Helicopter Filming

Here is how this works in practice. We deliver helicopter filming as a fully set up aerial operation, pairing camera ships and pilots with gyro-stabilised mounts such as Shotover and Cineflex systems and an aerial director of photography. Helicopter stays the right tool where a drone cannot go — long, high, fast aerials over a glacier the size of Vatnajökull, or access to remote Highland and eruption locations that ground crews cannot reach. Our aerial coordinators plan flight paths, safety, fuel and crew positioning, and brief the production realistically on Iceland's defining variable: weather.

Here is the short of it. Fast-changing subarctic conditions, wind and low cloud over high terrain mean aerial days are planned with backup windows. Cold affects the camera payload and we plan for it. We set up with air guidance services. The Icelandic Transport Authority for the airspace each flight uses. We integrate the aerial unit with the wider production so coverage cuts cleanly with ground footage. We staff from the skilled Reykjavík crew base and bring in extra aerial systems and pros from the UK and mainland Europe under ATA carnet for larger shoots.

Here is the breakdown. Iceland is one of the world's great aerial filming countries. A subarctic island on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, it gives Vatnajökull and its surrounding UNESCO-listed national park, the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, waterfalls, the volcanic Highlands at Landmannalaugar and Þórsmörk, and active eruption zones such as Fagradalsfjall and Reykjanes — landscapes that helicopters can reveal at a scale nothing else matches. Productions from 'Game of Thrones' to Nolan's 'Interstellar' used the country for exactly these vistas. Helicopters also give practical access to the Highlands and glaciers that 4x4 super-jeeps reach only in summer.

Here is what that looks like on the ground. Aerial filming over national parks and covered areas is set up with the Environment Agency of the country, with attention to minimising disturbance of a fragile environment and its wildlife. Eligible aerial-crew and gear spend can count toward the country's production reimbursement of 25 per cent, rising to 35 per cent for qualifying projects, administered by Film in the country.