Whereas once upon a time sports broadcasting was restricted pretty much to single events that took place in single stadiums, the confluence of converging technologies such as GPS and the internet coupled with advances in broadcast equipment itself, has opened up of a whole new range of potential sports events to the viewer. Some of these have become impressively big brands in themselves quite quickly, and the Volvo Ocean Race – a 37,000 mile, nine-month epic sailing race around the world – is probably one of the most instantly recognisable.

Of course, providing good pictures of an event like this for the weekly 30 minute programmes that the event produces is still a challenge. This is the second time Amis Productions has covered the Volvo for the organisers and production company Sunset+Vine, using its experience in capturing aerial footage to powerful effect as the yachts sweep into the port stages along the route and get within striking distance of land-based helicopters. For the 2008/9 race, however, the Volvo wanted to go HD, which entailed getting some new equipment.

"Through Fineline we got a Flir gimbal, gyro-stabilised, 5-axis unit mounting a Sony HD camera with an 84x lens," explains Amis director, Simon Aldridge. "It's an expensive bit of kit, but this is an 8-month contract on its own and firm interest from other clients made it good financial sense."

It was a sizeable purchase for a small company, and a complicated one to boot. Amis eventually tracked down a unit that met its requirements from a Swiss company who had it over in the US for servicing, and during the deal period the exchange rate swung by nearly 10%. "Day by day as negotiations for the Flir's return from its service dragged on, the pound slipped against the dollar. Every day you could see the price rising!" says Aldridge.

"Only a primary funder with direct contact with the client could have done the deal for these and other reasons," comments Fineline's Duncan Payne. While for his part Aldridge says that it would have been difficult to put the deal together without Fineline's support and understanding of the business.

The gimbal is currently putting in some serious airmiles of its own, travelling out to Rio de Janeiro, and from there on to Boston, Galway, Sweden and finally the race's finish in St Petersburg this summer. From there, who knows. But as the company is something of a sailing specialist – it is also involved in covering the America's Cup – Aldridge says that the purchase was made with half an eye on the 2012 Olympics.

The company is also looking at innovative new ways of maximising its investment and getting the most from the Flir. "We're currently looking at ways of mounting it on a chase boat and 4x4 vehicles and filming from those too, so it's opening up whole new broadcast and motion picture possibilities for our business," Aldridge concludes.

www.amisproductions.com

The job of a Director of Photography is a complex one requiring complex kit, so when DoP Stuart Graham recently found the need to purchase some new lenses he turned to Fineline for the finance.

Stuart decided to push the limits of what most DoPs have in their kit bag and purchase the full range of Arri Master Prime lenses. Dubbed Dreamcatcher and developed in close collaboration between ARRI and Zeiss, these herald a new generation of high speed prime lenses with more speed, more resolution, more contrast and virtually no breathing.

Stuart decided straight away that purchasing the full set would give him a creative advantage and ability to push the boundaries of his work. Currently working in the high-end world of commercials and looking at longer form drama work, purchasing the total set of 14 Master Prime lenses was able to give him the flexibility when on any type of shoot.

The lenses have been put to use straight away in South Africa, New Zealand, Canada and London for clients as diverse as Muller, Honda, Nicorrette, Specsavers, Bakers, Zyrtec, Landrover and the BBC with a TV Licensing campaign.

One of the main advantages of the new lenses is the ability to shoot in any type of lighting situation for example a candlelit dinner scene at T1.3 will be rendered as well as a high-contrast shot in the snow at T22.

"For me to invest in new equipment it has to have a major draw to it and this set of lenses offered so many. As a set they have struck so many firsts," he comments.

For Stuart the investment was a big one and so he turned to Fineline for the finance. Having worked with them since he started in the business, he knew they understand DoPs, and would know how best to structure the deal. "Fineline understand the peaks and troughs you can get in this industry which made it even easier to do this deal," he concludes.

If aerial filming has always been a specialised part of the industry, aerial HD filming is an even more exclusive preserve. This is how Fineline helped realise top aerial outfit Skyworks' HD ambitions.

Unsurprisingly, aerial-mounted cameras are fairly rare and also fairly expensive pieces of kit. Made by a handful of manufacturers in the world, they've precision engineered remote controlled units that feature multiple-axis gyro stabilisation to ensure a rock-steady image no matter the vibration of the aerial platform they're mounted on.

Top of the range is probably the Cineflex V14-MS, a HD unit that features a laptop control console that looks like it could pilot a Space Shuttle down from orbit. "Why is it so good? It has unrivalled stability, exceptional flexibility and fantastic pictures," comments Damian Keogh, MD of Skyworks, one of Britain's leading aerial production companies.

Skyworks – which has recently completed filming for Wainwright's Walks and supplied the majority of aerial footage for IWC's Mountain (both for the BBC) - had been hiring a Cineflex camera in as and when needed. The problem was that in the wake of recent expansion and an upsurge in filming work, that was no longer proving cost-effective and the company found itself needing to purchase its own system.

Step forward Fineline, which underwrote the purchase of a second hand unit from Australia built round a Sony HDC-F950 camera (the company always shoots its HD footage on HDCAM SR, ensuring the picture quality is second to none).

"Fineline had expertise on the aerial side, which was good," says Keogh. "And the team was pro-active from the start and extremely easy to deal with."

Skyworks estimates that it's produced over 100 factual programmes for international broadcasters since it first flew, including the BBC, ITV and Discovery, and has provided aerial imagery for countless other productions. It has no intention of stopping there though, with an eye in particular to expanding its 300 hour library of HD European aerial footage.

