For us, skydiving is a daily activity. Our team of highly skilled staff just love to jump out of planes and for this reason, we do it as much as we can!
We know that this isn’t often the case for our tandem skydivers, many of whom visit us to experience our sport as a once-in-a-lifetime deal – one that they’ll remember forever, but not necessarily repeat again. That’s why so many opt to add a video and photo package to their jump, giving them memories they can share and relive.
Here’s what to expect when you add a video and photo package to your tandem jump.
The pre-jump chat
This is an optional, but we think very enjoyable, part of your skydiving video. Once you’re all ready for your jump and your instructor is happy you’re good to go, your dedicated camera flyer will invite you to have a short chat to camera, which will become the opening to your video.
You don’t need to have anything prepared for this (we get that you’ve probably got other things on your mind at this point!). Instead, your camera flyer will ask you questions, typically along the lines of ‘why are you skydiving today’ and ‘how do you feel’, and you can answer as you wish. Usually this takes less than a minute.
Boarding the plane
Once you get to the plane, your camera flyer will capture some footage of the aircraft itself before filming and photographing you getting on board. This is a good opportunity to do some nice smiling and waving before any nerves kick in!
In the plane
During the plane ride to our exit altitude of 14,000 feet, your camera flyer will be capturing footage from around and aircraft and out the windows. This really sets the scene for your skydiving video and shows off the beautiful views we have over the Vale of Belvoir and surrounding countryside.
At points, they will face the camera in your direction and either just smile and wave at you, encouraging you to do the same back, or they might have a chat with you. The videos we make for you typically don’t have audio for this portion, instead having some nice music over the top, so you needn’t worry about what you’re saying – just try to look like you’re having fun!
Your camera flyer will take a photo of you and your instructor on the way up too and, where possible, will get a picture of you with your friends if they are also on board.
We know the plane journey can be the nervewracking part, so your camera flyer and tandem instructor will also chat to you on the way up, happy to answer any questions, remind you of key points of your jump or simply help make the experience as fun as possible for you.
The exit
This is the bit where you’re probably expecting to feel a little bit nervous, perhaps some butterflies in the stomach, hopefully a lot of excitement! Your camera flyer will capture all of this for you.
They will typically opt to stand on the camera step to the rear of the aircraft. Simply put, this means they’ll be hanging on to the outside of the plane next to the door you’re about to leave out of, so they can video and take photos of the moment you approach the door and jump out into freefall.
Freefall
During freefall, you can expect your camera flyer to be flying in front of you for the majority of the time, taking photos and capturing video of you as you fall at speeds in excess of 120mph through the sky. They will also at points fly above and around you, getting some great shots of you high up in the skies, giving a sense of perspective and some stunning views too.
All the while, your camera flyer is flying their own body, with most opting to wear ‘wings’ that help support their body position to get the best shots, and of course having to deploy their own parachute once they’ve filmed yours opening.
Landing
Under canopy, you’ll be alone to enjoy the peace and tranquility of your flight, with just your tandem instructor to operate the equipment and chat with you if you’d like, pointing out landmarks or even offering you the chance to steer the parachute for yourself.
During this time, your camera flyer is deploying and then flying their own parachute, landing before you so they can film and photograph your descent and landing.
You can expect your camera flyer to appear in front of you very soon after landing so they can be there for your initial reaction to your jump. This is where the music on the video cuts and we get to hear you speak – again, your camera flyer is ready to ask you questions if you need a prompt but in most cases, we find our tandem jumpers are keen to share their experiences and have plenty to say!
We’ll round off with another photo of you and your instructor together.
What do you get?
After all of this is complete, your camera flyer will curate and edit a set of around 30 print ready photos plus a full length video edit and one Instagram ready, shorter video edit for you. They will send the whole package to the email address you provide us via a file sharing platform so you can download it all at your leisure to share with your friends and family and rewatch for yourself again and again.
Want to add a video and photo package to your jump? Select this option when booking your tandem skydive, or ask at reception to add it on the day, subject to availability. Find out more here.