orientated to aerial filming using drones. I’ve been flying drones since 2020, fully qualified and insured as a professional drone pilot with a background experience which brings a range of technical skills to effectively manage aerial filming tasks as well as offering a high end ground based filming capability
For aerial tasks or ground based filming, I’m able to manage setups from the simple to the more complex, with a flexible dynamic approach to manage aerial tasks, planning in appropriate safety controls where needed with wide experience also to manage aerial tasks for the coastal, marine or offshore environment
Background:
A background formed across Outdoor Education, qualified across water based sport, alpine snow sport, climbing and mountain activities which also bring a range of complimentary skills, insight and safety awareness. Dedicated time also spanning six years periodically attached to our Alpine Ski Teams, where I was using video for analysis of performance, which brought opportunity extending to occasional input to television programme production, BBC Ski Sunday in 1987, where experience with ability to access and manage filming in some of the more challenging settings has been instrumental to seeing successful outcomes
The time I’ve been lucky to gain experience working alongside television programme production whilst covering major winter sports events across Europe, seamlessly integrating with the production team covering each event. Opportunity which brought together technical abilities, independently managing Camera, Sound and Lighting in a broadcast setting, experience also taking in filming from rotary wing aircraft
Some of the television programme production input I’ve made a contribution to is outlined here
Camera experience and work done for TV programme producers:
BBC TV – Ski Sunday – 18 progs – (camera & sound), including World Alpine Ski Championships 1987 (Producer: Graham Fry), World Speed Ski Championships 1988 (Producer: Mark Wilkin). London Weekend TV – (lighting cameraman) for LWT – Christmas special (DOP Alisdair Macmillan) – (LWT programme award winner – Montreaux 1991). CH4 – TV (Camera & Sound for Multi Media Arts- “Revealing Secrets”), B Sky B – Golf at Slaley Hall, Northumberland (camera & sound). Tyne Tees Television (Camera – Outside Broadcast), Camera for live staged event for ‘RTS’ ‘Royal Television Society’ annual regional awards (North East Centre)
Commercial Filming done:
In Flight entertainment for ‘Virgin Atlantic’ (camera & sound)-In flight Production. Mountain walks of Cumbria for ‘Striding Edge productions’ (camera & sound), Producer: Richard Else. Aerial camera for ‘Amec Offshore – ‘Tiffany’ offshore project’, Producer: John Bird
Audio Visual done:
Regional car launch event for GM Vauxhall. Coordinating and running a TV training event for Gateshead Health Authority. Video projection at Phoenix Gallery, Brighton. Exterior surface video projection for a visual arts conference at Goldsmiths, Uni London 2018. Video Projection – on stage visuals for a staged music event in Brighton
Background experience reaches across audio visual presentation from early days relating to working across outdoor education, giving adventure activity related illustrated talks to educational groups using slide projection, video, film or other visual media. Interests then expanding to organising adventure related film screenings, progressing to projection of visuals for arts, music and immersive visual projects. I maintain an interest and capability to set up and run audio visual projects, whether community based and where there is a commercial associated element
Testimonials:
“We were glad you were able to work with us last Saturday to give our Presentation the gloss only good camerawork can add to the live occasion”
“It isn’t easy to provide virtually continuous coverage under these conditions, both George Russell (the guest of honour, who is Chairman of IBA) and I watched your work from the stage and we were very impressed by your professionalism all evening”
The late – John Frost
(Chair) Royal Television Society
North East Centre
BBC Television
“Thank you for all your hard work you put in at La Clusaz. Tony and I were very happy with all the shots and bearing in mind we could only shoot the actual skiing on one day, I thought the results were remarkable. I look forwards to working together some time in future”
Piers Croton
Assistant Producer – TV Sport
Aerial platforms I use are by DJI. The drone I currently use for most tasks is a DJI Air 2s for aerial filming and photography
The DJI Air 2S – for aerial filming and photography can capture video in 1080-HD, 4K-Full HD or 5.4K-Ultra HD, 10 bit D-Log, 20MP RAW and JPEG stills
The large one inch ‘Hasselblad’ camera sensor can capture video to 5.4K at 30fps, 4K at 60fps and 1080 at 120fps
For many aerial filming tasks, the Air 2s is compact, which gives flexibility to get to some of the more difficult to access locations. This drone will deliver sharp results and is very capable of reliably meeting most shoot requirements
