Award-winning Scots photographer and filmmaker releases free short drone-based film to help businesses promote Scotland post-lockdown
As Scotland gets back to work, leading and award-winning Scottish landscape photographer and author Jason Baxter has released his latest film that looks to reconnect people with the natural beauty of Scotland’s coastline in Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters and provide a hidden perspective on some natural ‘gems’. The 4 minute 32 second film, shot using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone, is available as a free release: to help in the promotion of Scotland as a location; to help others in their marketing efforts for their own business; and for personal use. The film contains a specially produced soundscape and no commentary so that it can be used universally.
Speaking of the film, Jason Baxter says:
‘We are so fortunate to have such wonderful unspoilt and unparalleled landscapes in Scotland, that’s a key part of the film: to remind people of what we are entrusted with and the need to safeguard it for future generations. It truly is part of our unique heritage. With the impact of lockdown across the country, I would hope the tourism sector will want to use this film to highlight the natural beauty of Scotland’s coast and promote the country as a great tourism and business location.’
The footage includes locations as varied as: Luskentyre beach (3m 40sec) on the Isle of Harris as the last rays of the sun lights up the sand dunes into the deep rich tones of sunset; Aberlady Bay (35sec) in East Lothian on a sunny summer afternoon as a fly-over of the beach at low tide; and the first rays of sunlight illuminating the remote lighthouse at Tarbat Ness in Tain (3m 13sec). Such filming is about working with nature, almost as a ‘co-producer’. Throughout the film, the approach has been based on creating drone footage that captures the raw beauty of nature from a creative viewpoint and not just from a standard stock view of a scene.
Filming with UAVs can be challenging in Scotland’s notoriously changeable weather conditions: more often than not the window of opportunity can be small. This film was shot in especially remote locations, which meant travelling hundreds of miles at short notice in order to be in the right place at the right time. In total, this film has taken over 2 years to create, including editing time over lockdown.
Full permission thanks to Jason Baxter