Java Post Production and Java Post Aerial Photography were pleased to work with the Phoenix Group to create the 2017 television and web campaign for Tourism Saskatchewan. The campaign consists of a 60-second commercial (seen here) as well as a 30-second version and several 15-second pre-roll versions for the web.

Here are a few behind-the-scenes photos of our crew working on shots of kayaks on a bridge in the city of Saskatoon.

Our Java Post Aerial Photography crew, primary pilot Jack Tunnicliffe (left) and camera operation/UAV technician Trevor Bennett, get one our drones ready to lift off to capture aerial photos of kayaks padding on the South Saskatchewan river, which winds through the city of Saskatoon. We had shut down this bridge for several hours, in order to capture all the footage we needed without endangering any of our cast. client and agency reps,  or crew members.

Jack and Trevor enjoy the Saskatchewan sunshine while waiting for our kayak paddlers to get into position.

Our three kayak paddlers get ready to go.

The Java Post Aerial Photography drone is launched.

Now, this shot above is actually a test shot taken by our behind-the-scenes photographer (not by our drone) the day before our scheduled aerial shoot. Our lead paddler was testing the communication system with our crew. However, this shot does give you sort of an idea of the kind of aerial shot we will be shooting the next day.

Trevor (left) and Jack watch their control panels as they get the drone into position. Trevor is the camera operator so his main task is to position the drone's camera. As the primary pilot, Jack will concentrate on the flight of the drone. Working in concert, they will coordinate the movements of the drone and camera to capture the shots required.

Shot by our behind-the-scenes photographer, our lead paddler heads directly beneath the bridge in this test shot taken the day before our drone shoot. Again, it gives you an idea of the overhead angle our drone will be using.

In the finished commercial, the aerial shot with our three paddlers looks like this (above).

Moving off the bridge and down the river a bit, our Java Post Aerial Photography crew launches our drone from the riverside pathway, to capture some shots over the sandbars.

And above you can see what that aerial shot looks like in the finished commercial.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our behind-the-scenes photos from our Tourism Saskatchewan project.

Production Company: Java Post Production
Agency: Phoenix Group
Producers: Joan Speirs and Randy Shumay
Co-Directors: Greg Huszar and Derek Frankowski
Co-Directors of Photography: Greg Huszar and Derek Frankowski
Aerial photography: Java Post Aerial Photography
UAV pilot: Jack Tunnicliffe
UAV camera operator: Trevor Bennett
Editor: Doug Russell
Colour grading and VFX: Jack Tunnicliffe
Music and sound mix: 6 Degrees

To view more of the work done by Java Post Production and Java Post Aerial Photography, CLICK HERE.