The DJI Air 2S is a cost effective way to get establishing shots, aerial panoramas, aerial sequences, fine subject tracking and perspectives from the air
From establishing aerial shots and tracking shots. I am able to accommodate an hourly rate, half day or full day with up to three hours of flight time per day
Planning for getting the aerial shots that can fulfil your need is given my primary attention, with all the additional detail that might be needed to for supporting a best possible outcome. Careful planning is an integral part of preparation for aerial tasks. Aerial filming does throw up some additional challenges with possible last minute changes to a schedule, whereby a job can be can become complex in planning, preparation and managing a task depending on operational limitations alongside what is desired as an outcome. Safety is a priority for each aerial filming task which is risk assessed and planned beforehand
Abilities alongside aerial filming with drones also extends to ground based filming, sound reproduction and photography. With a dynamic approach for each task I’ve flexibility to work across broad production needs and budgets
Aerial Content: I’m able to relay visuals from the air, for monitoring shots, review, recording or live streaming. Where communication with a pilot is needed I’ll use coms headsets which have a 350M range. Coverage of live events need special planning, adequate preparation and often requiring additional support crew
Video and Stock images: An expanding bank of stock images, aerial video (4k res) and photography is available via Drone Safe Register or directly through myself for creatives, producers or programme makers
Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) I use are regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). It is essential that I comply with and adhere to the regulations set out by the CAA
Every drone flight involves preparation, location assessed for safety, permissions, operational clearances and airspace checks prior to a flight taking place. Environmental conditions can impact as to whether a drone can fly or not
The Remote Pilot has total control of a flight or filming and has the final say if the conditions are not considered safe to fly. Good planning beforehand helps maintain a safe and professional drone operation
To comply with privacy laws and stay within CAA regulations which also relate to safety. I’m not currently permitted to fly within 50 meters of uninvolved people, no flight within 30 meters of uninvolved people during take off and landing
No flight over or within 50 metres horizontal distance of assemblies of people
No flight within 150 meters of organised open air gatherings or congested areas
Limitation: When operating under CAA A2 CofC ‘Open Category’, flights are to be more than 150 metres distance from any building
There are some exceptions to the above where a drone is operating in a closed environment, with involved people, where there is appropriate safety control and site management
Many flights are carried out under the ‘Open Category’ where there are more flight restrictions in relation to closeness to property and buildings, however where I operate flights under the CAA GVC/PDRA –(Pre Defined Risk Assessed) Licence, issued for the ‘Specific Category’ with an Operational Authorization from the CAA, then this licence requires following all elements as set out in my pre defined Operations Manual, then this licence where active, allows flights closer to people and property
No flight within Flight Restriction Zones (FRZs) or restricted airspace unless permission has been granted by the responsible entity
Operational planning necessitates keeping within the rules and maintain visual line of sight at all times (up to 500m)
I’m certified through the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to fly drones in UK airspace and able to fly drones commercially
Certification:
CAA – A2 CofC in the ‘Open Category’
CAA – GVC – General Visual Certificate 2025
CAA – GVC – General Visual Certificate in the ‘Specific Category’ (GVC-PDRA) 2025
I’m an accredited member of Drone Safe Register
Insurance: I’m insured through ‘Coverdrone’
Additional kit I have to support aerial filming, ground based filming, photography or audio visual projects
Camera: For ground based filming or photography I’m currently using a Sony A7Riv (62Mp) full frame mirrorless camera with wide screen ‘Sirui’ Full Frame Anamorphic lenses (1.6x squeeze ratio). Recording onto SD card
A useful addition to my camera kit is a Go-Pro camera, the GoPro ‘Hero 13 Black’ provides an option to get additional dynamic content which can seamlessly fit together alongside other content in the edit. The many attachments provide versatility in a lightweight compact setup. Attachments include Anamorphic (wide screen) lense, underwater housing, camera mounting accessories, surf board, kayak, ski, helmet, bike and car mounts
