Bakehouse Aerial, Hull, and the United Kingdom City of Culture

by Ben O’Leary

Kingston Upon Hull has been awarded the UK City of Culture 2017, which is great news for the city, everyone who was involved in the bid, and all who will benefit from the boost it will bring. The UK City of Culture is a highly prestigious national award which is given once every four years for a period of one year to the winning city amongst many other entrants from across the UK.

As a drone film production company based in Kingston on Hull, Bakehouse Aerial was thrilled to be involved in the production of the official promotional video which has played an important role in the search for partners, sponsors and other stakeholders. Working alongside a Nova Studios (a local film production company), we produced the drone footage included in the video.

It is an understatement to say it was an exciting and rewarding project, and the experience reinforced our commitment to the direction in which we are taking our business. We were the first company in the region to gain permission from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to operate drones for filming and photography, and typically we work for a range of clients across the UK. These have included production companies, TV companies, power plants and local councils. We have recently worked on a TV documentary, and now we can add our contribution to the Hull UK City of Culture video to our portfolio.

Some of the things that we have learned on our journey so far include the importance of collaboration and the absolute commitment to always stay on the right side of the law. Without being in any way patronizing, we think that these are important take aways for any new business entering the field.

Collaboration is Key

In the past the only way that a film production company could incorporate aerial footage was to hire a helicopter and a pilot at considerable expense, so it is hardly a surprise that the industry is keen to embrace modern technology by working with drone filming and photography companies. But as we had anticipated and soon confirmed to be true, the film industry is set in its ways. Full of talented people who are highly skilled at what they do, it has its own language and its own ways of doing things; it also has a high bar regarding what it expects from its business partners.

Anyone who wants to get involved in the industry needs to learn how to communicate and work effectively within this framework.

Staying Legal

In the UK the CAA has very clear rules regarding commercial drone operation, and we are fully committed to working within the constraints of the law. For instance, before using a drone commercially you must hold a “Permission for Aerial Work” granted by the CAA and you must abide by all the rules in the Air Navigation Order. It is important to our clients that we do stick to the rules; if we didn’t then we would never be awarded contracts such as producing footage for the City of Culture video.

Why does UK City of Culture 2017 matter?

As a business based in Kingston on Hull we are very pleased the city has received the recognition we believe it deserves, and we are proud to have been a part of it. How it will pan out is yet to be seen, but raising the profile of our great city will result in a huge influx of visitors with tens of millions of pounds of increased spending and the generation of many new jobs. There will also be £15 million funding for cultural events and during its year in the spotlight Hull will host many of them including the prestigious Turner Prize.

Winning this award was no mean feat; the competition was particularly strong and Hull had it’s critics. Many small businesses will benefit and we’re looking forward to continuing to contribute to its success. Hull Yes!