Capturing a Hampshire Crop Circle from the Air
Crop circles are fascinating, temporary creations. They appear, attract attention from photographers, visitors and the media, and then disappear as the crops are eventually harvested. That short window makes capturing the formation properly particularly important, preserving a record of something that may only exist for a matter of days or weeks.
During a recent television production with Nippon TV from Japan, Beaumont Studio was asked to provide professional drone filming and aerial photography of a remarkable crop circle at Wick Farm in Hampshire. The formation was being created specifically for the production, making this a unique, one-off filming opportunity. We needed to be ready to capture it once the design was complete and the conditions were right.
The filming began late in the evening of Tuesday 21st July with the production team arriving at the field to prepare for the following morning. The exact design and how it would look from the air were important considerations, as the aerial footage needed to clearly show the overall shape and detail of the formation. With an early start planned, we completed the necessary preparations before leaving the field for the night.
At around 5am, we were back at the location. The overnight work was complete and the finished crop circle was ready to be captured. Seeing the formation for the first time from the ground gave some idea of its scale, but it wasn't until the drone climbed into the air that the complete design became visible.
This is where drones really come into their own. From the air, we could reveal the entire formation in a single frame, showing the geometry, symmetry and intricate detail of the design. The drone allowed us to move from wide cinematic views of the Hampshire countryside into detailed overhead shots, giving the production team a variety of images and sequences to work with.
As well as video, we captured high-resolution aerial photographs of the crop circle. Still photography is particularly valuable with formations like this because a single overhead image can communicate the complete design instantly. It also provides a permanent record of something that is, by its very nature, temporary.
The changing morning light also added another dimension to the filming. As the sun rose, the landscape and crop circle changed in appearance, giving us different opportunities to capture the formation. Rather than simply recording one static overhead shot, we could use different heights, angles and movements to create a collection of cinematic images that showed the crop circle at its best.
For Beaumont Studio, this is a perfect example of how professional drone cinematography can transform the way a location is experienced. Something that can be difficult to understand from ground level can become instantly clear from above. The combination of aerial video and photography allows us to capture both the atmosphere of a location and the detail that makes it unique.
The project also highlighted the importance of being prepared for unusual and time-sensitive filming opportunities. A crop circle doesn't wait for a convenient production schedule, and neither does the weather. Being on location early, having the equipment ready and understanding how best to capture the formation from the air were all essential to making the most of the opportunity.
The resulting footage provides a unique perspective of this Hampshire crop circle and demonstrates the creative possibilities that professional drones can bring to television, film and photography. For a temporary subject, aerial imagery provides a way of preserving the moment long after the formation itself has disappeared.
And this particular filming opportunity was only the beginning of the day's production.
Once we'd completed the crop circle photography and aerial filming, we packed away the equipment and moved on to our next location, Stonehenge, where the Nippon TV production continued. From a newly created crop circle in Hampshire at 5am to one of Britain's most iconic landmarks just a couple of hours later, it was certainly a busy morning for the Beaumont Studio team.
