Caverton Helicopters, Lagos/Nigeria
We received an e-mail to make a proposal for a new client in Nigeria, Caverton Helicopters. Stayed in Lagos for about a month and made safety briefings for the B412 EP, AS350 B2 and the TwinOtter. We've made a customized shot list in close cooperation with the Chief pilot on their base in Lagos. After that, all needed footage was made High Definition and edited with the portable edit equipment. The result was showed to the client and we changed some minor items. A short promotional video was made out of the general footage and some additional footage. The company was very satisfied with the result and we expect to go back to Lagos as soon as the EC155 B1 is operational.

Euro-Asia Air / CHC Global Operations Kazakhstan, Atyrau/Kazakhstan
We asked a question about the safety briefing video's for Brazilian Helicopter Service / CHC in Brazil and received a question from the headquarters of CHC in Vancouver if we could make a safety briefing for the AW139, a helicopter that seats 12 passengers. Since the AW139 isn't the only type that's flying in Brazil so we asked if the safety briefing was for Brazil or another operation. The answer came within a few minutes, the safety briefing wasn't meant for Brazil but for... Kazakhstan! It isn't a country were we often go to, so where is Kazakhstan... It wasn't that bad, the base of the operation resorts in Atyrau. It's a city with 450 thousand inhabitants close to the Caspian Sea. It's a 4,5 hours flight from Amsterdam. In 2 weeks we've made over their all the footage, spotted the material and did the editing in Full HD. The client received in Atyrau a safety briefing with English voice-over and one with Russian voice-over and Kazakh Cyrillic subtitles, both in a winter- and summer version. The client Euro-Asia Air / CHC and their client, the Italian oil company Agip, were very enthusiastic about the result!!!

Petrobras, Rio de Janeiro/Brazil
On invitation of Lufthansa Consultancy and her client Petrobras Brazil, the world's third largest oil company, we travelled to Rio de Janeiro. Petrobras has contracts with seven helicopter companies for the transport of passengers to and from her onshore and offshore locations. Petrobras management has indicated that they wants the same quality safety briefing for all its passengers. We had a meeting at the headquarters of Petrobras and informed them about the quality of our safety briefing videos. All companies were represented and particularly enthusiastic about the high quality of our safety briefing videos. We are currently working on a production deal.

Aero Contractors Lagos/Nigeria
After a delay of almost a year, the Eurocopter EC225 LP helicopters finally arrived in Lagos, Nigeria. Our client Aero Contractors Nigeria has asked us to produce a safety briefing video for this aircraft and add it to the existing DVD. Although the family wasn't really happy we were travelling on January 2nd (the day after New Year...) we flew to Lagos on that date. Most of the time, we're in Nigeria during the rainy season. It's the dry season this time and that's really a relief. In the rainy season we waste a lot of time waiting for a dry spell between the showers. The Eurocopter EC225 LP is an 18 person unit dedicated to the long deep-sea operations. The first days are used to compile a shot list, most of the time in the evening, while the aircraft is mostly flying during daytime. The footage was shot partly in Lagos during the weekend. In the second week, we went to Port Harcourt and flew from there to the offshore location to shoot the last footage. Most of the editing was done in Nigeria as well.

CHC Helicopters Netherlands BV
CHC Helicopters Netherlands BV came to us with the request to renew the safety briefing for the Sikorsky S-76. It was the last briefing in the Schreiner colors since the takeover by CHC and they felt that this video should be in the CHC colors too. Since all the videos were more or less adjustments to an existing concept, which was founded in 1999, we proposed a new concept for a special price for all aircrafts. It meant that the safety briefings for the AW139 and the EC155B1 would be renewed as well. The advantage is that all images are now made in High Definition 16x9, the footage is in stock and we are completely up to date. Although we were still happy with the old concept, we're always searching for ways to innovate. The new safety briefing concept is now even more structured than in the past. An important difference is the introduction of the Business Unit Manager Petra van Saaze at the start of the video. The oil companies, whose staff makes use of the services of CHC Helicopters Netherlands BV on a daily basis, congratulated them on the new safety briefing video. Because of availability of helicopters, total production time became a few months.

Heli Holland Offshore
From one of our relationships in the helicopter industry, we got an email with the subject "Something new"... In collaboration with Heli Holland, one of the oldest helicopter companies in the Netherlands, a new company was established: Heli Holland Offshore. The new company will be particularly active in the offshore industry. For these activities, a Eurocopter EC-155B1 was purchased. AV Video was commissioned to produce a safety briefing for this aircraft.

CHC / Aero Contractors Nigeria
Like many other helicopter companies CHC / Aero Contractors added the new AW139 to her fleet. We went to Nigeria for a few weeks to make required local footage for a Nigerian version of the AW139 safety briefing. The video has been added to the existing CHC / Aero Contractors safety briefing DVD and hundreds of copies were made and distributed to platforms and airports.

Bristow Helicopters
A SAR helicopter made an emergency landing on the North Sea. A few things were unclear and in the presence of various authorities they had only one opportunity for a certain test on the helicopter. AV Video was invited to capture footage of the test with multiple cameras.

Aero Contractors Nigeria
It was time for a completely new safety briefing DVD for the Nigerian helicopter passengers of CHC / Aero Contractors in Nigeria. The existing DVD was partly created with materials made in the year 2001 and since the association with CHC Helicopters the colors were changed. Reason enough to introduce a completely new concept and make a new safety briefing DVD. Missions in Nigeria are always a huge challenge: preparation, transport of equipment (about 100 kilograms!). Getting a visa is a challenge itself, working under special and tropical conditions, often heavy rain showers, shimmering sun, limited availability of helicopters and long flights... Nigeria is absolutely very special! The people are really nice and the reunion is always very friendly. We've been in Nigeria for about a month and made material for safety briefings for the Sikorsky S-76, Eurocopter AS-365 N1, N2, N3 and AS355. Editing was done in the Netherlands.

CHC Helicopters Netherlands BV
Sometimes you realize how much fun it is to be a video producer. For a new safety briefing for CHC Helicopters Netherlands BV, we travelled to the factory complex of Agusta-Westland in Vergiate, Italy. Agusta-Westland developed a whole new type of offshore helicopter, the AW139, a twin-engine helicopter for up to 15 passengers. For the Dutch operation, it's important to have the right safety briefing video as soon as possible after the arrival of the helicopter in The Netherlands. That's why we travelled to Italy to make most of the footage over there. The required life jackets and survival suits were taken from Holland and passengers were arranged on the spot. The tour of the factory on a non-working day and a long flight over Lake Maggiore will not be forgotten any time soon. The remaining footage was shot on one of the North Sea platforms, shortly after the arrival of the helicopter in The Netherlands.