Big Bend National Park in West Texas

Aerial Filmworks just wrapped Big Bend National Park aerials for a new visitor film to be released in 2012. Directed by Chris Wheeler and Sonny Hutchison of Great Divide Pictures, the new aerials will take the visitor on a unique tour of Big Bend’s canyons, mountains and historical features. The project included filming of the key geological and historical features of the Park.

In addition, Holly Johnson of Great Divide Pictures coordinated various visitor activities. The aerial crew filmed canoeing on the Rio Grande in Santa Elena Canyon, Jeep adventures on the Old Maverick Road, and hiking along the South Rim.

A Bell 206-L3 Long Ranger piloted by Coyt Bailey of Mercury Aviation was used as the aerial platform for the Cineflex V14HD.

Due to the remote location of Big Bend, Aerial Filmworks worked with Mercury Aviation to bring in a Bell 206-L3 Long Ranger using our custom helicopter trailer.

Flying through Mariscal Canyon in Big Bend National Park in Texas.

The Rio Grande at Big Bend National Park in Texas.

Unique geological features in the Grapevine Hills area of Big Bend National Park.

About Aerial Filmworks

Aerial Filmworks provides high-definition video Cineflex V14HD camera systems and aerial filming services to the international entertainment, documentary and corporate marketplace. Highly regarded by award-winning clients, the Cineflex V14HD provides the highest level of image gyro-stabilization. Our dedicated, experienced camera operators have thousands of hours using the Cineflex for clients including Disney, Discovery Channel, BBC, CBC, PBS/Nature, National Geographic, History Channel, Planet Green, Freeride World Tour, Red Bull, Burton Snowboards, Amazing Race and CBS/Survivor. Aerial Filmworks is a highly responsive company with over 25 years of aerial photography experience. Dedicated to providing Cineflex V14HD systems and services, our experienced aerial filming crews specialize in location work all over the world.

Aerial Filmworks delivers Google Earth pre-flight visualization, GPS preparation and flight logistical planning; Geo-coded HD video and images for land survey or mapping; Google Earth integration of video, stills, 360 interactive panoramas, podcasts, historical imagery, topographic maps and data.

With in-house HD video suite utilizing Apple’s Final Cut Pro, Aerial Filmworks also delivers professional editing and color-grading, and BluRay/DVD output using robust 12-core MacPros, over 120 Terabytes of online RAID, Snell ArchAngel restoration, AJA Kona3, HDCAM/HDCAM SR Decks, and fast h.264 encoding.

Great Basin National Park

North Shore Productions contracted Aerial Filmworks to film aerials of the Great Basin National Park in Nevada on behalf of the National Park Service. Using the Cineflex V14HD and a Bell 206-L4 Long Ranger from Classic Helicopters, the aerial crew filmed the entire park including the southernmost glacier in the United States and ancient snow-covered Bristlecone pines. Director Rory Banyard of North Shore Productions, and Ron Chapple, Aerial Director, worked together with Mario Nickl, Chief Pilot of Classic Helicopters to create stunning landscape footage of the park. The crew lucked into a beautiful clearing winter storm that dropped 6 inches of fresh snow on the mountains.

Wheeler Peak Glacier, one of the southernmost glaciers in the continental USA.

One of the stories for the new Visitor Film is about a rancher who flies a 1941 Piper Cub to check his cattle.

In addition to filming at Great Basin, Aerial Filmworks also captured images of the Great Salt Lake to help tell the geological story of the Great Basin.

The aerial crew based at Border, a unique town on the border of Utah and Nevada that straddles the border. The helicopter landing zone was the hotel parking lot. Classic Helicopters provided a fuel truck as there is no close airport with Jet A fuel. At The Border Inn, the hotel rooms are in Utah, and the restaurant/casino is in Nevada.

Flying over The Border Inn at the base of Great Basin National Park.

About Aerial Filmworks

Aerial Filmworks provides high-definition video Cineflex V14HD camera systems and aerial filming services to the international entertainment, documentary and corporate marketplace. Highly regarded by award-winning clients, the Cineflex V14HD provides the highest level of image gyro-stabilization. Our dedicated, experienced camera operators have thousands of hours using the Cineflex for clients including Disney, Discovery Channel, BBC, CBC, PBS/Nature, National Geographic, History Channel, Planet Green, Freeride World Tour, Red Bull, Burton Snowboards, Amazing Race and CBS/Survivor. Aerial Filmworks is a highly responsive company with over 25 years of aerial photography experience. Dedicated to providing Cineflex V14HD systems and services, our experienced aerial filming crews specialize in location work all over the world.

Aerial Filmworks delivers Google Earth pre-flight visualization, GPS preparation and flight logistical planning; Geo-coded HD video and images for land survey or mapping; Google Earth integration of video, stills, 360 interactive panoramas, podcasts, historical imagery, topographic maps and data.

With in-house HD video suite utilizing Apple’s Final Cut Pro, Aerial Filmworks also delivers professional editing and color-grading, and BluRay/DVD output using robust 12-core MacPros, over 120 Terabytes of online RAID, Snell ArchAngel restoration, AJA Kona3, HDCAM/HDCAM SR Decks, and fast h.264 encoding.