"In company terms, we want to continue to grow our production and archive businesses, particularly the area of HD aerial content," says Keogh. "In terms of kit purchase, it will depend how much and how quickly we expand, but there could be some further acquisition in the post production areas."

www.skyworks.co.uk

Whilst familiar with the facilities of Wardour Street and Dean Street, Fineline also works with companies that operate a bit higher than street level – Helicopter Film Services is one of these. The company was formed in 1993 by aerial cameraman and DoP Jeremy Braben and has recently been involved in high-profile feature films including The Bourne Ultimatum, His Dark Materials: Golden Compass, Outlander, Mission: Impossible 3, Hot Fuzz, and The Oxford Murders.

Jeremy has been working with the Fineline team for a long time and has recently made major kit purchases as part of a big expansion of the company's services, which include filming for commercials, dramas and music videos.

The initial purchase was for 2 Wescam gyro-stabilised systems, one of which was modified solely for HD. The F-435 has been upgraded and modified with their patented platform for 35mm, 16mm and HD - including the Panavison Genesis and Arri D-20 HD Cinema cameras. The latest purchase was for a new Arri 435 Extreme camera from Arri GB.

The Wescam 24HD is based in Scandinavia and working for broadcasters and programme makers in the region. The unique Wescam F-435 allows shooting The Wescam F435 configured with Panavision Genesis on set for His Dark Materials: Golden Compass with all the Arri 435Ex features like 1150fps and variable shutter, all controlled remotely, or the options to shoot in 3-perf 35mm and HD 4:4:4.

Commenting on why he uses Fineline Jeremy adds; "They are competitive and helpful and Gareth is always there to lend an ear and advise on our purchase financing and prepare a package that suits our future expansion plans."

www.helicopterfilm.tv

For Matt Coyde and the Aerial Camera Systems (ACS) team having the latest technology is a key ingredient, but not the only one. Matt, ACS's Sales and Marketing Manager suggests "Having the best technology is one thing, knowing how to use it is another. Our skill is being able to exploit the functionality, both technically and artistically, in order to produce a better end product for the customer."

ACS was founded in 1979 to provide the very latest Aerial Cinematographic equipment to both the Film and Video industries. Continued investment, and the desire to provide a full and unique service, has seen ACS evolve into a leader in the field of Specialist Camera supply recognised around the World.

A glance at the credits on the ACS website is impressive - Harry Potter, Sky News, I'm a Celebrity, Simply Red and major sporting events such as the Commonwealth Games, Premiership football, Athens Olympics of 2004, and the recent Winter Olympics in Turin. They work with all the major TV Broadcasters including Sky Sports, BBC, Channel 4 and ITV, and over 50% of their work is overseas.

Matt comments "Investment in new equipment is a continuous process for us. The business evolves, the and acquire more Sony High Definition cameras, which all together was a significant investment. We were able to make the finance available and fit with their investment strategy."

Matt continues "Once we had decided to expand the fleet we drew up a list of 'must have' facilities. We then approached Megahertz who took those ideas, added some of their own thoughts and together we came up with a design concept that was right for our requirements. Within a few weeks we took delivery."

Stuart Smith, Megahertz Project Engineer states "ACS set us the challenge of providing two fully equipped High Definition capable camera vans, within a very short space of time, that could each remotely control and monitor up to four specialist camera positions. Pre-production meetings meant that a comprehensive equipment list and system design was agreed early on. Evertz system glue, HD multiviewers and Sony HD LCD monitors were all specified but because they were new products, they were also in high demand. We were able to help ACS get the equipment they wanted by using our close links with the suppliers."

www.aerialcamerasystems.com

Filming is a blend of art and science. For David Baillie art is given an added dimension when technology lends a hand.

David and his company Wildcat Flying specialise in aerial filming where the challenges for the cameraman are far more complex. To achieve the highest quality levels requires no little ingenuity and skill, and some financial help.

As one of the UK's most experienced documentary cameramen, David has worked in over 90 countries including some of the world's remotest and most challenging locations. A qualified pilot himself, he is able to liaise effectively with pilots and aerial co-ordinators and has filmed from a variety of aircraft in six continents. His numerous national and international awards include a Bafta Nomination for Factual Photography.

David comments: "To meet the most demanding aerial sequences we've chosen the Gyron HD equipped with a Sony HDC F950. That's the top of the range HD camera in the world's most advanced gyro stabilisation system. Our innovation has been to combine this with an S.Two hard disk recorder. This means we offer the first facility in the world for 4:4:4 uncompressed HD recording from a stabilised aerial camera. We see our eventual market as feature films going straight from acquisition into digital intermediate post production."

Situated on the Pennine border of Cumbria and Northumberland, Wildcat Flying grew out of Wildcat Films, England's highest and remotest independent production company. Commissions from ITV, Channel 4 and the BBC embrace a range of subject matter from wildlife programming to natural history documentaries to environmental subjects. Numerous awards have followed including a Bafta nomination.

Fineline has been instrumental in helping David acquire the Sony/Gyron system. David observes: "Finding finance for the first system of its kind in the world is not easy. Most finance companies like to have a similar business to compare you with. Others submerge you with requests for paperwork. But we found Martin Stanley of Fineline knew exactly what we were talking about and reduced the bureaucracy to a minimum. Most important of all he was always contactable and spoke plain English."

From the business perspective Wildcat Flying is aware that pioneering new technology can be a little lonely at first. David summarises – "But we believe we're on course to crack the feature film market. No more wobbles, no more compression, no more awkward mag changes, no more processing, no more waiting for dailies, no more telecine. Just a file ready to download direct to the digital intermediate environment, and all at less than half the cost of 35mm acquisition."

www.wildcatflying.com