Yorkshire Air Ambulance www.gtc.org.uk For three years, freelance cameraman and GTC member John Anderson has been filming and flying with the crew of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance I hope it’s not just me but every now flying with camerawork have After a series of meetings with the someone who’s been seriously injured. and again a job comes along that come along, but none more paramedics of the YAA, production When we were dispatched to just, well … makes you smile. I know exciting than the latest one. meetings and flight safety briefings, incidents, though, I was working on we’ve all had jobs that certainly filming began in summer 2006. my own, acting as camera/director don’t, but hopefully the former Aerial opportunity and, certainly for the first few jobs, outnumber the latter. Any filming About three years ago now, a phone Unbelievably, the air ambulance it was fair to say the pressure was that happens to combine a personal call came from the BBC asking if was experiencing a really quiet on. As well as all the shooting, I had interest just adds a certain spark I’d like to shoot a pilot programme time (…‘You should have been here to interview the paramedics as and and, for me, any job that involves about the work of the Yorkshire Air last month’…). Typical! How many when possible, obtain consent to helicopter work is a particular bonus. Ambulance (YAA). Naturally, I said times have we all heard that? film from patients and any relatives, yes. Not only did it tick all the above I guess like many wanting to become boxes, but also a very good friend of cameramen, I was influenced by the mine, pilot Steve Cobb, with whom “about a week after we’d stopped television shows I watched when I I’d flown many aerial shoots when was young and a huge influence for he previously worked for a helicopter filming, the Yorkshire Air Ambulance me in the 1980s was the Channel charter company, had since taken 4 series Treasure Hunt. As a young a new job as chief pilot for the attended an incident that would teenager, I had already developed a Yorkshire Air Ambulance. I was really desire to work behind camera but keen to fly with Steve again and to catapult them into the headlines in also harboured a yearning to become see his new work environment. a helicopter pilot. So when I saw a quite extraordinary way” Treasure Hunt and realised my two The project would involve filming favoured careers could work together and flying with the paramedics … well, you can guess the rest! of the charity-funded YAA in Call-outs were few and far between, fly, which is tiring in itself, and their state-of-the-art which of course in this case is actually of course deal with the incidents Over the years various opportunities £2 million, 150 mph, MD Explorer a good thing (apart from for the themselves, both from a personal to fulfill that ambition of helicopter, call sign Helimed99. filming) since you know that when and a safety point of view. I also had combining my love of helicopter they do get called out they’re going to to liaise with emergency services 18 Autumn 2009 ZERB www.gtc.org.uk Yorkshire Air Ambulance EECH K OGER R on the scene and, most importantly, make sure I didn’t get in the way. I certainly knew I’d done a day’s arnshaw work at the end of a 12-hour shift. E avid We spent a couple of months with D the Air Ambulance, covering the few jobs there were, which was enough for the pilot programme, and this was duly compiled and sent off to the ‘powers that be’ at the BBC. It was now a case of waiting to see if they would commission a series. YAA in the news Bizarrely, about a week after we’d stopped filming, the Yorkshire Air Ambulance attended an incident that would catapult them into the headlines in a quite extraordinary way. The BBC’s Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond had been seriously injured in a jet-car crash at Elvington Airfield near York. Paramedics Darren Axe and Pete Vallance were on the scene, flown in by my mate, Captain Steve Cobb. I, however, was sat at home with a cup of tea and a bun! Sod’s law I think? John and recordist Nigel Chatters shooting programme links with presenter Rav Wilding Autumn 2009 ZERB 19 Yorkshire Air Ambulance www.gtc.org.uk I don’t know if the Hammond paramedics were running but also incident had anything to do with proved a lot lighter for them to wear. ARDNER the BBC’s decision, but anyway It provided us with some great close G they commissioned 10 x 45 min footage at incidents and, more vitally, avid episodes for transmission from audio from the second crew member. D September 2007 and someone came up with the idea of having Richard It was then a case of waiting for Hammond present it. Hammond’s the so-called ‘Bat Phone’ to ring. Heroes was the working title. When it did, Helimed99, the crew and myself were ready to fly off Filming proper started in April 2007 to the incident in question. with me once again working as camera/director. The series was to be First call-out shot on DVCAM and although I have My first proper job for the series a trusty Ikegami camera, I’d decided was an RTC (road traffic collision) to use a Sony DSR 570 with Canon in North Yorkshire, near Settle. As J9 wide-angle lens (later exchanged we flew in, it suddenly dawned on Attending an M62 Motorway emergency for a HJ11). The 570 is just that bit me that normally I‘d be stuck in the smaller than the Ikegami and space line of queuing traffic, frustrated can be at premium in the helicopter. and wondering how much longer The standard crew is two paramedics ARDNER before I could be on my way. Now, I G plus pilot and sometimes a doctor may was flying over the traffic jam, to be avid fly as well, so with me plus a patient deposited right at the heart of the D onboard it could all get a bit cosy! accident. And this time it was serious. There were occasions when I was left A BMW, which was now half its behind at the site of an incident when original length, had hit a Transit van the pilot was unable to take a full at high speed, head on. Amazingly, load with a patient. I was basically the van driver had walked away left to make my own way back to with cuts and bruises but the BMW’s base - stranded, often in the middle occupants had not been so lucky. of nowhere in full flight suit, with The front seat passenger had been helmet and camera kit, but this was killed on impact and the driver all part of the agreement. Sometimes, had suffered severe leg and chest they’d even tell me where I was injuries along with a broken neck. Interviewing Chief Pilot, Steve Cobb about motorway landings before flying off into the distance! The YAA paramedics worked tirelessly Mini-cams along with fire crews to free the “at any incident I would only have Two onboard mini-cams were fitted trapped driver and to attend to his in the aircraft, one giving an external life-threatening injuries. At first, the time it took for the crew to attend POV and the other looking back into I did feel very uneasy about being the cockpit to give a wide angle of there. It was a strange feeling being to the patients” the pilot and front seat paramedic. right there seeing at first hand what Both were rigged for sound from was causing the tailback through had been under the influence of drugs Ambulance Explorer helicopter, which the helicopter’s comms and fed into the Dales. As I filmed the line of – apparently overtaking dangerously involved shooting aerial sequences. Sony DV clam-shell recorders with traffic, I could see people trying to and driving far too fast for the type a one touch button for standby/ peer over their cars to see what was of road. His family gave permission For these I recorded onto DigiBeta record. A Sony MiniDV camera was happening - little did some of them for us to use the footage in order to using a FLIR Ultramedia camera, also rigged for an over-the-shoulder realise the severity of the situation. show the horrific consequences. a system I’d acquired when Steve shot of the front seat paramedic previously flew helicopters for HeliJet who would wear my Micron Explorer I had to work quickly. At any incident The BBC had decided to base itself Aviation in Leeds. This is a gyro- radio mic fed into the 570. I would only have the time it took for at the Air Ambulance HQ, with camera system ideal for the type of the crew to attend to the patients, full edit facilities on site. By now air-to-air work required. The camera During flights, I also had a and during that time I would have though, they were looking at being is nose mounted to a Bell LongRanger comms line feed into my camera to try to interview the paramedics at there seven days a week – enter helicopter based just across the for in-flight interviews.