Gimbal: A good gimbal is a integral part of my kit to capture dynamic movement, smooth tracking, keeping framing centred and in focus. The DJI Ronin RS4 Pro with LiDAR brings an elevated level of precision to manage camera focus and motion flow, also an option is DJI ‘RavenEye’ which can be set up to track movement when the gimbal is mounted on a tripod, without the need for a camera operator to monitor framing
Tripod: Three stage tripod with fluid head, lightweight tripod and compact table top tripod
Recording visuals: I have various setups for video recording (4K), whether directly to a digital camera, to a drone, drone controller, ‘Atomos Ninja-V’ monitor, recording onto SSD, or to Black Magic ‘Hyper Deck Studio HD’ recording onto SD Cards
Camera monitoring: An integral component of my camera kit is a camera monitor which has all the features helpful to view and manage the camera output and provides a de-squeeze monitor view for Anamorphic lenses. The Atomos ‘Ninja V – records up to 6Kp30 in Apple ProRes, 4Kp60, HDp120 video, integrate new formats seamlessly into the timeline of your existing ProRes or Avid DNx projects
Coms: Where useful for location support, flight safety or location monitoring, I’ll use ‘Synco’ coms head sets with a 350m range which enables on site communication for safety or between pilot and production crew
Transmission: To be able to monitor a flight remotely or provide a production crew with a live monitor feed helps to manage aerial content saving time and giving on the ground visual reference for the drone visuals at the time of a flight. For video transmission I have Hollyland – Pyro-S 4k kit which is ideal for multi-user monitoring in dynamic shooting scenarios, such as film production, live events and ENG/EFP applications. Pyro-S 4k supports HDMI and SDI input/output and can transmit to up to four receivers simultaneously, with a range of up to 1,300ft (400m) and minimal latency of just 50ms. Pyro S uses advanced Auto Dual-Band Hopping (ADH) technology to ensure reliable transmission and features selectable modes for real-world shooting needs
Microphones: I’ve a range of high specification microphones for sound recording, which gives adaptability to select the microphone, best matched for each task. Sennheiser (G2) radio microphone (handheld with performance capsule), Sennheiser (G2) belt pack transmitters, Sennheiser (G2) belt pack receivers, EV PL95 Dynamic Cardioid microphone, Sennheiser (ME80) rifle microphones, Sennheiser ECM tie microphones, Audio interface and mix – ‘Presonus 1810c Studio‘
Projection: I’ve two ‘Christie’ DLP video projectors which I’ll use for audio visual projects, film festival screenings and projection of creative visuals, these projectors are designed for high definition cinematic screening, each can output 7,500 Ansi Lumens and are also designed to pair together to double onto surface light to 15,000 Ansi Lumens. I’ll use short or long throw zoom lenses to match to the onto surface throw distance, size of screen or venue size. I’ve used these projectors for non commercial visual arts projects, visuals for immersive spaces and community film screenings where there has also been enthusiastic collective input to make for a successful event
A lifelong interest in audio visual presentation, associated with a background in Outdoor Education, leading adventure activities, with early years immersed across adventure activities, capturing on film some of those adventures and giving slide illustrated talks to groups. This interest extended adventure film screenings and organising a mountain film festival in 1979, with a programme set over three days of adventure films and illustrated talks, whilst I was working as an outdoor activities instructor with Sunderland Outdoor Activities Association. That audio visual interest continuing, having supported film events and creative artists creating visuals for immersive spaces, or supporting community film screenings. With projects in mind, I’ve also a filming capability, able to film and edit short film reels or connect with film projects where there is a story to tell
To partner the projection setup I’ve a modular stage screen (549mm x 309mm) 18ft x 10ft with 16:9 aspect ratio for front projection, designed for stage mounting or flying. I’m grateful to ‘Harkness Screens’ for their support over the past 40 years, where I’ve been using Harkness ‘Perlux 100’ screens for community film events over that time
Audio: If detail in sound reproduction is a desired option for film screenings or the more bespoke occasion then this can be delivered through my own custom build Studio Monitors (4 x 200w), a true reference sound, suitable for smaller to medium sized venue spaces supporting up to 200 people
Sound amplification: I have is by Powersoft ‘Powersoft’ (M50Q – 4 x 1,250w). This professional power amplifier will reliably provide enough output across four channels for sound that might be needed to support a screened occasion
I don’t dry hire kit but do have all the technical resources and connectives that might be needed as well as planning, preparation and running a project setup
