Britain From Above
Britain From Above on bbc.co.uk
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Simon Nelson, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Vision's Controller, Multi-platform and Portfolio, said: "Britain From Above really marks a stepping stone in how we plan to develop content in future.
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"It has a high-quality broadcast part and an exceptionally deep and rich online component.
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"It features a world that people can immerse themselves in across all platforms, and has been storyboarded to work online as well as on TV from the project's inception."
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In a major piece of cross-platform commissioning, bbc.co.uk will host an extensive website both supporting the series and also incorporating specially commissioned documentary shorts, exclusive behind-the-scenes films and sumptuous aerial photography captured during filming.
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The website will remain live for the following decade, enabling users to continue to enjoy and relive the series for years to come.
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Nick Cohen, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Online Commissioning Editor, said: "For users, this means that all the material online is available for them to use and explore in any way they like.
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"People can wallow in a world of short-form video and make serendipitous journeys through the films, creating their own view of Britain From Above.
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"And they can keep returning to it over the years to come as it remains an online resource and reference for the next decade."
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In supporting the series, bbc.co.uk/britainfromabove will host all the series' episodes in bite-size chunks, enabling viewers to either watch the series in a traditional linear fashion or create their own episodes exploring areas or subjects of particular interest to them.
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Eight special behind-the-scenes films will give a unique insight to the fun – but complicated – nature of filming, including:
- an exclusive interview with Andrew Marr
- scenes from his skydiving excitement
- a taste of how the aerial sequences were filmed with cameras on everything from planes and helicopters to balloons and blimps
- Glastonbury Festival as never seen before
- interviews with experts including English Heritage's world-renowned aerial survey team
- demonstrations of how London can be recreated through time and into the future using 3D modelling.
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Kirsty Hunter, Lion TV's Head of Interactive, added: "When we started creating Britain From Above we essentially sat down round a table and mapped out a matrix with series director Cassian Harrison.
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"We planned the whole site alongside the series, working out what we would film for television and the extra material we needed online.
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"This has continued right through to the edits, where online has been given equal importance to Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One."
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Sixteen specially commissioned shorts, entitled Rewinds, feature locations around Britain and show how the landscape has changed over the last century or so.
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Starting from the modern day view of a location as it is today, the films travel back in time animating that location's transformation using CGI, on-the-ground footage, modern day photography and historic aerial survey images, exploring history from above.
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These locations include:
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- St. Paul's during the Blitz – Christopher Wren's masterpiece is one of the few constants in an ever-changing cityscape. Return to December 1940 when the Blitz nearly obliterated the capital and threatened this historic landmark
- The Eden Project – How a disused china claypit became a giant environmental complex that attracts visitors from all parts of the globe
- Happisburgh in Norfolk – The decline of sea defences in the small Norfolk village of Happisburgh has triggered coastal erosion, affecting the environment and people
- Black Law Windfarm – Black Law in Scotland, once known for its open and deepcast mining, has become famed for a new powerv source, wind farms
- Belfast's Harland and Wolff – Harland and Wolff were once the largest shipbuilders in the world, responsible for the Titanic and HMS Belfast. From above, see how their business has changed to accommodate an ever-changing market
- Spaghetti Junction, Birmingham – This small junction once served a small community, before it was transformed into one of the most recognisable interchanges in Europe. Witness the change through the eyes of a lifelong resident
- Canvey Island's 1953 Floods – In 1953 Britain experienced its biggest peacetime disaster when the east coast was hit by devastating floods. Relive how this dramatic passage in history affected Canvey Island
- Kielder Water – The largest-ever construction project in the water industry has turned a sleepy backwater in the Tyne Valley into the biggest man-made reservoir in Britain, providing water to 80% of north-east England
- The Fire of London – The Great Fire of London destroyed one third of the capital. Discover how this disaster triggered change in the capital's streets that are still visible today.
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