With the Paralympic Games closing in Paris earlier this month, it marks the end of a summer of athletic brilliance and record-breaking skill. And at STORM, we’ve felt as though we’ve got to enjoy a front-row seat to the action thanks to our work with NatWest Group and TeamGB.
It all started back in February when we were approached to take on the challenge of producing a roadshow of events to launch NatWest’s exciting partnership with TeamGB, which hopes to inspire the nation to take action today for a better tomorrow.
The first event kicked off at NatWest’s London head office at 250 Bishopsgate and we were tasked with everything from providing the lighting, sound and video production services, to meeting and filming with some of the incredible members of TeamGB – including gymnast Max Whitlock, swimmer Duncan Scott, cyclists Victoria Pendleton CBE, Dame Laura Kenny and Sir Chris Hoy, and sprinter Colin Jackson CBE, to name a few.
Every good event needs good lighting and our informal ‘fireside chats’ with the athletes allowed us to experiment with the Chauvet Well STX, as well as the Astera Titan Tubes, to really set the tone. We also got involved in producing in-person and hybrid events around the country to deliver keynote speeches from some of the TeamGB athletes.
Our team considers every piece of equipment to be precious cargo but being tasked with undertaking the transportation of the London 2012 Olympic torch – which was being showcased around the country by NatWest and TeamGB – certainly added an extra layer of responsibility. Phillip, one of our drivers, admitted he’d never had such an important item in his passenger seat!
In May, NatWest then decided to take their partnership with TeamGB to the roads and launched their Go24 and Baton relay challenge, which aimed to inspire colleagues from across the country to get involved in physical activity and raise money for charitable causes along the way.
The incredible two-week challenge saw almost 300 NatWest employees carry a baton across 1,000 miles and visit 5 branches and offices in 4 countries.
STORM was on hand to capture all the action and was tasked with producing a film to chart the epic journey.
After arriving at the Royal Bank of Scotland Inverness branch, our film team were briefed on capturing the initiation of the relay, shooting interviews and obtaining general scenes of the atmosphere. You could feel the excitement through the screen, with Highland Dancing, an appearance from a local heavyweight strongman, and the baton being led out of the branch to a traditional Scottish Pipe and Drums group.
The baton was transported in NatWest’s new electric mobile banking van and our film team got to follow the journey while capturing some stunning shots of the Highland scenery. Our flagship “cinemaline” video cameras, including the Sony FX6, Sony FX3, and a collection of DJI, GoPro and 360* tools, allowed for a 4K production, which delivered exceptional quality and an abundance of post-production advantages. Not to mention, the ability for us to deliver a highlights reel that evening, for next-day delivery. Talk about a marathon sprint!
A few days later, we captured the baton setting off from central Edinburgh and being brought to the bank’s headquarters at Gogarburn by Victoria Pendleton and a team of NatWest cyclists.
This unique piece of footage required eight operated and static cameras situated throughout the building and we quickly had to jump straight into a broadcasted hybrid event live from Edinburgh.
We picked things up again in London, where a team of NatWest runners were greeted by TeamGB’s Laura Kenny as they brought the baton through the city to NatWest headquarters at 250 Bishopsgate.
We followed the staff on bikes as they departed London and travelled through Kent and eventually saw them over the finish line in Folkestone.
As the employees caught their breath, soothed their aching muscles and celebrated their achievement, we went straight into our Post Production Studios and worked through the hundreds of gigabytes of recorded video data, as well as user-generated-content supplied by bank staff, to provide a video that showcased the incredible journey from start to finish.
It’s been a mammoth task to deliver but the STORM team can rise to any challenge and bring home the gold.
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