Indie Doc Hearts has delivered its first series to Hearst Networks EMEA, a “drone’s eye view of history.”
Flying Through History is a five-part season of short digital documentaries offering a dynamic perspective on British history through hard-to-access places and untold stories. All films are released on Tuesday 7th January 2025 on HISTORY Play, Sky HISTORY VOD and social media platforms.
First Person View (FPV) drones are used to bring viewers to historic locations they would not normally be able to visit and enable the audience to see them from angles and heights they’d never be able to experience otherwise.
As well as the historical information, the films are intended to be a “visceral viewing experience in which the sheer pleasure of flying through narrow spaces and into apertures is at the core. Native drone shots are used almost exclusively – as these are favoured over anything that could be shot by helicopter or by body-mounted stabilising cameras.”
The series is narrated by Paul Chowdhry and has been shot on location around the UK, from East Anglia to Ayrshire, with each episode featuring a different, contrasting location. The episodes also range across various historic periods and themes, from the Mediaeval to the Victorian, from the dissolution of the monasteries to the boom in the railways.
Flying Through History marks the first collaboration between Doc Hearts and Hearst Networks EMEA. Doc Hearts aims to expand its drone-led series formats to historic sites worldwide as part of the Digital-First pillar of its strategy.
Adam Gee, Head of Content at Doc Hearts, said: “It has been a delight to bust out of the studio with this digital-first series in the most dramatic way possible – by flying over, round and through difficult-to-reach historic sites in an entertaining way that brings together the history expert and the urban explorer.”
Sam Pearson, Head of Short Form Commissioning at Hearst Networks EMEA, said: “Utilising cutting-edge drone technology, Flying Through History offers viewers an escape through Britain’s rich historical tapestry with thrilling visual storytelling. Doc Hearts have delivered an immersive, smart and funny series that viewers are going to love.”
Jon Creamer
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