Aerial footage

Aerial footage

From above, you can see how a place fits together: valley, ridge and summit, a site or the line of a tunnel through the terrain.

CONCEPT360 in Winterthur produces aerial footage as panoramas and 360° films: overviews you cannot get from the ground, and views from viewpoints no visitor reaches. For SRF, the camera followed the axis of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, in a mount the studio built for the purpose with tpc. Since 2005, the studio has been producing commissioned work, often where the public cannot otherwise go.

Your starting point

You are responsible for marketing, communications or a construction project, or you make a place accessible to visitors.

  • Your site is too large to take in from the ground.

  • Your location lies in a landscape that only makes sense from above.

  • Your construction site is changing, and its state should be recorded.

  • Your film lacks an overview of the whole place.

One project

The snow-covered Matterhorn from the air against a blue sky, one face in sunlight on the left, the other in shadow on the right, snow-covered mountains all around

swissinfo.ch / Portrait

For the 2017 annual report, a portrait of swissinfo.ch, the international service of SRG SSR, was produced in ten language versions. The film opens in the air: by helicopter over the Alps to the Matterhorn, by drone over Zurich. It then leads into the Federal Palace and to the Lucerne Carnival. It opened the online annual report in German, English and French.

  • Clientswissinfo.ch

What aerial footage achieves

  • The place as a whole.

    Valley, ridge and summit, an industrial site or a dam with its lake only reveal how they connect when seen from above.

  • A new perspective.

    The camera reaches viewpoints no visitor can get to: above the massif, in front of the north face, above the construction site.

  • The way in to everything else.

    An aerial panorama can open a virtual tour or an exhibition, before the route leads down to the square and into the rooms.

  • Comparable over time.

    If the same position in the air can be repeated, the progress of a construction site becomes comparable phase by phase.

More work

  • Mammut / Eiger Extreme

    Aerial images for the Eiger Extreme collection, the camera on a 30-metre rope beneath the helicopter.

  • helikopterflug.ch / Scenic flights

    Scenic flights over the Jungfrau region, filmed from a pole mounted outside the helicopter, with no window in front of the lens; over a million views without advertising.

  • SRF / Gotthard

    the flight over the Gotthard massif along the tunnel axis, the camera in a mount the studio built for the purpose with tpc.

Formats

  • Aerial panorama

    the overview of a valley, site or construction site, for walls, stations and browsers.

    Gigapixel panorama

  • 360° film with a flight

    the flight over the place, on screen or at a staffed station.

    360° video

  • Way into the virtual tour

    a viewpoint above the terrain from which the stops lead down.

    virtual tour

How it works

  1. 01 Discussion: place, purpose and channels; what should be visible from above.

  2. 02 Permits: flight, terrain and operations, cleared before the date.

  3. 03 Flight: with a weather reserve; the camera on a rope, on a pole or in a dedicated mount.

  4. 04 Post-production: stitching, retouching, editing and approval.

  5. 05 Use: website, exhibition, station, social media.

Scope

  • Flights take place only with a permit and according to the operator’s plan.

  • The resolution from the air is generally lower than that of a shot from a tripod; whether it is enough for a wall, print or zoom station is clarified before the flight.

  • Weather and season determine the date; a reserve is planned in.

Questions

  • When is an aerial shot worthwhile?

    When a place only shows itself as a whole from above: a valley with ridge and summit, an industrial site, a dam with its lake or a construction site. From the ground, the viewpoint that brings everything together is missing.

  • How is aerial filming done?

    Depending on the place and the image, the camera hangs on a rope beneath the helicopter, sits on a pole outside the fuselage or in a purpose-built mount. For SRF “Gotthard”, the studio built this mount together with tpc.

  • Is the resolution enough for a large wall?

    The resolution from the air is generally lower than that of a shot from a tripod. Whether it is enough for a wall, print or zoom station is clarified before the flight; more on this under Gigapixel panorama.

  • Is a permit required?

    Yes. Flights take place with a permit and according to the operator’s plan. Access, weather windows and permits are clarified before a date is fixed.

  • Is aerial footage also available under licence?

    Sometimes a dedicated flight is not worthwhile. If a suitable shot already exists, CONCEPT360 arranges a licence from an international network of specialists: licensing 360° films.

Related

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