The Northumberland County Council developed the Northumberland Line project with the CRSA carrying out the track works along the route. It will bring passenger trains back into service between Ashington and Newcastle. The scheme aims to stimulate economic growth, regeneration and community development in Northumberland and the surrounding regions by providing new and improved transport links for local people and businesses.
The Challenge
The CRSA asked us to create a video to document their works on the project. They wished to convey the scale of the works and showcase the core areas of the renewal. Another goal of the video was highlighting the socio-economic benefits of turning this freight line into a passenger line. This renewal impacted local communities and the CRSA were keen to shine a spotlight on their part in it.
The Approach
Shortly after the filming project was green-lit, we organised two on the ground/ drone filming shifts. The shifts were scheduled in the Bedlington area (a key stop along the way from Ashington to Newcastle). We planned the shifts to take place in the night going into the early hours of the morning, indicating the theme of 24 hour working into the video. These two shifts provided ample coverage of the Bedlington area works.
To illustrate the works across the rest of the line we dedicated a separate filming shift at the end of the works. The focus of this shift was capturing drone footage at important locations along the track route. We recorded interviews across the three filming shifts to add context about the purpose of the work.
The Result
Upon completion of the filming shifts we immediately began piecing the footage together. Although it wasn’t planned this way, the interviews formed the bulk of the video. The interviews provided great insight into the works and the reasons for the creation of the Northumberland Line project. Furthermore, we overlayed footage of the works and renewed track onto sections of the interviews as a visual aid. We implemented additional sound, colour and graphical elements to round out the video.
The CRSA are a fast growing rail alliance and this piece of media only goes to strengthen the efficiency and reputation of their outstanding work. They were delighted with the finished video.