BBC One Ambulance
Aerial Filming For Ambulance
Following series 9, BBC One Ambulance returns for its tenth series, focusing on the North East Ambulance Service. Since 2018, our crew has been performing aerial filming for the production of Ambulance. For series ten, we followed our amazing ambulance and paramedic crews from the sky across the North East. Series 9 and 10 are the first time BBC Ambulance has focused on the North East Ambulance and emergency response team.
How did GB Helicopters' participate in the production of BBC One's Ambulance?
Flying overhead in one of our AS355 twin-engine helicopters, we followed the emergency response teams to significant incidents across the North East. We equipped our twin-engine aircraft with our cutting-edge GSS C516 lightweight camera system and our RED Helium camera to capture the required footage.
Combining our ultra-high-definition camera systems, we flew overhead convoy with several emergency response vehicles and filming crew. This allowed us to capture the required footage of the North East ambulance service attending emergency scenes.
Additionally, we filmed overhead views of the Tyne River, Tees Transporter bridge, and scenic views. This footage captured can be seen throughout the series as transition scenes.
This series shows us a small fraction of what our paramedics attend to at heart-wrenching scenes. 24 hours 365 days a year.
Production and permissions required
GB Helicopters collaborated with Dragonfly Television and the BBC who produced the BAFTA Award-winning documentary series Ambulance.
The permissions required for this production were covered under the permit we hold from the CAA permitting us to fly at low levels.
Ambulance Series 10 air's every Wednesday on BBC One and is available on iPlayer.
Contact our operations team to use our aerial filming services by completing the form below.
Aerial Filming Enquiry
Ambulance - Series 7
Sweeping down the River Mersey, the iconic Royal Liver Building comes into frame. The sun is rising behind it, bringing an end to a night of frantic activity across the city. Paramedics have been racing to people in need, but their work isn’t done, and the emergencies keep coming. It’s just another 24-hours for the North West Ambulance Service. We were there in the sky above to follow the drama for the seventh series of the BBC’s factual series, Ambulance.
The new series shows the immense challenges faced by the North West Ambulance Service during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Taking the viewer to heart of the NHS are the courageous frontline paramedics, as they respond to emergencies across the North West.
Series seven will concentrate in and around the cities of Liverpool and Blackpool. Covering an area of more than 5,400 square miles, they respond to an average 4,000 emergency calls every day. It shows in detail the harsh reality of the shifts of the call-handlers and ambulance dispatchers as they make decisions in the highly pressurised environment of the control room.
While the crews are accompanied by the production team on the ground, we provide a sense of scale from above. Capturing wide aerial shots of the city and iconic landmarks to close tracking shots of the emergency vehicles as they hurtle through the city.
Equipment
For this project we flew one of our AS355NP’s rigged with our GSS C516 gyroscopic camera system. For shooting during the day, we used our RED Epic Dragon camera with the Canon 30-300mm telephoto lens. At night, we switched to the Sony P1.
Produced by Dragonfly Television and the BBC, it was first broadcast on BBC One in 2016. Since then it has proved to be very successful, winning a BAFTA for 'Best Factual Series' in 2018 and receiving several National Television Award nominations.
